Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,090, laid out in 1854. Public schools that outperform most of Minnesota.
Yes, by almost any measure. St. Charles earns an A+, 29th of 271 graded towns in Minnesota. The median household earns $96K, its schools rank ahead of 81% of Minnesota towns, and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 79% of the country. Its lowest mark, a B, is in cost of living. St. Charles has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them St. Charles City Bakery and Trinity Episcopal Church. 3.2% of residents live below the poverty line in St. Charles, against 7.1% in Minnesota’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. St. Charles is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns.
Where St. Charles beats most towns.
Where St. Charles’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 St. Charles is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,151 in 1870, 3,990 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 2 maps from 1954 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in St. Charles, 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 St. Charles.
St. Charles has home values climbing faster than Minnesota’s and has colder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of Minnesota.
Its public schools are run by the St. Charles Public School District. The largest public high school is ST. Charles Secondary, with 479 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| ST. Charles ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 457 | B |
| ST. Charles SecondaryLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 479 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
20% of St. Charles adults binge drink. Charles beats the Minnesota average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 73% of St. Charles adults had a checkup this year.
| St. Charles | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 73% | 75% | 79% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | St. Charles | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.8 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Jessen's Park, at 29 acres.
| St. Charles | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.3% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jessen's Park | — | 29 |
| 2. Saint Charles City Park | — | 28 |
| 3. Brookwood Park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Most working residents leave St. 15% of working residents work locally in St. Charles. The top destinations are Rochester (43%), Winona (7%) and Lewiston (2%).
| St. Charles | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 17% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 9.7% | 8% |
| Median household income | $96,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
January nights average 6.4°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 90% of Minnesota places with climate records; July afternoons average 81.1°.
The January low in St. Charles is 6°F. Charles has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in St. Charles is 81°F.
| St. Charles | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 6°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 81°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 61% of U.S. communities. Since 1986, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in St. Charles.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
St. Charles’ violent crime rate is 0.5 per 1,000 residents. Charles's reported crime rate is below Minnesota's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| St. Charles | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0.5 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 9.9 per 1,000 residents | 10.7 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Minnesota average. 33% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 39% across Minnesota.
| St. Charles | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 18% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 23% | 22% |
47% women, 53% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.4 points. Across Minnesota, 49.9% of residents are women. Among residents 55 to 64, 72% are men (MN 50%).
| St. Charles | MN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.8% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 13.4% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.7% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.9% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 17.2% | 13.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.2% | 12.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.6% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.2% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.2% | 6.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 19.9% | 23.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 16.4% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 23.2% | 11.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 25.9% | 25.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 7.5% | 13.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,100, single groups can be off by several points
Home values rose 31% in five years, to about $348K, against 14% across Minnesota.
The typical St. Typical home values rose 4.5% in the year to September 2026.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of St. Charles; the nearest are
About 5 of every 100 St. Charles residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Minnesota.
3 places in St. Charles on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in St. Charles.
City in Minnesota, United States
St. Charles is a city in Winona County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,990 at the 2020 census, up from 3,735 in 2010. It promotes itself as the gateway to Whitewater State Park, which is 7 miles (11 km) north of the city on Minnesota State Highway 74.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with St. Charles.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Charles · St. Charles Township | #29 | A+ | B | — | A− | A− |
St. Charles reports no FBI crime data of its own. St. Charles Township and St. Charles are one community, graded once. Compare St. Charles with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. St. Charles grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #29 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades A− for health and A− 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 B.
St. Charles was laid out in 1854 and has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places. 3 notable people were born here, including Brad Nessler and Art Donahue.
