Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,480, settled in 1861.
Princeton gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $374K, 3.7 years of the Minneapolis metro’s $100K median household income. It grades B+ overall, ranked 151st of 271 in Minnesota. On the plus side, 2% of its land is conserved. 14% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Princeton, below both Minnesota’s towns (34%) and U.S. towns (29%). Princeton has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Great Northern Depot and Ephraim C. Gile House.
Where Princeton beats most towns.
Where Princeton’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 Princeton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 587 in 1880, 4,819 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and 3 maps from 1968 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Princeton, 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 Princeton.
Princeton draws workers from Princeton Township and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
3,505 jobs are based in Princeton, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
About one in 5 of Princeton’s working residents works in town. The median household income in Princeton is $62,000. Since 2013, Princeton has added 204 jobs, to 3,505 in 2023.
| Princeton | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 21% | 9.7% | 8% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 8.5% | 7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Princeton Public School District. Two of its 13 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 740 | B− |
| Princeton High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 940 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
3.6 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Pioneer Park, at 56 acres. Princeton’s trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Princeton | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.1% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pioneer Park | — | 56 |
| 2. Mark Park | 0.1 mi | 26 |
| 3. River side Park | 0.1 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Princeton has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 4° and about 49 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
62% of Princeton households own their home. The typical Princeton home is worth about $374,000, up 2.7% in a year, 7% above the Minnesota typical home.
| Princeton | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 62% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $991 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Princeton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 9,466 U.S. towns with household incomes like Princeton’s, it is healthier than 72%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Princeton beats the Minnesota average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. 16% of adults smoke cigarettes in Princeton.
| Princeton | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 75% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 30% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | Princeton | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 13.2% | 8.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.3% | 5.4% |
| More adults who get no exercise | 29.1% | 22.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Princeton; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Princeton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
3 places in Princeton on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 notable people were born in Princeton.
City in Minnesota, United States
Princeton is a city in Mille Lacs and Sherburne counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota, at the junction of the Rum River and its West Branch. It is 50 miles (80 km) north of Minneapolis and 30 miles (48 km) east of St. Cloud, at the intersection of Highways 169 and 95. The population was 4,819 at the 2020 census and an estimated 5,311 in 2022. A majority of its residents live in Mille Lacs County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Princeton.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton | #151 | B+ | A− | B− | B | B− |
| Princeton Township | — | — | B− | — | B | B+ |
| Baldwin | — | — | — | — | B | — |
Princeton Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Princeton Township and Baldwin report no FBI crime data of their own. Baldwin isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Princeton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Princeton grades B+ overall, better than 73% of U.S. towns and #151 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B− for health, B− for safety and B for schools.
Not for the area. 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 A−.
7 notable people were born here, including Bob Backlund and Rod Grams.
