Ideal TownshipMN
A town of 1,291.
Is Ideal Township a good place to live?
Ideal Township’s best subject grades are a B+ for schools and health; its weakest is a C− for cost of living. 37% of residents are 65 or older in Ideal Township, against 18% in Minnesota’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Only 54 of Minnesota’s 573 towns score lower on cost of living. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 70% of U.S. towns. Only 17 of Minnesota’s 574 towns score lower on history. The biggest park or preserve is Crow Wing State Forest, at 414 acres. Ideal Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Ideal Township has grown 20% since 2010
1,069 counted in 2010 and 1,210 in 2020; an estimated 1,291 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Ideal Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Ideal Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Ideal Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ideal Township, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Ideal Township.
Compared with most of Minnesota and the rest of the country, fewer of Ideal Township’s residents are under 18
13% of residents are under 18 in Ideal Township, below both Minnesota’s towns (23%) and U.S. towns (22%). The median age in Ideal Township is 59.9 years. Ideal Township has grown 6.4% since 2020, to 1,291 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Ideal Township | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 59.9 years | 39.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 13% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 49% | 33% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.6 points. Across Minnesota, 49.9% of residents are women. Among residents 35 to 44, 73% are men (MN 51%). Median age: women 59.4, men 60.8.
| Ideal Township | MN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.1% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.6% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 4.1% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 4.1% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 7.3% | 13.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.5% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 24.1% | 12.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 18.7% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 18.4% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.9% | 6.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23% | 23.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.4% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.3% | 11.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 29.1% | 25.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.4% | 13.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,300, single groups can be off by several points
With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Ideal Township’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Ideal Township for work: only 3% work in town. 27% of workers work from home in Ideal Township. Jobs based in Ideal Township grew to 210 in 2023, 105 more than in 2013.
| Ideal Township | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 27% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3.3% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $108,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.2% | 9.8% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Fewer of Ideal Township’s adults feel lonely than in the typical Minnesota or U.S. town
26% of Ideal Township adults feel lonely. Ideal Township beats the Minnesota average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 14% of Ideal Township adults report frequent mental distress.
| Ideal Township | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 30% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 75% | 79% |
| What stands out | Ideal Township | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.5% | 9.3% |
| Fewer lonely adults | 26% | 31.2% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.8% | 5.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Ideal Township
Ideal Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Ideal Township’s July high is 80°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
High risk in Ideal Township, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 61% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Crow Wing State Forest | — | 414 |
| 2. Upgaard Wildlife Management Area | — | 110 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Ideal Township
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Ideal Township; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Ideal Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
1,291 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
About Ideal Township
Township in Minnesota, United States
Ideal Township is a township in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,210 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Ideal Corners is located within the township.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 35 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,237 ft
Questions about Ideal Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Ideal Township, MN expensive?
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.