Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Rush City gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $265K, 2.7 years of the Minneapolis metro’s $100K median household income. It grades B− overall, 220th of 271 graded towns in Minnesota. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $59K, and 13% of residents live below the poverty line. Rush City has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them J. C. Carlson House and Grant House. Only 8 of the 273 Minnesota towns we compare have a lower share of children under 18 than Rush City.
Where Rush City beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Rush City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 580 in 1880, 3,228 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1909 and 2 maps from 1955 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Rush City, 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 Rush City.
Rush City trades lower home prices for longer drives to work and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Its public schools are run by the Rush City Public School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Rush City Secondary, with 391 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| C.E. Jacobson ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 414 | B− |
| Rush City SecondaryLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 391 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Homes are within reach (about $265K for the typical one, B+ for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 39 miles. At 2.7 years of the Minneapolis metro’s $100K median household income, the typical home (about $265K) costs less against local pay than in 93% of Minnesota towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
61% of Rush City households own their home, below both Minnesota’s towns (75%) and U.S. towns (73%). The typical Rush City home is worth about $265,000, up 0.6% in a year, 24% below the Minnesota typical home. The median rent in Rush City is $983 a month.
| Rush City | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $983 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
For Rush City, that is against 4.7% in Minnesota’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. 1.4 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves.
| Rush City | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.5% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Rush City has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Rush City’s July high is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Rush City for work: only 12% work in town. Since 2013, Rush City has added 205 jobs, to 1,787 in 2023. The top destinations are Cambridge (6%), North Branch (6%) and Minneapolis (4%).
| Rush City | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $59,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 9.7% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 54% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 8,588 U.S. towns with household incomes like Rush City’s, it is healthier than 74%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
19% of adults smoke cigarettes in Rush City. Among 271 Minnesota towns, just 3 have a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Rush City. 21% of adults binge drink in Rush City.
| Rush City | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 75% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Rush City | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.9% | 8.5% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 9.4% | 5.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Rush City
About 2 of every 100 Rush City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
2 places in Rush City on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Minnesota, United States
Rush City is a city in Chisago County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,228 at the 2020 census. It is 93 kilometers (58 miles) north of Minneapolis–Saint Paul.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Rush City.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rush City | #220 | B− | B+ | — | B | B− |
| Rushseba Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nessel Township | — | — | C− | — | B | B− |
Nessel Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Rush City and Nessel Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Rushseba Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Rush City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Rush City grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #220 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B− for health and B for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
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 B+.
