Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Sandstone's standout: it has 7 miles of trail and 32% conserved land. Overall it grades C−, 267th of 271 graded towns in Minnesota. It is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is incomes: the median household income is $52K, and 25% of residents live below the poverty line. 25% of residents live below the poverty line in Sandstone, where Minnesota’s towns sit at 7% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. On health, just 9 of Minnesota’s 572 towns do worse. Sandstone has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Kettle River Bridge and Kettle River Sandstone Company Quarry.
Where Sandstone beats most towns.
31.9% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Sandstone is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 517 in 1890, a low of 517 in 1890, 2,462 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1912 and 2 maps from 1961 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sandstone, 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 Sandstone.
Sandstone keeps more of its land conserved than most of Minnesota, has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Its 1,100 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 99% of Minnesota towns. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #7 of 274 in Minnesota.
7.1 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. Sandstone’s trail density is 1.3 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Banning State Park, 1,256 acres with 4.8 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Banning State Park | 4.8 mi | 1,256 |
| 2. Robinson Park | 0.3 mi | 39 |
| 3. Train Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvest Christian School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 60 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Against the 6,415 U.S. towns with household incomes like Sandstone’s, it is less healthy than 57%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
23% of Sandstone adults smoke cigarettes. Among 271 Minnesota towns, just 1 have a higher share of adults who sleep under 7 hours than Sandstone. 21% of Sandstone adults binge drink.
| Sandstone | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 14% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 75% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Sandstone | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.3% | 8.5% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.2% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Home values rose 33% in five years, to about $235K, against 14% across Minnesota.
The typical Sandstone home is worth about $235,000, up 5.8% in a year, 33% below the Minnesota typical home. 53% of households own their home in Sandstone.
| Sandstone | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 53% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,015 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Hinckley weather station, 11 miles away, records that about 4 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 96% of U.S. towns. January nights average 1.6°, colder than in 95% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 79.9°.
Sandstone has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The January low in Sandstone is 2°F. About 45 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Sandstone | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 80°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 67% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Sandstone for work: only 11% work in town. Jobs based in Sandstone fell to 903 in 2023, 85 fewer than in 2013. Only 9 of the 273 Minnesota towns we compare have a lower median household income than Sandstone.
| Sandstone | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $52,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 9.7% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
None within 15 miles of Sandstone; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Sandstone residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
2,849 counted in 2010 and 2,462 in 2020; an estimated 2,543 in 2025.
The decline has turned around: up 3.5% since 2020, after a 13.6% drop in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
5 places in Sandstone on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Minnesota, United States
Sandstone is a city in Pine County, Minnesota, United States, along the Kettle River. The population was 2,462 at the 2020 census. Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highways 18 and 23 are three of the main routes in the community. Banning State Park is located in Sandstone.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Sandstone.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandstone · Sandstone Township | #267 | C− | B | — | C+ | C− |
Sandstone reports no FBI crime data of its own. Sandstone Township and Sandstone are one community, graded once. Compare Sandstone with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Sandstone grades C− overall, better than 18% of U.S. towns and #267 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades C− for health and C+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 3.3 years of the area's median household income ($71,146 across the county). 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 Steve Kiner and Doug Carlson.
