Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,341, settled in 1873.
Wadena gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $217K, 3.5 years of the county’s $61K median household income. It grades C overall, 255th of 271 graded towns in Minnesota. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $56K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 75% of the country. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. 38% of working residents work locally in Wadena, against 9.7% in Minnesota’s towns and 8% across U.S. towns. Only 53 of Minnesota’s 572 towns score higher on civic life. Wadena has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Commercial Hotel and Northern Pacific Passenger Depot.
Where Wadena beats most towns.
Where Wadena’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 Wadena is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 307 in 1880, 4,325 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1885 and 2 maps from 1969 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wadena, 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 Wadena.
Wadena draws workers from Wadena Township and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has colder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns.
4.7 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The trail density in Wadena is 0.9 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Sunnybrook Park, at 65 acres.
| Wadena | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.8% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sunnybrook Park | 0.1 mi | 65 |
| 2. Tapley Park | — | 5 |
| 3. Northwest Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Wadena-Deer Creek School District. Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Wadena-Deer Creek Senior High, with 470 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wadena-Deer Creek ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 450 | C |
| Wadena-Deer Creek Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 470 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
2,959 jobs are based in Wadena, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 15.1 minutes, against 22.7 across Minnesota.
About one in 3 of Wadena’s working residents works in town. Wadena’s average trip to work is 15 minutes. The top destinations are Perham (7%), New York Mills (6%) and Staples (4%).
| Wadena | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 88% of U.S. communities. Since 2014, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wadena.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The median property tax bill is $1,493, against $3,357 across Minnesota, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Among 256 Minnesota towns, just 7 have a lower median rent than Wadena. 58% of Wadena households own their home. The typical Wadena home is worth about $217,000, up 3.3% in a year, 38% below the Minnesota typical home.
| Wadena | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $684 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 7,748 U.S. towns with household incomes like Wadena’s, it is less healthy than 55%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
32% of adults get no exercise outside work in Wadena. Wadena beats the Minnesota average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 31% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Wadena.
| Wadena | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 23% | 25% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 12% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 10% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 16% | 19% |
| What stands out | Wadena | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.9% | 76.1% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.8% | 5.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average -0.5°, colder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 79.5°.
Wadena has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. About 51 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Wadena | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | -1°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 80°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Wadena; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Wadena residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
3 places in Wadena on the National Register of Historic Places.
6 notable people were born in Wadena.
City in Minnesota, United States
Wadena ( wə-DEEN-ə) is a city in Otter Tail and Wadena counties in the state of Minnesota. It is about one hundred sixty miles northwest of the Minneapolis – Saint Paul metro area. The population was 4,325 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Wadena County. Wadena is an agricultural community and serves as a region hub for the Tri county area. Wadena is located at the crossroads of Highway 10 and Highway 71.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Wadena.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wadena · Wadena Township | #255 | C | A− | C+ | C+ | C− |
| Leaf River Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Compton Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Leaf River Township and Compton Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Wadena Township and Wadena are one community, graded once. Compare Wadena with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Wadena grades C overall, better than 32% of U.S. towns and #255 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades C− for health, C+ for safety and C+ for schools. Jobs & income 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−.
6 notable people were born here, including Forrest Mars and John Campbell.
