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Nelson is a tiny town of 155 people in Douglas County, Minnesota. It's about 58 miles from St. Cloud, MN and 116 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 80°F and winter highs 19°F, with about 48 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $158k and rent runs about $964 a month.
155people
$158kTypical home
$964/moRent
80° / 19°Summer / winter
48"Snow
238Sunny days
89Rain/snow days
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Size & setting
- Tiny town of 155
- Its own small hub, not a suburb
- About 234 people per sq mi
- 116 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 58 mi to St. Cloud, MN
- 5 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $158k (≈$993/mo)
- Median rent $964/mo
- Median household income $57k
- Property tax about 0.9% of value
- 3.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 80°F
- Winter highs around 19°F
- Comfortable summers (dew point 57°F)
- 238 sunny days a year (78 totally clear)
- 127 cloudy days a year
- 37 of 90 winter days are gray
- 89 days a year with rain or snow
- 48" of snow a year
- 17 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 65 nights a year below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- Very low violent crime (101 per 100k), county-wide
- Very low property crime (432 per 100k), county-wide
People
- Median age 48
- 24% of households have kids
- 21% are 65 or older
- 24% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 3% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 22 min
- 2% walk or take transit to work
- 63 mi to STC airport
- 121 mi to MSP (major hub)
- 58 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 78% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1974
- 89% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 1,368 ft
- 742 mi to the ocean
- 65 mi to a big lake
- 9 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 18 mi to the nearest ski area
- 2 mi to the nearest campground
- 15 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 49 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 4 bars within 25 mi
- 9 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 6 museums within 25 mi
- 2 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 67 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 30% of Minnesota districts (reading)
- 5 mi to the nearest grocery store
- 6 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 6 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 20 mi to the nearest vet
- 4 mi to the nearest dog park
- 12 congregations per 10k people
- 5 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Douglas County: R+35 in 2024
- Minnesota: D+4 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Very low flood risk
- Very low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk
Some of this place's Census numbers are blended with county figures because its survey sample is small.