Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Sauk Rapids is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B+ overall, ranked 175th of 271 in Minnesota, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is health: it is healthier than 65% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on schools: its public schools beat 62% of Minnesota towns on state tests and graduation. A typical home there costs about $304K, 4 years of the St. Cloud metro’s $76K median household income. Sauk Rapids’ January low is 3°F, where Minnesota’s towns sit at 6°F and U.S. towns at 22°F. Leonard Robinson House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Sauk Rapids beats most towns.
Leonard Robinson HouseWhere Sauk Rapids’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 Sauk Rapids is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Its founding year, 1850, comes before those of 94% of the Minnesota towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 167 in 1860, 13,862 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 3 maps from 1950 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Sauk 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 Sauk Rapids.
5.3 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The trail density in Sauk Rapids is 0.8 miles per square mile. Mayhew Creek Park, at 125 acres with 1.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Sauk Rapids | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.8 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.7% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mayhew Creek Park | 1.8 mi | 125 |
| 2. Municpal Park | — | 14 |
| 3. Lions Park | 0.1 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools. Two of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Sauk Rapids-Rice Senior High, with 1,319 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,055 | C+ |
| Sauk Rapids-Rice Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,319 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Sauk Rapids for work: only 11% work in town. Sauk Rapids’ average trip to work is 19 minutes. The top destinations are St.
| Sauk Rapids | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $72,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.9% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 7% | 7.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Sauk Rapids has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 3° and about 48 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 10,662 U.S. towns with household incomes like Sauk Rapids’s, it is healthier than 80%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within Minnesota it is less healthy than 66% of the 271 graded towns: Minnesota sets a high bar.
20% of Sauk Rapids adults binge drink. Sauk Rapids tracks Minnesota closely on all 32 CDC measures. 29% of Sauk Rapids adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Sauk Rapids | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 75% | 79% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
61% of households own their home in Sauk Rapids. The typical Sauk Rapids home is worth about $304,000, up 1.7% in a year, 13% below the Minnesota typical home.
| Sauk Rapids | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $964 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 higher than in 54% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Sauk Rapids since 2016.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
5 within 15 miles of the center of Sauk Rapids
About 7 of every 100 Sauk Rapids residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Minnesota.
5 notable people were born in Sauk Rapids.
City in Minnesota, United States
Sauk Rapids ( SAWK) is a city in Benton County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,862 at the 2020 census and is 13,896 according to 2021 census estimates, about a third of Benton County's population. It is on a set of rapids on the Mississippi River near its confluence with the Sauk River. Sauk Rapids is part of the St. Cloud metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Sauk Rapids.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sauk Rapids · Sauk Rapids Township | #175 | B+ | B− | B− | B | B+ |
| Minden Township | — | — | C+ | — | B | B |
| Sartell | #153 | B+ | C− | B | A | A |
| St. Cloud | #269 | C− | B− | D | C− | B− |
| Le Sauk Township | — | — | C | — | A | A− |
Minden Township and Le Sauk Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Minden Township and Le Sauk Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Sauk Rapids Township and Sauk Rapids are one community, graded once. Compare Sauk Rapids with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Sauk Rapids grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #175 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B+ for health, B− for safety and B for schools.
Cloud, MN 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−.
5 notable people were born here, including Ethan Prow and Bridget Jones Nelson.
