Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
St. Joseph is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B− overall, 210th among Minnesota's 271 graded towns, with no subject far below average. It also does better than most on health: residents are healthier than 60% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its lowest everyday mark is in schools: its schools rank behind 78% of the state's. Cloud metro’s $76K median household income. St. Joseph is home to College of Saint Benedict. Among 273 Minnesota towns, just 2 have a lower median age than St. Joseph. St. Joseph has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Church of St. Joseph-Catholic and First State Bank.
Where St. Joseph beats most towns.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| College of Saint Benedict | 1,410 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far St. Joseph is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 292 in 1880, 7,029 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1869 and 3 maps from 1965 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in St. Joseph, 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. Joseph.
St. Joseph is shaped by its college students, trades workers with St. Cloud and other neighbors and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Minnesota.
Its public schools are run by the St. Cloud Public School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kennedy Community SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades PK–9 | Grades PK–9 | 582 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
In the comparison, St. Joseph comes below both Minnesota’s towns (4.7%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). 6.1 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Klinefelter Park, at 24 acres.
| St. Joseph | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.8% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Klinefelter Park | 0.6 mi | 24 |
| 2. Northland Park | — | 9 |
| 3. Memorial Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 70% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 81°F, St. Joseph’s July high is near the Minnesota town median (82°F) and below the median of U.S. towns (85°F). Joseph has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The property crime rate in St. Joseph is 4.7 per 1,000 residents.
| St. Joseph | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.7 per 1,000 residents | 8.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
St. Joseph has about as many jobs (2,728) as working residents, but only 283 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 2,047 in 2013 to 2,728.
Most working residents leave St. 19% of residents live below the poverty line in St. Joseph. Jobs based in St. Joseph grew to 2,728 in 2023, 681 more than in 2013.
| St. Joseph | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $75,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Within Minnesota it is less healthy than 73% of the 271 graded towns: Minnesota sets a high bar.
21% of St. Joseph adults report frequent mental distress. No town among the 271 in Minnesota we compare has a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than St. Joseph. 26% of St. Joseph adults have high blood pressure.
| St. Joseph | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 25% | 23% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 31% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 30% | 33% |
| What stands out | St. Joseph | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.6% | 8.5% |
| Fewer adults with high blood pressure | 25.7% | 31% |
| More adults without reliable transportation | 10.7% | 7.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
61.1% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 48.1% across Minnesota.
The typical St. Typical home values rose 3.7% in the year to September 2026.
| St. Joseph | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,136 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
5 within 15 miles of the center of St. Joseph
College town 29 of every 100 St. Joseph residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
3 places in St. Joseph on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Minnesota, United States
St. Joseph or Saint Joseph is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 7,029 at the 2020 census. It is home to the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University. St. Joseph is part of the St. Cloud metropolitan area. The unincorporated Florida community of St. Joseph, Florida, is named after the Minnesota city.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with St. Joseph.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph · St. Joseph Township | #210 | B− | B | B+ | C− | B |
| Waite Park | #271 | D | C+ | D | C− | C |
| St. Wendel Township | — | — | B− | — | A | B+ |
| St. Cloud | #269 | C− | B− | D | C− | B− |
| Le Sauk Township | — | — | C | — | A | A− |
St. Wendel Township and Le Sauk Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. St. Wendel Township and Le Sauk Township report no FBI crime data of their own. St. Joseph Township and St. Joseph are one community, graded once. Compare St. Joseph with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
St. Joseph grades B− overall, better than 55% of U.S. towns and #210 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B for health, B+ for safety and C− for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a C−.
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.
