Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Windom gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $182K for a typical one, or 2.5 years of the county’s $73K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 173rd among Minnesota's 271 graded towns. On the plus side, 6% of its land is conserved. 33% of working residents work locally in Windom, where Minnesota’s towns sit at 9.7% and U.S. towns at 8%. Cottonwood County Courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. Windom is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 70% of U.S. towns.
Where Windom beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Windom is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 443 in 1880, 4,798 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 2 maps from 1970 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Windom, 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 Windom.
Windom has homes that are cheap against local pay and has commutes shorter than most of Minnesota.
4.4 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. Windom’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Island Park, at 26 acres.
| Windom | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.6% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Wolf Lake Wildlife Management Area, Cottonwood County Unit | — | 30 |
| 2. Island Park | — | 26 |
| 3. Tegels Park | 0.1 mi | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Windom Public School District. Two of its 11 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Windom Senior High, with 327 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windom Area ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 493 | B |
| Windom Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 327 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
At 2.5 years of the county’s $73K median household income, the typical home (about $182K) costs less against local pay than in 96% of Minnesota towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living.
The median rent in Windom is $806 a month. The typical Windom home is worth about $182,000, up 0.9% in a year, 48% below the Minnesota typical home.
| Windom | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $806 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 69% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 68% of U.S. communities. Since 2010, 29 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Windom.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Windom has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 6° and about 44 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 2,438 working residents takes 12.6 minutes, against 22.7 across Minnesota.
About one in 3 of Windom’s working residents works in town. 14% of Windom residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Windom has added 333 jobs, to 2,726 in 2023.
| Windom | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 13 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 7.9% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $75,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Windom beats the Minnesota average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 30% of adults get no exercise outside work in Windom.
| Windom | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 23% | 25% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 7.3% | 8.1% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 30% | 36% |
| What stands out | Windom | MN |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 11% | 7.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 7.5% | 5.4% |
| More adults with heart disease | 7.9% | 5.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Windom; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Windom residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
5 notable people were born in Windom.
City in Minnesota, United States
Windom is a city in and the county seat of Cottonwood County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,798 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Cottonwood County and is situated in the Coteau des Prairies. Although a mostly small, rural farming community, Windom is host to several parks including a disc golf course at Mayflower Park. The Des Moines River flows through Windom and serves as a gentle, rapid-free canoeing spot.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Windom.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windom | #173 | B+ | A | B− | B | C+ |
| Great Bend Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lakeside Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Great Bend Township and Lakeside Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Windom with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Windom grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #173 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades C+ for health, B− for safety and B for schools.
5 notable people were born here, including Maria Schneider and Johnny Olson.
