Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,701, settled in 1915.
Northern Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 248th of 271 graded towns in Minnesota, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $100K. Expect to pay for it: the typical home is worth about $320K, 4.6 years of the Bemidji area’s $69K median household income. 16% of the land in Northern Township is conserved, against 4.6% in Minnesota’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Buena Vista State Forest, 916 acres with 4.5 miles of trail. Only 8 of the 274 Minnesota towns we compare have a lower January low than Northern Township.
Where Northern 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 Northern Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 114 in 1900, 4,535 in 2020. The archive holds 2 maps from 1972 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Northern 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 Northern Township.
Northern Township has colder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, has added half again as many jobs in ten years and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Minnesota.
18 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Buena Vista State Forest | 4.5 mi | 916 |
| 2. Movil Maze Recreation Area | — | 694 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Bemidji Public School District. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–3 | Grades PK–3 | 282 | B+ |
| Heartland Christian Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–11 | Grades PK–11 | 72 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Jobs based here grew from 348 in 2013 to 599.
Most working residents leave Northern Township for work: only 3% work in town. Jobs based in Northern Township grew to 599 in 2023, 251 more than in 2013. Northern Township’s average trip to work is 20 minutes, where Minnesota’s towns sit at 23 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes.
| Northern Township | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 4.5% | 7.1% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.9% | 9.9% | 8% |
| Median household income | $100,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
January nights average -2.7°, colder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 78.4°.
Northern Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Northern Township is 78°F. About 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 61% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Within Minnesota it is less healthy than 75% of the 271 graded towns: Minnesota sets a high bar. Against the 8,621 U.S. towns with household incomes like Northern Township’s, it is less healthy than 62%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Northern Township beats the Minnesota average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 73% of adults had a checkup this year in Northern Township.
| Northern Township | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 75% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 25% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 30% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Northern Township | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12% | 8.9% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 8.8% | 7.1% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 14% | 11.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
4 within 15 miles of the center of Northern Township
About 4 of every 100 Northern Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
Township in Minnesota, United States
Northern Township is a township in Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,535 as of the 2020 United States Census. Northern Township was named from its location on the north shore of Lake Bemidji. Northern Township was granted incorporation in February 2026 to form the new city of Northern, avoiding annexation into neighboring Bemidji. The township will host its first election for mayor and council on November 3, 2026.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Northern Township.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Township | #248 | C+ | C | — | B− | B |
| Bemidji | #270 | D | C+ | D− | B− | B− |
| Turtle River Township | — | — | C | — | B− | B |
| Eckles Township | — | — | B− | — | B− | B |
| Turtle Lake Township | — | — | C+ | — | B− | B |
| Frohn Township | — | — | C+ | — | B− | B |
| Grant Valley Township | — | — | C+ | — | B− | B |
Turtle River Township, Eckles Township, Turtle Lake Township, Frohn Township and Grant Valley Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Northern Township, Turtle River Township, Eckles Township, Turtle Lake Township, Frohn Township and Grant Valley Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Northern Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Northern Township grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #248 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B for health and B− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.