Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Winona gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $262K, 3.7 years of the Winona area’s $71K median household income. It grades B− overall, 230th among Minnesota's 271 graded towns. On the plus side, it has 28 miles of trail. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 36 places on the National Register. 60% of working residents work locally in Winona, above both Minnesota’s towns (9.7%) and U.S. towns (8%). Its National Register listings include Paul Watkins House and Merchants National Bank. Only 37 of Minnesota’s 574 towns score higher on walkability.
Where Winona beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1805, is the earliest of any Minnesota town we grade. Its 36 National Register listings are more than in 98% of Minnesota towns with a listing.
Census counts: 2,464 in 1860, 25,948 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1865 and 2 maps from 1972 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Winona is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Winona, 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 Winona.
Winona is shaped by its college students, draws workers from Goodview and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Winona’s trail density is 1.2 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Lake Park, at 488 acres.
| Winona | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.2 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.9% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bluffside Park | 11.4 mi | 323 |
| 2. Lake Park | 0.7 mi | 488 |
| 3. Prairie Island Park | — | 62 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Winona Area Public School District. Three of its 18 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winona MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 665 | C |
| Winona Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 849 | C+ |
| Bluffview MontessoriTop results in townGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 209 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
17,560 jobs are based in Winona, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 13.8 minutes, against 22.7 across Minnesota.
23% of Winona residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Goodview (6%), Rochester (6%) and La Crosse (4%). The median household income in Winona is $56,000.
| Winona | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 23% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 14 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $56,000 | $91,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
24.3% of residents are enrolled in college, against 5.8% statewide, which pulls the median age down.
13% of residents are under 18 in Winona. Among 273 Minnesota towns, just 9 have a lower median age than Winona. Winona has grown 2.1% since 2020, to 26,530 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Winona | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 13% | 23% | 22% |
| Median age | 31.3 years | 39.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 33% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 17% | 18% |
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.1 points). Across Minnesota, 49.9% of residents are women. Median age: women 32.3, men 30.5.
| Winona | MN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.4% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.1% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 29.2% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.1% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.9% | 13.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.4% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10% | 12.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.9% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.8% | 6.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.2% | 23.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 21% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.7% | 11.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.4% | 25.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.8% | 13.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
At 28.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 82% of Minnesota’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Home values rose 30% in five years, to about $262K, against 14% across Minnesota.
The typical Winona home is worth about $262,000, up 3.9% in a year, 25% below the Minnesota typical home.
| Winona | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $882 a month | $1,199 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 7,833 U.S. towns with household incomes like Winona’s, it is healthier than 93%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income. Within Minnesota it is less healthy than 63% of the 271 graded towns: Minnesota sets a high bar.
Winona beats the Minnesota average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. Only 3 of the 271 Minnesota towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent mental distress than Winona.
| Winona | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 72% | 75% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 25% | 23% |
| What stands out | Winona | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with high cholesterol | 29.6% | 33.4% |
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.6% | 8.5% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 12.2% | 8.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 7.8°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 99% of Minnesota places with climate records; July afternoons average 83.2°.
Winona has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Only 2 of the 274 Minnesota towns we compare have a higher January low than Winona. About 38 inches of snow falls in a winter.
| Winona | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 8°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 83°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 18 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Winona.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
3 within 15 miles of the center of Winona
College town 24 of every 100 Winona residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
3 colleges in town.
36 places in Winona on the National Register of Historic Places.
28 notable people were born in Winona.
City in Minnesota, United States
Winona ( win-OH-nə) is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 25,948 at the 2020 census. Located in bluff country, otherwise known as the Driftless Area on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf. Winona is the home of Winona State University, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, and the Minnesota Marine Art Museum.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Winona.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winona | #230 | B− | B | C | C+ | B+ |
| Wilson Township | — | — | C− | — | C+ | B+ |
| Goodview | #58 | A | B | A+ | C+ | A− |
| Homer Township | — | — | C | — | C+ | B+ |
| Rollingstone Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wilson Township and Homer Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Wilson Township and Homer Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Rollingstone Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Winona with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Winona grades B− overall, better than 46% of U.S. towns and #230 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades B+ for health, C for safety and C+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
28 notable people were born here, including Winona Ryder and Tracy Caulkins.
