Living in Brainerd, MN
Brainerd is a big small town of 14,468 people in Crow Wing County, Minnesota. It's about 57 miles from St. Cloud, MN and 106 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 80°F and winter highs 20°F, with about 48 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $193k and rent runs about $827 a month.
14,468people
$193kTypical home
$827/moRent
80° / 20°Summer / winter
48"Snow
226Sunny days
113Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Big small town of 14,468
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 1,193 people per sq mi
- 106 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 57 mi to St. Cloud, MN
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $193k (≈$1,214/mo)
- Median rent $827/mo
- Median household income $56k
- Property tax about 1.1% of value
- 9.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 80°F
- Winter highs around 20°F
- Comfortable summers (dew point 56°F)
- 226 sunny days a year (63 totally clear)
- 139 cloudy days a year
- 41 of 90 winter days are gray
- 113 days a year with rain or snow
- 48" of snow a year
- 17 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 73 nights a year below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- Low violent crime (235 per 100k)
- Low property crime (1,463 per 100k)
People
- Median age 35
- 26% of households have kids
- 18% are 65 or older
- 21% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 4% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 22 min
- 4% walk or take transit to work
- 5 mi to BRD airport
- 112 mi to MSP (major hub)
- 54 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 64% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1971
- 87% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 1,204 ft
- 681 mi to the ocean
- 18 mi to a big lake
- 10 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 11 mi to the nearest ski area
- 5 mi to the nearest campground
- 18 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 77 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 22 bars within 25 mi
- 12 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 9 museums within 25 mi
- 4 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 73 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 30% of Minnesota districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 4 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 54 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 3 mi to the nearest vet
- Dog park in town
- 8 congregations per 10k people
- 54 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Crow Wing County: R+31 in 2024
- Minnesota: D+4 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Moderate tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- Low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk