Living in Balaton, MN
Balaton is a tiny town of 551 people in Lyon County, Minnesota. It's about 64 miles from Sioux Falls, SD and 138 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 83°F and winter highs 23°F, with about 46 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $94k and rent runs about $1k a month.
551people
$94kTypical home
$1,138/moRent
83° / 23°Summer / winter
46"Snow
238Sunny days
85Rain/snow days
Is Balaton right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Tiny town of 551
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 380 people per sq mi
- 138 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 64 mi to Sioux Falls, SD
- 15 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $94k (≈$593/mo)
- Median rent $1,138/mo
- Median household income $55k
- Property tax about 1.4% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 83°F
- Winter highs around 23°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 59°F)
- 238 sunny days a year (77 totally clear)
- 127 cloudy days a year
- 38 of 90 winter days are gray
- 85 days a year with rain or snow
- 46" of snow a year
- 15 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 56 nights a year below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- Very low violent crime (169 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (349 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 49
- 27% of households have kids
- 21% are 65 or older
- 23% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 22 min
- 3% walk or take transit to work
- 62 mi to FSD airport
- 138 mi to MSP (major hub)
- 125 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 84% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1951
- 90% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 1,522 ft
- 834 mi to the ocean
- 106 mi to a big lake
- 35 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 60 mi to the nearest ski area
- 6 mi to the nearest campground
- 8 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 14 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 3 bars within 25 mi
- 3 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 6 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 64 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 18% of Minnesota districts (reading)
- 12 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 12 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 45 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 15 mi to the nearest vet
- 15 mi to the nearest dog park
- 9 congregations per 10k people
- 16 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Lyon County: R+32 in 2024
- Minnesota: D+4 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- Low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk