ShaferMN
A town of 1,212, settled in 1881.
Is Shafer a good place to live?
Shafer’s best subject grades are an A for cost of living and an A− for schools. Shafer’s average trip to work is 40 minutes, above both Minnesota’s towns (23 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). On cost of living, just 44 of Minnesota’s 573 towns do better. Shafer has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Shafer stand out
Where Shafer beats most towns.
Typical home value
| Widest gap | Shafer | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.1% | 5.9% |
1,212 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Shafer grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Shafer is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Shafer: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Shafer, 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Shafer.
Shafer stands out in Minnesota and nationally: a smaller share of its working residents work locally
0.9% of Shafer working residents work locally, where Minnesota’s towns sit at 9.8% and U.S. towns at 8%. The median household income in Shafer is $99,000. The top destinations are Forest Lake (6%), Minneapolis (5%) and Osceola (4%).
| Shafer | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 0.9% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Work from home | 8.5% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $99,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.5% | 7% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Compared with most of Minnesota and the rest of the country, fewer of Shafer’s adults have high blood pressure
26% of adults have high blood pressure in Shafer. Shafer beats the Minnesota average on 8 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 7.6% of adults have diabetes in Shafer.
| Shafer | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 18% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 75% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 31% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 7.6% | 10% | 12% |
| What stands out | Shafer | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.1% | 5.9% |
| Fewer adults who have had a stroke | 2.2% | 3.1% |
| More binge drinkers | 22.4% | 17.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Shafer
Shafer has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Shafer’s July high is 82°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. North Shafer City Park | — | 4 |
| 2. Shafer Baseball Field | — | 1 |
| 3. Buffalo Ridge Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Moderate risk in Shafer, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 58% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
A typical Shafer home is worth about $352K
The typical Shafer home is worth about $352,000, up 2.7% in a year, close to the Minnesota typical home. 85% of Shafer households own their home.
| Shafer | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $966 a month | $1,196 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
U.S. Bank Stadium and 54 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Shafer. Close and well known come first.
Big draw38 mi Stadium & arenaU.S. Bank Stadium
37 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Stadium
38 mi Stadium & arenaTarget Field
35 mi Stadium & arenaGrand Casino Arena
36 mi Stadium & arenaAllianz Field
40 mi LandmarkFort SnellingPhoto credits
U.S. Bank Stadium: Darb02, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Huntington Bank Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Target Field: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Grand Casino Arena: AlexiusHoratius, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Allianz Field: Andy Witchger, CC BY 2.0 · Fort Snelling: en:User:The Statue With The Dictionary, CC BY-SA 3.0
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Everything we know about Shafer
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Shafer
About 5 of every 100 Shafer residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Minnesota.
99% of working residents leave Shafer for work
Where Shafer’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Shafer
City in Minnesota, United States
Shafer is a city in Chisago County, Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 census, Shafer had a population of 1,142. The city was named for Jacob Shafer, a pioneer settler. U.S. Highway 8 serves as a main route for the community.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.3 sq mi
- Elevation
- 942 ft
- ZIP code
- 55074
- Area code
- 651
Questions about Shafer
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Shafer, MN expensive?
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.