Is Parkers Prairie a good place to live?
Parkers Prairie’s best subject grade is an A for cost of living; its weakest is a C− for incomes. 34% of residents are 65 or older in Parkers Prairie, above both Minnesota’s towns (18%) and U.S. towns (18%). On hazard risk, just 50 of Minnesota’s 575 towns do better. Parkers Prairie is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 69% of U.S. towns. Parkers Prairie has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Parkers Prairie stand out
Where Parkers Prairie beats most towns.
1,031 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Parkers Prairie grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Parkers Prairie is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Parkers Prairie: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Parkers Prairie, 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 Parkers Prairie.
The typical home in Parkers Prairie is valued at about $185K
The typical Parkers Prairie home is worth about $185,000, down 0.5% in a year, 47% below the Minnesota typical home. Parkers Prairie’s median rent is $769 a month, below both the Minnesota town median ($1,196 a month) and the median of U.S. towns ($1,185 a month).
| Parkers Prairie | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $769 a month | $1,196 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 75% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Parkers Prairie’s public schools outperform 61% of Minnesota districts
Its public schools are run by the Parkers Prairie Public School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parkers Prairie ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 251 | B+ |
| Parkers Prairie SecondaryLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 280 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Inland flooding leads a low hazard risk in Parkers Prairie
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 79% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Parkers Prairie has snowy winters and pleasant summers
Parkers Prairie has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Parkers Prairie is 79°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
About one in eight working residents works right in Parkers Prairie
Most working residents leave Parkers Prairie for work: only 13% work in town. Parkers Prairie’s median household income is $58,000. Since 2013, Parkers Prairie has added 31 jobs, to 444 in 2023.
| Parkers Prairie | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 6.6% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 7% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Crime reported in Parkers Prairie
Parkers Prairie's reported crime rate is well below Minnesota's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. No violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Parkers Prairie | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.9 per 1,000 residents | 8.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 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
Residents of Parkers Prairie are healthier than 58% of U.S. towns
Parkers Prairie beats the Minnesota average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Parkers Prairie.
| Parkers Prairie | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 23% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 75% | 79% |
| What stands out | Parkers Prairie | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.5% | 8.9% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 81.2% | 76.1% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.3% | 5.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. City Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Parkers Prairie
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Parkers Prairie; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Parkers Prairie residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
Famous people from Parkers Prairie
3 notable people were born in Parkers Prairie.
About Parkers Prairie
City in Minnesota, United States
Parkers Prairie is a city in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,020 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.2 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,470 ft
- ZIP code
- 56361
- Area code
- 218
Questions about Parkers Prairie
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Parkers Prairie, MN expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
What is Parkers Prairie, MN known for?
3 notable people were born here, including Karen L. Nyberg and Jeanne Murray Walker.