The 10 Worst Small Towns In Minnesota For 2022


Using science and data, we can tell you which teeny specks in MN are the pits.

Sam Sparkes, RoadSnacks
April 7, 2022 - 91,180 views
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Editor’s Note: This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out we updated this article for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the worst small places to live in Minnesota.

Most Americans have never been to Minnesota. However, as the people who live there know, Minnesota is an awesome state.

But is it all roses? Definitely not. Just like any other state, Minnesota has its trouble spots. This article aims to determine, using science, the absolute worst small towns to live in the North Star State. Don't shoot the messenger, this is all using data.

After analyzing more than 213 of Minnesota's smallest cities, we came up with this list as the 10 worst small towns in Minnesota where you'd never want to live:

These are the worst small towns in Minnesota for 2022:

  1. Redby
  2. Red Lake
  3. Appleton
  4. Keewatin
  5. Mahnomen
  6. Crosby
  7. Aurora
  8. Sandstone
  9. Hilltop
  10. Hinckley

So what is the worst small town to call home in Minnesota for 2022? According to the most recent census data, Redby is the worst small town to live in Minnesota.

Of course, many of these cities would rank highly if they were in other states, since Minnesota has its stuff figured out.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers, or scroll to the bottom to see how your town ranked.

And if you already know about the small towns, check out the best places to live in Minnesota or the worst places to live in Minnesota.

If you're looking for something more national, check out the worst cities in America or the worst states in America.

The 10 Worst Small Towns In Minnesota For 2022

1. Redby

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,500
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $1,000 (1000th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 17.5% (2nd worst)
More on Redby:  Data

2. Red Lake

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,593
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $97,300 (38th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 22.6% (worst)
More on Red Lake:  Data

3. Appleton

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,339
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 2)
Median Home Value: $54,300 (2nd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 5.8% (45th worst)
More on Appleton:  Data

4. Keewatin

Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 1,255
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $61,800 (3rd worst)
Unemployment Rate: 6.6% (35th worst)
More on Keewatin:  Data

5. Mahnomen

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,160
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 2)
Median Home Value: $69,300 (7th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 10.1% (9th worst)
More on Mahnomen:  Data

6. Crosby

Crosby, MN

Source: Wikipedia User Elkman | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,780
Rank Last Year: 10 (Up 4)
Median Home Value: $101,300 (46th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 6.9% (30th worst)
More on Crosby:  Data | Photos

7. Aurora

Overall SnackAbility

3
/10

Population: 1,679
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 5)
Median Home Value: $62,200 (4th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.8% (13th worst)
More on Aurora:  Data

8. Sandstone

Sandstone, MN

Source: Wikipedia User Paul VanDerWerf | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 2,624
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 5)
Median Home Value: $78,800 (16th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 5.2% (5worst)
More on Sandstone:  Data | Photos

9. Hilltop

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,007
Rank Last Year: 9 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $19,500 (worst)
Unemployment Rate: 14.7% (4th worst)
More on Hilltop:  Data

10. Hinckley

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 1,499
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 2)
Median Home Value: $124,200 (74th worst)
Unemployment Rate: 8.7% (15th worst)
More on Hinckley:  Data

How do you decide if a place is lousy or not?

In order to rank the worst small towns to live in Minnesota, we had to determine what criteria people like or dislike about a place. It isn't a stretch to assume that people like low crime, solid education, things to do and a stable economy.

So we scraped the internet for those criteria, and it spit out the answer. Like magic.

How we determined the worst small towns to live in Minnesota for 2022

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible. Using FBI crime data and the Census's 2016-2020 American Community Survey, this is the criteria we used:

  • Population Density (The lower the worse)
  • Highest Unemployment Rates
  • Low housing costs (meaning there's no demand)
  • Adjusted Median Income (Median income adjusted for the cost of living)
  • Education (Number of high school dropouts)
  • High Crime

We looked at cities with populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, of which, there were a lot - 213 to be exact.

Additional note: We get the crime numbers from the FBI, which gets its crime numbers from the cities themselves. Dropout numbers are based on the adult population, not just the current graduation rates of teenagers.

This list is a scientific analysis based on real data and is completely unbiased.

There You Have It - The Worst Small Towns In Minnesota

If you're analyzing teeny places in the North Star State with the worst economic situations, where there's high crime and there's not a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

If you're curious enough, here are the best small towns to live in Minnesota, according to science:

  1. Lonsdale (Pop. 4,102)
  2. Birchwood Village (Pop. 1,067)
  3. Deephaven (Pop. 3,904)

For more Minnesota reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Worst Small Towns In Minnesota

