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Knife River is a tiny town of 131 people in Lake County, Minnesota. It's about 20 miles from Duluth, MN and 155 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 77°F and winter highs 23°F, with about 69 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $241k and rent runs about $1k a month.
131people
$241kTypical home
$1,093/moRent
77° / 23°Summer / winter
69"Snow
196Sunny days
126Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 131
- Part of a metro area
- About 197 people per sq mi
- 155 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 20 mi to Duluth, MN
- 20 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $241k (≈$1,522/mo)
- Median rent $1,093/mo
- Median household income $78k
- Property tax about 0.7% of value
- 23.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 77°F
- Winter highs around 23°F
- Comfortable summers (dew point 55°F)
- 196 sunny days a year (41 totally clear)
- 169 cloudy days a year
- 53 of 90 winter days are gray
- 126 days a year with rain or snow
- 69" of snow a year
- 21 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 59 nights a year below 10°F
- Breezy
Safety
- Very low violent crime (83 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (110 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 88
- 19% of households have kids
- 42% are 65 or older
- 31% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 3% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 27 min
- 3% walk or take transit to work
- 21 mi to DLH airport
- 159 mi to MSP (major hub)
- 148 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 91% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1977
- 88% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 617 ft
- 563 mi to the ocean
- 1 mi to a big lake
- 11 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 18 mi to the nearest ski area
- Campground in town
- 8 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 103 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 32 bars within 25 mi
- 21 coffee shops within 25 mi
- 2 music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 21 museums within 25 mi
- 11 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 17 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 45% of Minnesota districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 18 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 18 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 13 mi to the nearest vet
- 14 mi to the nearest dog park
- 13 congregations per 10k people
- 13 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Lake County: D+4 in 2024
- Minnesota: D+4 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- Very low 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
Limited data: this place is small enough that most of its Census numbers (rent, home value, income, age) are blended with county figures. Treat its match as a rough guide.