These Are The 10 Most Boring Places In Minnesota


We used data and science to identify which places in Minnesota are total snoozefests.

Nick Johnson, RoadSnacks
January 27, 2016 - 5,841 views
RoadSnacks is reader-supported. When you click through real estate links on our site, we earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.
This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out.

Swipe left for slideshow. Article continues below.
Advertisement

There’s no denying it: there are plenty of places in Minnesota that are downright beautiful and full of excitement.

Unfortunately, not all towns and cities in MN are so lucky.

Just like in all U.S. States, there are definitely some boring places within Minnesota’s borders. You know the places: the ones where everyone has an AARP card and the most exciting thing they do all day is post a picture of their grandchild on Facebook.

Like Lake Elmo, for instance. In our latest analysis, we found that this city was the most boring city in all of Minnesota. But don’t feel bad if you’re a resident of Lake Elmo. There are plenty of other boring, lackluster places in Minnesota as well.

Here they are. Try not to jump out of your seat with excitement:

  1. Lake Elmo
  2. Mendota Heights
  3. Minnetrista
  4. Ham Lake
  5. Shorewood
  6. Corcoran
  7. Oak Grove
  8. Orono
  9. Hermantown
  10. Grand Rapids

Before you get all upset if your city’s name is on the list, rest assured that we didn’t use personal opinion when it comes to what classifies a city or town as “boring” or “exciting”. We crunched actual numbers to figure out which towns are statistically more boring.

Advertisement

How we determined the boring cities in the North Star State

To figure out how boring a place is, we rely on a complex algorithm that factors in things we generally think make people exciting, and then we figure out which cities have the least number of those exciting people. Here are some of the things people tend to think of as making a city’s population boring:

  • % of Population Over 35 (higher is more boring)
  • % of Married Household (higher is more boring)
  • Average Age (higher is more boring)
  • % of Households With Kids (higher is more boring)
  • % of Households with People Over 65 (higher is more boring)
  • Population density (lower is more boring)

Then, our algorithm generates several lists of the cities that have plenty of residents with high rankings in all of these categories. After a crunching of the numbers, a list of all of the cities magically appears listing them from most boring to most exciting.

For this list, we used every Minnesota city that qualified for our rankings based on having a population of at least 5,000 residents. This keeps us from prejudicing our rankings by including very small pockets of retired people.

Grab your rocker and hold on.

Advertisement

1. Lake Elmo

Boring Minnesota

Source: Public Domain

Population: 8,062
Average Age: 43.4
Married Households: 65.0%
Households With Kids: 39.5%

2. Mendota Heights

Boring Minnesota

Source: Public Domain

Population: 11,129
Average Age: 48.9
Married Households: 64.2%
Households With Kids: 28.0%

3. Minnetrista

Boring Minnesota

Source: wikipedia

Population: 6,523
Average Age: 40.4
Married Households: 71.2%
Households With Kids: 41.0%

4. Ham Lake

Boring Minnesota

Source: wikipedia

Population: 15,428
Average Age: 41.1
Married Households: 64.1%
Households With Kids: 39.2%

5. Shorewood

Boring Minnesota

Source: wikipedia

Population: 7,397
Average Age: 44.5
Married Households: 64.9%
Households With Kids: 39.3%

6. Corcoran

Boring Minnesota

Source: Public Domain

Population: 5,448
Average Age: 44.4
Married Households: 63.9%
Households With Kids: 33.2%

7. Oak Grove

Boring Minnesota

Source: wikipedia

Population: 8,063
Average Age: 39.8
Married Households: 67.1%
Households With Kids: 38.4%

8. Orono

Boring Minnesota

Source: Public Domain

Population: 7,586
Average Age: 45.5
Married Households: 67.5%
Households With Kids: 27.7%

9. Hermantown

Boring Minnesota

Source: Public Domain

Population: 9,498
Average Age: 41.2
Married Households: 55.8%
Households With Kids: 32.6%

10. Grand Rapids

Boring Minnesota

Source: wikipedia

Population: 10,906
Average Age: 44.6
Married Households: 51.2%
Households With Kids: 25.4%

Now That You’re Asleep

On a list like this, there are usually no winners, but since Minnesota isn’t necessarily the most boring state in the United States, the cities on this list can at least take solace that there are, in fact, more boring cities in the country.

Just not these places.

