Living in Mountain Lake, MN
Mountain Lake is a small town of 2,070 people in Cottonwood County, Minnesota. It's about 50 miles from Mankato, MN and 108 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 84°F and winter highs 24°F, with about 46 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $143k and rent runs about $929 a month.
2,070people
$143kTypical home
$929/moRent
84° / 24°Summer / winter
46"Snow
236Sunny days
104Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Small town of 2,070
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 1,269 people per sq mi
- 108 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 50 mi to Mankato, MN
- 31 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $143k (≈$902/mo)
- Median rent $929/mo
- Median household income $66k
- Property tax about 1.3% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 84°F
- Winter highs around 24°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 59°F)
- 236 sunny days a year (80 totally clear)
- 129 cloudy days a year
- 39 of 90 winter days are gray
- 104 days a year with rain or snow
- 46" of snow a year
- 17 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 (104 per 100k)
- Very low property crime (548 per 100k)
People
- Median age 32
- 36% of households have kids
- 18% are 65 or older
- 22% have a college degree
- Mixed community
- 3% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 16 min
- 4% walk or take transit to work
- 94 mi to FSD airport
- 106 mi to MSP (major hub)
- 115 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 82% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1964
- 85% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Gently rolling terrain
- Elevation 1,299 ft
- 812 mi to the ocean
- 149 mi to a big lake
- 72 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 46 mi to the nearest ski area
- 6 mi to the nearest campground
- 7 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 16 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- Few or no bars within 25 mi
- 3 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 4 museums within 25 mi
- No breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 26 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the bottom 44% of Minnesota districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 11 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 32 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 21 mi to the nearest vet
- 22 mi to the nearest dog park
- 22 congregations per 10k people
- 22 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Cottonwood County: R+41 in 2024
- Minnesota: D+4 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Moderate flood risk
- Low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk