Is North Branch a good place to live?
North Branch is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, 146th among Minnesota's 271 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is safety: it reports less crime per resident than 88% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $90K. A typical home there costs about $355K, 3.6 years of the Minneapolis metro’s $100K median household income. North Branch’s average trip to work is 31 minutes, above both Minnesota’s towns (23 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). The biggest park or preserve is Janet Johnson Memorial Wildlife Management Area, at 756 acres.
What makes North Branch stand out
Where North Branch beats most towns.
86% of working residents leave North Branch for work
Where North Branch’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How North Branch grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far North Branch is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to North Branch: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in North Branch, 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 North Branch.
North Branch sees little violent crime and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Minnesota; it also has commutes longer than most of Minnesota.
North Branch’s grade for safety is an A
Violent crime is rare: 8 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in North Branch is 2.6 per 1,000 residents.
| North Branch | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 8.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
On state tests, North Branch’s schools beat 50% of Minnesota districts
Its public schools are run by the North Branch Area Public Schools. Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is North Branch Area High School, with 791 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunrise River Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 1–5 | Grades 1–5 | 960 | B+ |
| North Branch Area High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 791 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
With 0.6 jobs for every working resident, most of North Branch’s workers commute out
The average commute for its 5,668 working residents takes 30.7 minutes, against 22.7 across Minnesota.
Most working residents leave North Branch for work: only 14% work in town. 6.1% of North Branch workers work from home. Jobs based in North Branch grew to 3,407 in 2023, 229 more than in 2013.
| North Branch | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 6.1% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 9.7% | 8% |
| Median household income | $90,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.7% | 7% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
North Branch faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities. Since 2019, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in North Branch.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
North Branch is healthier than 66% of U.S. towns
Within Minnesota it is less healthy than 62% of the 271 graded towns: Minnesota sets a high bar.
North Branch beats the Minnesota average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 20% of adults binge drink in North Branch.
| North Branch | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 75% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 30% | 36% |
| What stands out | North Branch | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 15.9% | 13.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In North Branch, expect snowy winters and pleasant summers
North Branch has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 4° and about 52 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Conserved land covers 3.4% of North Branch
2.3 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. North Branch’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| North Branch | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.4% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Janet Johnson Memorial Wildlife Management Area | — | 756 |
| 2. Checkerboard Park | — | 51 |
| 3. Johnson Park | — | 27 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
North Branch’s grade for cost of living is a B−
The typical North Branch home is worth about $355,000, up 1.8% in a year, close to the Minnesota typical home.
| North Branch | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 82% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,308 a month | $1,192 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
U.S. Bank Stadium and 42 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around North Branch. Close and well known come first.
Big draw40 mi Stadium & arenaU.S. Bank Stadium
39 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Stadium
40 mi Stadium & arenaTarget Field
40 mi Stadium & arenaGrand Casino Arena
40 mi Stadium & arenaAllianz Field
39 mi MuseumMinnesota State CapitolPhoto credits
U.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 · Minnesota State Capitol: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 4.0
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Everything we know about North Branch
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of North Branch
About 5 of every 100 North Branch residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Minnesota.
North Branch’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with North Branch.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Branch | #146 | B+ | B− | A | B− | B+ |
| North Branch Township | — | — | C+ | — | B− | B+ |
| Stacy | #104 | A− | B+ | — | B− | B+ |
| Sunrise Township | — | — | B− | — | B− | B+ |
| Harris | — | — | B+ | — | B− | B |
North Branch Township, Sunrise Township and Harris have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. North Branch Township, Stacy, Sunrise Township and Harris report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare North Branch with a neighbor →
Questions about North Branch
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is North Branch, MN a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. North Branch grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #146 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B+ for health, A for safety and B− for schools.
Is North Branch, MN expensive?
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 B−.
What is North Branch, MN known for?
2 notable people were born here, including William J. Duffy and Lee Quillen.