Living in Detroit Lakes, MN
Detroit Lakes is a big small town of 10,025 people in Becker County, Minnesota. It's about 47 miles from Fargo, ND and 178 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 79°F and winter highs 17°F, with about 48 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $266k and rent runs about $954 a month.
10,025people
$266kTypical home
$954/moRent
79° / 17°Summer / winter
48"Snow
226Sunny days
110Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Big small town of 10,025
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 847 people per sq mi
- 178 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 47 mi to Fargo, ND
- Has its own stores and services
Money
- Typical home $266k (≈$1,676/mo)
- Median rent $954/mo
- Median household income $63k
- Property tax about 0.9% of value
- 7.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 79°F
- Winter highs around 17°F
- Comfortable summers (dew point 55°F)
- 226 sunny days a year (63 totally clear)
- 139 cloudy days a year
- 41 of 90 winter days are gray
- 110 days a year with rain or snow
- 48" of snow a year
- 16 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 (182 per 100k)
- Low property crime (1,483 per 100k)
People
- Median age 42
- 25% of households have kids
- 25% are 65 or older
- 33% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 2% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 17 min
- 5% walk or take transit to work
- 46 mi to FAR airport
- 184 mi to MSP (major hub)
- Amtrak station in town
- 68% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1979
- 92% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 1,352 ft
- 709 mi to the ocean
- 62 mi to a big lake
- 30 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 3 mi to the nearest ski area
- Campground in town
- 13 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 29 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 11 bars within 25 mi
- Few or no coffee shops within 25 mi
- 2 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 3 museums within 25 mi
- 1 brewery or distillery within 25 mi
- 4 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 29% of Minnesota districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 20 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 2 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 2 mi to the nearest vet
- Dog park in town
- 9 congregations per 10k people
- 42 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Becker County: R+33 in 2024
- Minnesota: D+4 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Moderate tornado risk
- Low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Very low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk