Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,403, settled in 1865.
Linwood Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, 170th among Minnesota's 271 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $116K. It also does better than most on health: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 74% of the country. A typical home there costs about $380K, 3.8 years of the Minneapolis metro’s $100K median household income. On walkability, just 16 of Minnesota’s 574 towns do worse. The biggest place to walk is Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area, 5,411 acres with 4.3 miles of trail.
Where Linwood Township beats most towns.
Where Linwood Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Linwood Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 2 maps from 1955 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Linwood 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Linwood Township.
Linwood Township sends most of its workers to Minneapolis and beyond and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Minnesota.
Linwood Township has 300 jobs for its 2,534 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 33 minutes, against 22.7 across Minnesota.
Between 2013 and 2023, jobs in Linwood Township rose by 94, to 300. Only 3% of working residents stay in Linwood Township for work; the rest commute out. In Linwood Township, the mean commuting time is 33 minutes, above both the Minnesota town median (23 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). The median commute is under 24 miles.
| Linwood Township | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $116,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.9% | 9.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.7% | 7.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its one school is below. The Forest Lake Public School District runs its public schools. 400 students attend Linwood Township’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linwood ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 400 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Within Minnesota it is less healthy than 52% of the 271 graded towns: Minnesota sets a high bar. Against the 6,305 U.S. towns with household incomes like Linwood Township’s, it is less healthy than 54%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
For adults in Linwood Township, the share who report frequent physical distress is 12%. 19% of adults binge drink here, where Minnesota’s towns sit at 18% and U.S. towns at 16%.
| Linwood Township | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 30% | 36% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 19% |
| What stands out | Linwood Township | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.8% | 11.4% |
| Fewer adults without reliable transportation | 6.2% | 7.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expect July afternoons of 82° and January nights of 5°, with about 52 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
There are 6.6 miles of trail across 6 parks and preserves. Linwood Township’s trail density stands at 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Linwood Township | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.2% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area | 4.3 mi | 5,411 |
| 2. Martin-Island-Linwood Park | 1.4 mi | 815 |
| 3. Boot Lake Scientific and Natural Area | 0.3 mi | 663 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in just over half of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects in Linwood Township, 62% come from inland flooding and 11% from strong winds. One flood insurance claim has been paid locally since 2023.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Linwood Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaU.S. Bank Stadium
29 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Stadium
29 mi Stadium & arenaTarget Field
30 mi Stadium & arenaGrand Casino Arena
30 mi Stadium & arenaAllianz Field
32 mi LakeBde Maka SkaU.S. Bank Stadium: Darb02, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Huntington Bank Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Target Field: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Grand Casino Arena: AlexiusHoratius, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Allianz Field: Andy Witchger, CC BY 2.0 · Bde Maka Ska: Tyler Vigen, CC BY-SA 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Linwood Township
About 2 of every 100 Linwood Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
Unincorporated community in Minnesota, United States
Linwood is an unincorporated community in Linwood Township, Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. Linwood is located on the north shore of Linwood Lake, 5 miles (8.0 km) east-northeast of East Bethel. Anoka County Road 22 serves as a main route in the community.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Linwood Township.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B+; East Bethel (B+) is closest.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linwood Township | #170 | B+ | B | — | B | B+ |
| Oxford Township | — | — | B | — | B− | B+ |
| Columbus | #158 | B+ | C | — | B | A− |
| East Bethel | #160 | B+ | B− | — | B | A− |
| Wyoming | #41 | A | B | A− | B+ | A |
| Stacy | #104 | A− | B+ | — | B− | B+ |
Oxford Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Linwood Township, Oxford Township, Columbus, East Bethel and Stacy report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Linwood Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Linwood Township grades B+ overall, better than 68% of U.S. towns and #170 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B+ for health and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
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