Street Lyle Minn - old, 1907
Lyle’s story
172 years in pictures
Census counts: 182 in 1880, 522 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and a map from 1982 on.
- 1854Lyle is settled
Photo: Pete unseth · CC BY-SA 4.0
Population
526
2025 Census estimate · +0.4% since 2020
Typical home
$184K
+3.5% in a year
Household income
$58K
median
Median age
39.9
years
Jobs based here
117
A commuter town
Is Lyle a good place to live?
7.5% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Lyle, where Minnesota’s towns sit at 33% and U.S. towns at 29%. Lyle has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
What makes Lyle stand out
Where Lyle beats most towns.
Small town
526 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Nearby towns
Lyle TownshipNevada TownshipLyle
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Lyle: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lyle, and how to reach them.
PowerFreeborn Mower Electric Cooperative15.3¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterLyle water system2 health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpRecycle CenterDrop-offTown site
Register to voteOnlineIn Minnesota you can register online until 21 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (received 21 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereMower County Auditor TreasurerMower County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Sep 2024
ZIP code5595355953 100%Census 2020
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 Lyle.
Housing
Lyle’s typical home value is about $184K
The typical Lyle home is worth about $184,000, up 3.5% in a year, 47% below the Minnesota typical home.
$184KZillow home value
Typical home value
Lyle$184K
Minnesota$349K
+3.5%
value change, 1 year
2
homes sold in April
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Schools
The schools Lyle’s kids attend
Its public schools are run by the Lyle Public School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyle ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 125 | D |
| Lyle High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 82 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts
Work & commute
Lyle has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Most working residents leave Lyle for work: only 2% work in town. Lyle’s median household income is $58,000, below both the Minnesota town median ($90,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). 12% of residents live below the poverty line in Lyle.
2%work in town
| Lyle | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $58,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
In Lyle2%
Austin21%
Rochester20%
Le Roy6%
Adams6%
30 mi
median commute distance
117
jobs based in Lyle
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Natural hazards
Inland flooding leads a high hazard risk in Lyle
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 72% of U.S. communities.
72risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingDroughtTornadoes
2
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Climate
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Lyle
Lyle has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Lyle is 81°F.
48″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter10–26°
Spring35–55°
Summer58–79°
Fall37–58°
Oct 5
typical first frost
Apr 30
typical last frost
+1.0°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Health
How healthy Lyle is
Lyle beats the Minnesota average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 32% of Lyle adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Lyle | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 30% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 75% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
32 measures vs. Minnesota
0 better31 too close to call1 worse
| What stands out | Lyle | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with arthritis | 25.3% | 22.3% |
Mayo Clinic Health System - Albert Lea and Austin
23.8 mi away · emergency room
1 of 3
care shortages: dental
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
0%conserved
0%
conserved · 0 of 482 acres
0.0 mi
of trails · 0 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lyle community park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Lyle
18pages on Lyle
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Lyle
About 7 of every 100 Lyle residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Minnesota.
A commuter town
98% of working residents leave Lyle for work
Where Lyle’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
117jobs based in Lyle
2%of working residents work in town
30 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
About Lyle
City in Minnesota, United States
Lyle is a city in Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The city lies on the north side of the Iowa border. The population was 522 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1854
- Area
- 0.8 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,204 ft
- ZIP code
- 55953
- Area code
- 507
Questions about Lyle
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lyle, MN a good place to live?
Lyle has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.