Detailed List Of Boring Cities In Minnesota

City Rank Population Average Age Married Households Households With Kids
Lake Elmo 1 8,062 43.4 65.0% 39.5%
Mendota Heights 2 11,129 48.9 64.2% 28.0%
Minnetrista 3 6,523 40.4 71.2% 41.0%
Ham Lake 4 15,428 41.1 64.1% 39.2%
Shorewood 5 7,397 44.5 64.9% 39.3%
Corcoran 6 5,448 44.4 63.9% 33.2%
Oak Grove 7 8,063 39.8 67.1% 38.4%
Orono 8 7,586 45.5 67.5% 27.7%
Hermantown 9 9,498 41.2 55.8% 32.6%
Grand Rapids 10 10,906 44.6 51.2% 25.4%
East Bethel 11 11,616 40.5 63.2% 38.1%
Fairmont 12 10,553 46.4 51.7% 24.7%
Lake City 13 5,074 45.6 58.1% 23.4%
Redwood Falls 14 5,202 45.0 48.2% 29.6%
Baxter 15 7,657 38.1 55.7% 33.3%
Victoria 16 7,623 37.2 70.0% 51.7%
Chanhassen 17 23,552 40.1 67.2% 44.4%
Mahtomedi 18 7,839 42.7 58.5% 42.6%
Forest Lake 19 18,651 37.7 57.5% 36.1%
Edina 20 48,574 44.5 59.5% 30.5%
Lino Lakes 21 20,502 38.3 59.6% 48.9%
St. Michael 22 16,557 35.4 73.4% 48.8%
Red Wing 23 16,475 41.0 49.9% 27.5%
Detroit Lakes 24 8,715 43.2 46.8% 29.6%
Andover 25 30,972 37.1 60.8% 47.1%
Rosemount 26 22,131 36.1 60.5% 45.2%
Wyoming 27 7,758 38.1 55.4% 39.1%
Hibbing 28 16,329 41.2 46.4% 26.2%
Montevideo 29 5,312 40.6 49.7% 31.0%
Shoreview 30 25,422 44.7 57.5% 27.7%
Minnetonka 31 50,523 44.8 58.0% 25.8%
Otsego 32 13,871 33.4 66.5% 45.0%
Golden Valley 33 20,594 46.1 53.0% 25.5%
Elk River 34 23,174 35.7 58.8% 41.3%
Ramsey 35 23,997 36.1 61.6% 42.9%
Litchfield 36 6,695 41.1 58.5% 27.6%
Virginia 37 8,680 44.6 39.6% 23.6%
Rogers 38 10,913 35.3 66.5% 48.0%
Cottage Grove 39 34,897 35.1 60.7% 44.5%
Fergus Falls 40 13,216 41.4 49.7% 27.4%
Prior Lake 41 23,417 36.8 62.3% 43.0%
Albert Lea 42 17,972 44.1 46.0% 24.9%
Cloquet 43 12,088 37.4 46.2% 34.1%
Kasson 44 5,963 35.3 60.6% 38.9%
Maple Grove 45 63,065 37.9 63.9% 37.8%
Little Falls 46 8,320 43.9 44.4% 24.4%
Vadnais Heights 47 12,583 44.1 54.1% 26.9%
New Ulm 48 13,372 40.7 48.3% 25.4%
Plymouth 49 71,852 40.0 59.4% 31.9%
Owatonna 50 25,539 38.4 56.0% 33.7%
Inver Grove Heights 51 34,024 38.2 51.6% 33.2%
Mound 52 9,159 43.8 52.2% 26.0%
Stillwater 53 18,390 39.7 55.4% 35.8%
Woodbury 54 63,352 36.0 62.4% 42.8%
Bloomington 55 84,451 42.3 50.3% 25.6%
Hugo 56 13,569 33.7 57.0% 41.1%
North Branch 57 10,077 34.5 53.3% 39.7%
Spring Lake Park 58 6,565 40.9 45.2% 29.1%
Lakeville 59 56,758 35.1 64.0% 47.9%
Jordan 60 5,676 35.1 62.6% 43.1%
International Falls 61 6,393 39.1 45.9% 25.1%
Delano 62 5,522 34.6 58.4% 51.3%
New Prague 63 7,371 34.5 57.3% 40.6%
Waconia 64 10,977 35.5 63.3% 42.9%
White Bear Lake 65 23,994 41.2 50.6% 27.3%
Blaine 66 58,358 35.6 59.3% 39.0%
St. Francis 67 7,228 32.2 56.1% 42.1%
Roseville 68 34,164 42.0 51.4% 23.4%
Eden Prairie 69 61,516 37.5 59.8% 37.4%
Farmington 70 21,442 33.1 65.1% 49.4%
Maplewood 71 38,728 40.1 48.4% 29.8%
Savage 72 27,549 35.0 61.0% 46.3%
Glencoe 73 5,609 34.7 55.4% 38.8%
St. Anthony 74 8,340 45.0 47.7% 20.1%
Champlin 75 23,403 38.9 58.1% 37.6%
East Grand Forks 76 8,565 34.7 57.4% 34.5%
Belle Plaine 77 6,721 31.6 59.3% 42.3%
Cambridge 78 8,161 34.9 43.9% 31.7%
