Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Willmar gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $246K, 3.2 years of the Willmar area’s $77K median household income. It grades C overall, 256th of 271 graded towns in Minnesota. On the plus side, natural-hazard risk is low. 60% of working residents work locally in Willmar, above both the Minnesota town median (9.7%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). On health, just 33 of Minnesota’s 572 towns do worse. Willmar is home to Ridgewater College.
Where Willmar beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Willmar is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,002 in 1880, 21,015 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and a map from 1958 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Willmar, 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 Willmar.
Willmar draws workers from Dovre Township and beyond, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has a shorter frost-free season than most of the country, though not than most of Minnesota.
17,945 jobs are based in Willmar, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 12.6 minutes, against 22.7 across Minnesota.
Willmar: 13% of residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Willmar grew to 17,945 in 2023, 4,235 more than in 2013. Its median household income stands at $62,000. Also worth knowing: among 273 Minnesota towns, just 6 have a lower typical journey to work than Willmar.
| Willmar | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 8.2% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Two of the 15 schools are below, and why each made the list. Its public schools are run by the Willmar Public School District. The largest public high school is Willmar Senior High, with 1,205 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Willmar Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 842 | C+ |
| Willmar Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,205 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
Among 274 Minnesota towns, just 10 have a lower risk rating from FEMA than Willmar. 36% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by cold waves at 31%. Flood insurance has paid out on 3 claims locally since 2007.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
7.7 miles of trail in 21 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Willmar Wildlife Management Area, at 127 acres. Parks and preserves locally: 21, covering 331 acres.
| Willmar | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.8% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Robbins Island Park | 0.6 mi | 62 |
| 2. Ramblewood Park | 0.5 mi | 26 |
| 3. Bergquist Park | 0.3 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The typical Willmar home is worth about $246,000, up 0.6% in a year, 30% below the Minnesota typical home. Among households in the town, 59% own their home. Its going rate for rent stands at $910 a month.
| Willmar | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $910 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 433 to 333 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
In Willmar, the violent offense rate is 3.4 per 1,000 residents. The town’s property offense rate comes in at 11.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Willmar | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.7 per 1,000 residents | 8.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Willmar Wwtp weather station records that the frost-free season runs about 159 days: shorter than most of the country, but longer than 82% of Minnesota places with climate records. July afternoons average 82.1°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 77% of Minnesota places with climate records; January nights average 3.7°.
The January low for Willmar comes to 4°F. About 46 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Willmar | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 4°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 9,474 U.S. towns with household incomes like Willmar’s, it is healthier than 53%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Only 4 of the 271 Minnesota towns we compare have a higher share of adults 18 to 64 who have no health insurance than Willmar. For adults in the town, the share who have diabetes is 13%. Among adults locally, 19% worry about having enough food and 29% get no exercise outside work.
| Willmar | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 35% | 35% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 7.3% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 11% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 23% | 25% |
| What stands out | Willmar | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 14% | 7.5% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 15.3% | 8.9% |
| More adults facing food insecurity | 19.4% | 11.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1 within 15 miles of the center of Willmar
About 5 of every 100 Willmar residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Minnesota.
Where Willmar’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
7 places in Willmar on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Willmar.
City in Minnesota, United States
Willmar ( WIL-mər) is a city in, and the county seat of, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 21,015 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Willmar.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willmar · Willmar Township | #256 | C | B+ | C | C | C+ |
| St. Johns Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dovre Township | — | — | B | — | C | B− |
Dovre Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Dovre Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. St. Johns Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Willmar Township and Willmar are one community, graded once. Compare Willmar with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Willmar grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns and #256 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades C+ for health, C for safety and C for schools.
8 notable people were born here, including Rick Swenson and Seth Olsen.