Rank Town Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 Redby 1,500 17.5% $1,000
2 Red Lake 1,593 22.6% $97,300
3 Appleton 1,339 5.8% $54,300
4 Keewatin 1,255 6.6% $61,800
5 Mahnomen 1,160 10.1% $69,300
6 Crosby 2,780 6.9% $101,300
7 Aurora 1,679 8.8% $62,200
8 Sandstone 2,624 5.2% $78,800
9 Hilltop 1,007 14.7% $19,500
10 Hinckley 1,499 8.7% $124,200
11 Menahga 1,053 5.1% $112,500
12 Wadena 4,145 14.2% $103,400
13 Winnebago 1,261 4.2% $72,500
14 Staples 2,613 6.2% $92,700
15 Bagley 1,308 3.7% $96,800
16 St. James 4,414 4.5% $81,400
17 Ortonville 2,017 4.3% $94,200
18 Pelican Rapids 2,512 3.1% $119,400
19 Park Rapids 4,151 4.1% $173,500
20 Mountain Lake 2,022 6.3% $82,300
21 Long Prairie 3,308 8.1% $98,200
22 Clara City 1,510 9.7% $113,200
23 Warroad 2,051 6.8% $134,000
24 Nashwauk 1,104 9.8% $90,400
25 Ely 3,338 4.0% $119,400
26 Moose Lake 2,804 1.0% $126,900
27 Coleraine 1,660 6.1% $151,100
28 Braham 1,721 5.9% $136,000
29 Rush City 3,175 6.3% $156,700
30 Renville 1,271 6.3% $74,700
31 Tyler 1,289 3.3% $83,800
32 Princeton 4,701 4.4% $148,000
33 Eveleth 3,592 2.5% $74,000
34 Spring Grove 1,446 7.7% $94,900
35 Tracy 2,180 5.6% $79,000
36 Pipestone 4,046 3.8% $84,400
37 Eden Valley 1,017 2.4% $117,800
38 Carlton 1,006 13.2% $142,300
39 Perham 3,506 8.5% $146,100
40 Olivia 2,397 5.4% $128,600
41 Aitkin 2,253 5.5% $133,000
42 Belgrade 1,027 3.2% $98,200
43 Elbow Lake 1,166 4.2% $81,900
44 Le Center 2,651 8.0% $137,000
45 Pierz 1,573 5.6% $132,200
46 Paynesville 2,525 4.7% $129,800
47 Mora 3,519 1.2% $135,500
48 Milaca 2,894 3.3% $139,400
49 Pine City 3,113 7.3% $151,200
50 Fosston 1,451 3.1% $105,300
51 Osakis 1,744 4.9% $132,600
52 Chisholm 4,879 10.2% $79,600
53 Royalton 1,186 3.8% $146,300
54 Spring Valley 2,395 4.2% $111,900
55 Slayton 1,953 3.9% $100,300
56 New York Mills 1,249 3.6% $108,000
57 Gilbert 1,828 3.0% $97,700
58 Windom 4,423 6.8% $114,000
59 Blue Earth 3,128 3.9% $89,300
60 Buhl 1,089 9.4% $93,500
61 Frazee 1,388 5.1% $147,100
62 Parkers Prairie 1,119 3.7% $109,700
63 Stacy 1,960 5.8% $155,000
64 Wheaton 1,401 4.2% $68,700
65 Hoyt Lakes 2,099 14.9% $67,700
66 Edgerton 1,257 2.1% $94,900
67 Madelia 2,539 2.2% $127,100
68 Hector 1,093 0.5% $86,600
69 Cokato 2,726 4.5% $150,700
70 Pequot Lakes 2,128 7.2% $171,100
71 Warren 1,601 3.1% $107,900
72 Babbitt 1,454 2.2% $73,800
73 Wells 2,367 3.6% $78,000
74 Preston 1,192 1.5% $126,200
75 Truman 1,083 1.9% $77,700
76 Le Sueur 4,028 1.7% $155,800
77 Breckenridge 3,198 7.4% $113,500
78 Kenyon 1,865 4.3% $134,300
79 Fairfax 1,135 3.3% $81,800
80 Granite Falls 2,636 0.7% $124,800
81 Minneota 1,307 4.8% $112,700
82 Lexington 2,276 7.8% $199,800
83 Redwood Falls 4,977 1.1% $125,400
84 Wabasha 2,655 7.2% $171,000
85 Gaylord 1,958 4.5% $134,700
86 Blooming Prairie 1,939 4.0% $125,300
87 Jackson 3,208 4.2% $112,200
88 Glenwood 2,563 0.9% $156,900
89 Shafer 1,155 6.0% $171,100
90 New Richland 1,039 4.4% $102,200
91 Melrose 3,651 2.0% $132,600
92 Arlington 2,451 2.2% $148,400
93 Madison 1,647 1.7% $76,600
94 Roseau 2,686 4.1% $141,800
95 Ada 1,912 8.4% $99,300
96 Montrose 3,505 5.2% $194,900
97 Winsted 2,036 0.5% $150,900
98 Silver Bay 1,610 2.8% $94,900
99 Dassel 1,443 2.2% $150,900
100 Caledonia 2,759 1.6% $111,600
Download The Entire Minnesota Ranking Data

How Is The Area In ?

 Worst