Hutchinson 79 14,042 36.9 54.5% 28.9%
Sartell 80 15,851 34.0 59.5% 40.9%
Arden Hills 81 9,631 36.9 45.1% 24.7%
Apple Valley 82 49,632 37.7 56.5% 34.9%
Austin 83 24,750 37.4 48.1% 32.3%
Waseca 84 9,301 38.0 52.5% 28.7%
Shakopee 85 37,912 32.9 58.3% 44.4%
Chaska 86 23,973 34.2 58.1% 40.9%
Hastings 87 22,227 37.0 50.7% 35.3%
West St. Paul 88 19,643 40.2 47.3% 27.5%
Worthington 89 12,832 31.9 48.8% 41.2%
Faribault 90 23,371 35.8 44.2% 36.1%
Stewartville 91 5,956 35.5 57.2% 33.7%
Albertville 92 7,100 29.1 66.1% 59.9%
North Mankato 93 13,387 36.1 56.1% 32.6%
New Hope 94 20,547 40.2 45.5% 27.8%
Big Lake 95 10,148 31.1 58.0% 50.0%
New Brighton 96 21,695 37.5 50.6% 28.9%
Eagan 97 64,691 36.5 55.8% 34.5%
Oakdale 98 27,568 37.5 47.9% 35.7%
Anoka 99 17,218 38.7 47.3% 30.4%
Buffalo 100 15,592 34.4 53.8% 40.4%
Mounds View 101 12,302 36.5 50.3% 33.9%
Thief River Falls 102 8,652 39.1 45.9% 25.2%
Alexandria 103 11,357 35.4 41.9% 25.1%
Monticello 104 12,841 31.4 54.8% 43.3%
Coon Rapids 105 61,782 36.6 50.5% 34.1%
Rochester 106 108,179 35.2 53.1% 32.4%
St. Paul Park 107 5,296 34.4 50.8% 37.8%
Crystal 108 22,361 38.5 47.4% 30.4%
Fridley 109 27,448 38.0 46.1% 28.5%
Crookston 110 7,881 36.1 38.0% 31.4%
Willmar 111 19,616 34.8 44.9% 30.1%
Brainerd 112 13,553 33.1 36.2% 33.1%
Burnsville 113 60,838 36.5 49.2% 30.9%
Sauk Rapids 114 12,943 31.3 52.4% 42.1%
North St. Paul 115 11,610 38.5 45.9% 27.4%
Little Canada 116 9,914 38.3 44.1% 20.6%
Columbia Heights 117 19,576 36.2 41.1% 29.1%
Brooklyn Park 118 76,781 32.7 49.2% 42.3%
Zimmerman 119 5,217 29.1 47.7% 59.9%
Waite Park 120 6,678 32.5 36.3% 22.2%
Isanti 121 5,319 30.9 46.9% 37.6%
Richfield 122 35,616 36.4 42.3% 27.8%
Brooklyn Center 123 30,367 33.2 41.1% 36.1%
South St. Paul 124 20,318 36.5 45.4% 29.6%
Duluth 125 86,234 32.8 39.7% 25.5%
Bemidji 126 14,123 29.1 30.9% 24.7%
Marshall 127 13,570 30.4 43.2% 31.2%
Robbinsdale 128 14,121 35.9 42.9% 28.9%
Morris 129 5,301 27.0 39.3% 22.4%
St. Peter 130 11,317 26.4 37.1% 37.6%
Falcon Heights 131 5,406 32.6 49.3% 28.7%
Northfield 132 20,228 24.7 38.3% 31.2%
Winona 133 27,585 28.3 33.9% 19.6%
Moorhead 134 38,609 29.0 41.7% 31.4%
St. Joseph 135 6,583 21.7 31.3% 36.7%
St. Louis Park 136 45,960 34.8 45.2% 23.8%
Hopkins 137 17,785 33.2 41.1% 28.2%
St. Paul 138 288,802 31.0 38.4% 31.1%
St. Cloud 139 65,996 29.0 37.4% 24.5%
Mankato 140 39,710 26.2 34.1% 22.7%
Minneapolis 141 389,112 31.6 33.0% 24.4%

About Nick Johnson

Nick Johnson earned his masters in Business Administration from the Drucker School At Claremont Graduate University. He has written for 39 publications across the country and ran the media relations department at Movoto, a real estate portal based in San Francisco. He has been featured in over 500 publications as an expert in real estate and as an authority on real estate trends.

Nick's the creator of the HomeSnacks YouTube channel that now has over 260,000 subscribers and is an excellent source to learn about different parts of the country.

 Boring