Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Thief River Falls gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $187K, 2.4 years of the county’s $77K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 182nd of 271 in Minnesota. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 83% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Thief River Falls’ average trip to work is 10 minutes, against 23 minutes in Minnesota’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Thief River Falls is home to Northland Community and Technical College. Among 273 Minnesota towns, just 1 have a higher share of working residents who work in town than Thief River Falls.
Where Thief River Falls beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Thief River Falls is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 191 in 1890, 8,749 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1914 and 4 maps from 1959 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Thief River Falls, 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 Thief River Falls.
Thief River Falls draws workers from Rocksbury Township and beyond and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Minnesota (mostly inland flooding).
8,568 jobs are based in Thief River Falls, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 10.2 minutes, against 22.7 across Minnesota.
71% of Thief River Falls’s working residents work right in town. Jobs based in Thief River Falls grew to 8,568 in 2023, 1,940 more than in 2013. 12% of residents live below the poverty line in Thief River Falls.
| Thief River Falls | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 8.2% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $71,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Thief River Falls School District. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Lincoln Senior High, with 521 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Challenger ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 727 | B− |
| Lincoln Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 521 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
At 2.4 years of the county’s $77K median household income, the typical home (about $187K) costs less against local pay than in 97% of Minnesota towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. Values fell 2.5% in the past year while the Minnesota typical home rose 2.3%.
The median rent in Thief River Falls is $838 a month. The typical Thief River Falls home is worth about $187,000, 46% below the Minnesota typical home. 64% of Thief River Falls households own their home.
| Thief River Falls | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $838 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of Minnesota towns, with expected losses of about $342 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Among 274 Minnesota towns, just 4 have a higher FEMA risk score than Thief River Falls. Since 1996, 8 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Thief River Falls.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2.9 miles of trail in 15 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Greenwood Trails Recreation Area Park, at 44 acres.
| Thief River Falls | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Red Robe Park | 0.3 mi | 5 |
| 2. Greenwood Trails Recreation Area Park | — | 44 |
| 3. Oakland Park | — | 14 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
January nights average -3.8°, colder than in 99% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 79.4°.
Thief River Falls’ January low is -4°F. Thief River Falls has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. Thief River Falls’ July high is 79°F.
| Thief River Falls | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | -4°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 79°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Within Minnesota it is less healthy than 81% of the 271 graded towns: Minnesota sets a high bar.
Thief River Falls beats the Minnesota average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7.
| Thief River Falls | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 30% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 75% | 79% |
| What stands out | Thief River Falls | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 11.4% | 8.9% |
| More smokers | 15.8% | 13.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 6.5% | 5.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
1 within 15 miles of the center of Thief River Falls
About 4 of every 100 Thief River Falls residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
Where Thief River Falls’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Thief River Falls on the National Register of Historic Places.
17 notable people were born in Thief River Falls.
City in Minnesota, United States
Thief River Falls, sometimes abbreviated as TRF, is a city and county seat of Pennington County in the northwest portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 8,749 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Thief River Falls.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thief River Falls | #182 | B | A− | B− | B | B− |
| Rocksbury Township | — | — | B+ | — | B | B− |
| North Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Rocksbury Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Rocksbury Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. North Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Thief River Falls with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Thief River Falls grades B overall, better than 63% of U.S. towns and #182 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B− for health, B− for safety and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the 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−.
17 notable people were born here, including Mel Peterson and Wyatt Smith.
