Watab TownshipMN
A town of 3,478, settled in 1852.
Is Watab Township a good place to live?
Watab Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $318K for a typical one, or 4.2 years of the St. Cloud metro’s $76K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 172nd among Minnesota's 271 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 82% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, the median household earns $99K. On walkability, just 18 of Minnesota’s 574 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is Michaelson Farm Wildlife Management Area, at 234 acres.
Watab Township has grown 12% since 2010
3,093 counted in 2010 and 3,402 in 2020; an estimated 3,478 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Watab Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Watab Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Watab Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Watab Township, 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 Watab Township.
Watab Township is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Minnesota; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Minnesota (mostly inland flooding).
In Watab Township, the FEMA risk score runs higher than in the typical Minnesota or U.S. town
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of Minnesota towns, with expected losses of about $702 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Only 6 of the 274 Minnesota towns we compare have a higher FEMA risk score than Watab Township. Since 1997, 26 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Watab Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most of Watab Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.3 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Watab Township for work: only 2% work in town. Jobs based in Watab Township grew to 529 in 2023, 83 more than in 2013. 8.5% of Watab Township workers work from home, below both Minnesota’s towns (14%) and U.S. towns (11%).
| Watab Township | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 2.3% | 9.9% | 8% |
| Work from home | 8.5% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $99,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Watab Township is healthier than 72% of U.S. towns
Within Minnesota it is less healthy than 57% of the 271 graded towns: Minnesota sets a high bar.
Watab Township tracks Minnesota closely on all 32 CDC measures. 20% of Watab Township adults binge drink, against 18% in Minnesota’s towns and 16% across U.S. towns. 29% of Watab Township adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Watab Township | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 33% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Watab Township has snowy winters and pleasant summers
Watab Township has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Watab Township’s July high is 82°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Watab Township | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.3% | 4.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Michaelson Farm Wildlife Management Area | — | 234 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Watab Township
Colleges nearby
5 within 15 miles of the center of Watab Township
About 2 of every 100 Watab Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
98% of working residents leave Watab Township for work
Where Watab Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Watab Township
Unincorporated community in Minnesota, US
Watab is an unincorporated community in Watab Township, Benton County, Minnesota, United States. The community is located near the junction of River Road and 75th Street. Nearby places include Sauk Rapids, Sartell, and Rice.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Elevation
- 1,043 ft
Watab Township’s neighbors
6 towns share a border with Watab Township.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watab Township | #172 | B+ | B | — | B | B+ |
| Brockway Township | #123 | A− | C | — | A | B+ |
| Le Sauk Township | — | — | C | — | A | A− |
| Langola Township | — | — | C+ | — | B | B+ |
| Mayhew Lake Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sauk Rapids Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rice | — | — | B | — | B | A− |
Le Sauk Township, Langola Township and Rice have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Watab Township, Brockway Township, Le Sauk Township, Langola Township and Rice report no FBI crime data of their own. Mayhew Lake Township and Sauk Rapids Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Watab Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Watab Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Watab Township, MN a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Watab Township grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #172 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B+ for health and B for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Watab Township, MN expensive?
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.