These Are Now The 25 Best Places To Live In Minnesota

What are the best places to live in Minnesota? How does where you live rate? A new ranking just out identifies a city with a population of just over 5,000 people as the best place in the entire state.

The team at the website Niche published their ranking of the 25 best places to live in Minnesota for 2025, using a variety of factors to identify what the best places are.

The website, known for its in-depth information and rankings about schools and the communities in which their located, provided grades in a series of categories to score each city around the state.

Those categories include things like cost of living, crime and safety, housing, jobs, housing options, public schools in the area, the average commute, nightlife options, and more.

READ MORE: These are the best-rated local coffee shops in Northern Minnesota

One area that each Minnesota city universally suffered in was in the category of weather, with most cities earning C-grades, ranging from C+ to C-.

Each of the cities in Niche's top 25 list earned an overall A+ combined grade, with each place having different grades on various categories.

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Below this list, I'll also share some of the other notable population centers in Minnesota that barely missed the cut and what their scores were.

How do other cities in Minnesota rate?

The list above is clearly very Twin Cities area-centric, with no outstate places making the top 25. That doesn't mean there aren't other great places to live in Minnesota.

Here's a look at some of the cities that didn't make the top 25 list and how they scored.

Duluth: Overall A- grade, with the highest individual categories being nightlife (A), commute (A), and outdoor activities (A-). Surrounding communities include Hermantown with a B+ overall grade and Proctor with a B overall grade.

St. Cloud: Overall B grade, with the highest individual categories being commute (A), diversity (A), and nightlife (A-). Surrounding communities include Sartell with an A- overall grade, Sauk Rapids with a B overall grade, and Waite Park with a B- overall grade.

Rochester: Overall A grade, with the highest individual categories being commute (A), jobs (A), diversity (A-), and being good for families (A-).

Owatonna: Overall B+ grade, with the highest individual categories being commute (A-), housing (B+), jobs (B+), cost of living (B+), diversity (B+), and being good for families (B+).

Alexandria: Overall B grade, with the highest individual categories being public schools (A-) and commute (A-).

Brainerd: Overall B- grade, with the highest individual categories being commute (A-), public schools (B+), cost of living (B+), outdoor activities (B+), and nightlife (B+). Nearby communities include Baxter with a B grade overall and Nisswa with an A- grade overall.

Bemidji: Overall B+ grade, with the highest individual categories being commute (A), nightlife (A-), diversity (A-), and outdoor activities (A-).

Mankato: Overall B+ grade, with the highest individual categories being commute (A), nightlife (A), and public schools (A-).

Moorhead: Overall A- grade with the highest individual categories being commute (A), being good for families (B+), jobs (B+), and nightlife (B+).

Grand Rapids: Overall B grade, with the highest individual categories being commute (A), public schools (B+), and outdoor activities (B+).

Iron Range Cities: Here's a brief rundown of the largest cities on the Iron Range and their overall grades:

• Hibbing: B
• Eveleth: B
• Virginia: B-
• Chisholm: B-