Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,608, settled in 1872.
Pelican Rapids gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $383K for a typical one, or 5.3 years of the Fergus Falls area’s $72K median household income. It grades A− overall, 126th among Minnesota's 271 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $64K, and 17% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 94% of U.S. towns. Only 50 of Minnesota’s 572 towns score lower on health. O. A. E. Blyberg House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Among 167 Minnesota towns, just 6 have a lower property crime rate than Pelican Rapids.
Where Pelican Rapids beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Pelican Rapids is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 624 in 1890, 2,577 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2005 and 2 maps from 1914 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pelican Rapids, 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 Pelican Rapids.
Pelican Rapids trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and has colder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it is a long drive from an emergency room.
Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Pelican Rapids Public Schools. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Pelican Rapids Secondary, with 374 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viking Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 468 | A− |
| Pelican Rapids SecondaryLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 374 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 73% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average -0.8°, colder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 80°.
Pelican Rapids has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. At -1°F, Pelican Rapids’ January low is where Minnesota’s towns sit at 6°F and U.S. towns at 22°F. The July high in Pelican Rapids is 80°F.
| Pelican Rapids | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | -1°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 80°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Pelican Rapids has about as many jobs (982) as working residents, but only 274 people both live and work here. Jobs based here fell from 1,687 in 2013 to 982.
About one in 4 of Pelican Rapids’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Pelican Rapids has lost 705 jobs, to 982 in 2023. At $64,000, Pelican Rapids’ median household income is below both Minnesota’s towns ($91,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000).
| Pelican Rapids | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 9.7% | 8% |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The nearest emergency room, Perham Health, is 23.4 miles away in a straight line. Against the 9,713 U.S. towns with household incomes like Pelican Rapids’s, it is healthier than 56%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
16% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Pelican Rapids. Pelican Rapids beats the Minnesota average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 73% of adults had a checkup this year in Pelican Rapids.
| Pelican Rapids | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 7.3% | 8.1% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 23% | 25% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 11% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 16% | 19% |
| What stands out | Pelican Rapids | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.6% | 8.9% |
| More uninsured adults | 15.7% | 7.5% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 20.4% | 11.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes are within reach (about $383K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 32 miles. Home values rose 30% in five years, to about $383K, against 14% across Minnesota.
Typical home values rose 6% in the year to September 2026. 64% of Pelican Rapids households own their home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Among 272 Minnesota towns, just 9 have a lower share of conserved land than Pelican Rapids.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sherin Park | — | 6 |
| 2. Sherin Park and Campground | — | 2 |
| 3. E. L. Peterson Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Pelican Rapids; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Pelican Rapids residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
City in Minnesota, United States
Pelican Rapids is a city in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,577 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Pelican Rapids grades A− overall, better than 79% of U.S. towns and #126 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades C+ for health, A for safety and B for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
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 B+.
2 notable people were born here, including Dave Goltz and Roger L. Hanson.