Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 53,969, settled in 1852.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Minnetonka grades A overall, ranked 75th of 271 in Minnesota. On CDC health estimates it is near the top nationally. The median household earns $120K and its schools outperform 93% of the state's. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $485K, 4.9 years of the Minneapolis metro’s $100K median household income. 65% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Minnetonka, above both the Minnesota town median (33%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Minnetonka is home to Adler Graduate School. Minnetonka is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 79% of U.S. towns.
Where Minnetonka beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Minnetonka | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.8% | 11.4% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Scenic Heights Elementary | K–5 | 930 |
| Groveland Elementary | K–5 | 903 |
| Clear Springs Elementary | K–5 | 849 |
Where Minnetonka’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 Minnetonka is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 203 in 1860, 53,781 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1867 and 4 maps from 1905 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Minnetonka. Close and well known come first.
Big draw10 mi Stadium & arenaU.S. Bank Stadium
9 mi Stadium & arenaTarget Field
12 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Stadium
5 mi LakeLake Minnetonka
9 mi Theme parkValleyfair
7 mi LakeBde Maka SkaU.S. Bank Stadium: Darb02, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Target Field: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Huntington Bank Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Minnetonka: Dan, CC BY 2.0 · Valleyfair: https://www.flickr.com/photos/clumpinglitter/, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bde Maka Ska: Tyler Vigen, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Minnetonka, 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 Minnetonka.
Minnetonka draws workers from Minneapolis and beyond, has less food insecurity than most of Minnesota and has cooler summers than most of the country, though not than most of Minnesota.
Its widest gap with Minnesota is food insecurity: 6.8% of its 43,279 adults worry about having enough food, against 11.4% statewide.
25% of Minnetonka adults have obesity. Minnetonka beats the Minnesota average on 22 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 7.6% of Minnetonka adults have diabetes.
| Minnetonka | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 30% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 35% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.1% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Minnetonka | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.8% | 11.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 3.6% | 5.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its A for schools comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $485K.
Its public schools are run by the Minnetonka Public School District. Three of its 28 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnetonka East MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,320 | A |
| Minnetonka Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 3,514 | A+ |
| Scenic Heights ElementaryTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 930 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
27 miles of trail in 38 parks and preserves. Minnetonka’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile. Lone Lake Park, at 139 acres with 6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Minnetonka | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.9% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lone Lake Park | 6 mi | 139 |
| 2. Purgatory Park | 3.8 mi | 128 |
| 3. Big Willow Park | 1.1 mi | 107 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
47,619 jobs are based in Minnetonka, 2 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 27.4% of workers work from home, against 17.6% across Minnesota.
Most working residents leave Minnetonka for work: only 12% work in town. 27% of workers work from home in Minnetonka. Since 2013, Minnetonka has added 5,969 jobs, to 47,619 in 2023.
| Minnetonka | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 27% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $120,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 7.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median property tax bill is $5,285, against $3,357 across Minnesota, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
The median rent in Minnetonka is $1,779 a month. The typical Minnetonka home is worth about $485,000, up 2.8% in a year, 39% above the Minnesota typical home.
| Minnetonka | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,779 a month | $1,192 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 75% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 46% | 48% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 76% of U.S. communities. Since 1980, 16 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Minnetonka.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 82.1°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 77% of Minnesota places with climate records; January nights average 6.6°.
Minnetonka has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. About 54 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Minnetonka | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 7°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 925 to 728 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
23 within 15 miles of the center of Minnetonka
About 5 of every 100 Minnetonka residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Minnesota.
City in Minnesota, United States
Minnetonka ( MIN-ə-TONG-kə) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about 10 miles (16 km) west of Minneapolis, on the eastern side of Lake Minnetonka. At the 2024 census, the city's population was 52,651. Minnetonka is the home of Cargill, the country's largest privately owned company, and UnitedHealth Group, the state's largest publicly owned company. I-494 runs through the city while I-394/US 12 and US 169 are situated along the suburb's northern and eastern boundaries respectively.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Minnetonka.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnetonka | #75 | A | C− | B− | A | A+ |
| Hopkins | #198 | B | C− | C+ | B | A |
| Wayzata | #59 | A | D− | B− | A+ | A+ |
| Eden Prairie | #54 | A | C− | B | A | A+ |
| Deephaven | #3 | A+ | C | A+ | A+ | A+ |
| St. Louis Park | #180 | B | C | C− | B | A+ |
| Plymouth | #23 | A+ | C− | B+ | A+ | A+ |
| Woodland | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Woodland isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Minnetonka with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Minnetonka grades A overall, better than 89% of U.S. towns and #75 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades A+ for health, B− for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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