Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,054, established in 1894.
Proctor is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A− overall, 113th among Minnesota's 271 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $67K. It also does better than most on safety: crime is low: it reports less per resident than 72% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $263K for a typical one and 3.7 times the Duluth metro’s $72K median household income. Proctor’s average trip to work is 15 minutes, below both Minnesota’s towns (23 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Among 274 Minnesota towns, just 2 have a lower July high than Proctor. Northland is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Proctor beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Proctor is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 784 in 1900, 3,120 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and 2 maps from 1953 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Proctor, 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 Proctor.
Proctor pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Minnesota norm, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
| Proctor | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 6.7% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Proctor Public School District. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Proctor Senior High, with 540 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.I. Jedlicka Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 450 | C |
| Proctor Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 540 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
The violent crime rate in Proctor is 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Proctor | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.8 per 1,000 residents | 8.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 10,255 U.S. towns with household incomes like Proctor’s, it is healthier than 90%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within Minnesota it is less healthy than 57% of the 271 graded towns: Minnesota sets a high bar.
Proctor beats the Minnesota average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 20% of adults binge drink in Proctor.
| Proctor | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 30% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 75% | 79% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Proctor | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.9% | 8.9% |
| More adults with arthritis | 25.3% | 22.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 72% of U.S. communities. Since 2012, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Proctor.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Proctor grades A− overall with a typical home of about $263K, below the Minnesota typical value; only 39 of the 123 Minnesota towns graded A− or better can say that. Home values rose 31% in five years, to about $263K, against 14% across Minnesota.
Typical home values rose 6.1% in the year to September 2026.
| Proctor | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,044 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 77% | 75% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Duluth weather station, 7 miles away, records that 90 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 96% of U.S. towns. The Duluth weather station, 7 miles away, records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Proctor has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Proctor’s January low is 3°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 1,350 working residents takes 15.2 minutes, against 22.7 across Minnesota. Jobs based here grew from 790 in 2013 to 1,099.
Most working residents leave Proctor for work: only 6% work in town. Since 2013, Proctor has added 309 jobs, to 1,099 in 2023. 5.8% of Proctor residents live below the poverty line.
| Proctor | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $67,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 5.8% | 7.1% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.1% | 9.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Proctor. Close and well known come first.
7 mi MuseumLake Superior Railroad Museum
7 mi Zoo & aquariumGreat Lakes Aquarium
7 mi MuseumDuluth Depot2 mi Zoo & aquariumLake Superior Zoo
6 mi MuseumFairlawn Mansion
7 mi MuseumLake Superior Maritime Visitor CenterLake Superior Railroad Museum: User resedabear on Flickr, CC BY 2.0 · Great Lakes Aquarium: Tmajewski, Public domain · Duluth Depot: Hikki Nagasaki, Public domain · Fairlawn Mansion: Nfarmakes, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 4.0
5 within 15 miles of the center of Proctor
About 2 of every 100 Proctor residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
3 notable people were born in Proctor.
City in Minnesota, United States
Proctor is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. Established in 1894, the town was named after former Kentucky Governor J. Proctor Knott. It is part of the Duluth Metropolitan Area. The population was 3,120 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Proctor.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proctor | #113 | A− | C+ | B+ | B+ | B+ |
| Midway Township | — | — | C+ | — | B+ | B+ |
| Duluth | #253 | C | C | C− | B− | B+ |
Midway Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Midway Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Proctor with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Proctor grades A− overall, better than 81% of U.S. towns and #113 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B+ for health, B+ for safety 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+.
Proctor was established in 1894 and has 1 place on the National Register of Historic Places. 3 notable people were born here, including Tom MacLeod and Loyce Houlton.
