Safest Places to Live in Minnesota of April 2024

Last Update: March 11, 2023 • Living •

Minnesota is located in the northern part of the Midwest region of the United States. It has many lakes, hence its nickname Land of 10,000 Lakes. Its official motto is L’Étoile du Nord (Star of the North).

With over 5,5 million residents, Minnesota is the 22nd most populous state. An interesting fact about its population is that around 60% of Minnesotans live in the Twin City area, including Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The state’s capital is Saint Paul, but the largest city is Minneapolis, with around 400,000 people. These two cities are very close and represent the center of Minnesota’s economic, business, cultural, and political events. The rest of the state largely depends on agriculture, forestry, mining, and tourism.

Ranking Criteria

ElitePersonalFinance extracted the latest data from the FBI crime statistics in the United States. We took violent crime as the main criteria. To get our score, we used this formula:

Crime Score = ( Total Number of Violent Crimes / Population ) * 1,000

This way, safer cities got the lowest score, and those more vulnerable to crimes got higher scores.

The cities that did not report crimes to the FBI and those under 5,000 residents were not included in the list.

50 Safest Places in Minnesota of April 2024

Rank:	City:	Population:	Total Number of Crimes:	Crime Score:
1	Corcoran	6 195	0	0,00
2	Medina	6 852	1	0,15
3	Wayzata	6 560	1	0,15
4	Dayton	6 542	1	0,15
5	Belle Plaine	7 232	2	0,28
6	Minnetrista	10 527	3	0,28
7	West Hennepin	5 670	2	0,35
8	Morris	5 360	2	0,37
9	Big Lake	11 236	5	0,44
10	Plymouth	80 616	37	0,46
11	Wyoming	7 993	4	0,50
12	Farmington	23 335	12	0,51
13	Cold Spring/Richmond	5 656	3	0,53
14	Minnetonka	54 497	30	0,55
15	Northfield	20 707	12	0,58
16	Eagan	66 824	39	0,58
17	Chaska	27 143	16	0,59
18	Elk River	25 081	15	0,60
19	New Ulm	13 205	8	0,61
20	Woodbury	72 527	45	0,62
21	Jordan	6 384	4	0,63
22	Cambridge	9 008	6	0,67
23	Lakeville	67 206	45	0,67
24	Thief River Falls	8 825	6	0,68
25	Orono	20 349	14	0,69
26	Cottage Grove	37 534	29	0,77
27	Lake City	5 140	4	0,78
28	Maple Grove	73 170	58	0,79
29	Eden Prairie	64 777	52	0,80
30	Little Falls	8 669	7	0,81
31	Rogers	13 417	11	0,82
32	Golden Valley	21 934	18	0,82
33	Cloquet	12 009	10	0,83
34	Rosemount	24 961	21	0,84
35	Lino Lakes	21 925	19	0,87
36	Ramsey	27 358	24	0,88
37	Edina	53 076	47	0,89
38	Glencoe	5 444	5	0,92
39	Blaine	66 260	61	0,92
40	Kasson	6 514	6	0,92
41	Hermantown	9 770	9	0,92
42	Sauk Rapids	14 015	13	0,93
43	Apple Valley	54 779	51	0,93
44	South Lake Minnetonka	12 762	12	0,94
45	New Hope	21 147	20	0,95
46	New Prague	8 326	8	0,96
47	St. Joseph	7 227	7	0,97
48	Buffalo	16 421	16	0,97
49	Champlin	25 636	25	0,98
50	St. Anthony	9 172	9	0,98

Crime Score in All Cities in Minnesota of April 2024

If your city didn’t make our list, you could see our full list of Minnesota cities.

We can’t compare crime rates in small and large cities. That’s why ElitePersonalFinance made a detailed analysis and narrowed the results according to population segments:

Under 3,000 Residents
3,000 – 10,000 Residents
10,000 – 30,000 Residents
Over 30,000 Residents

(Other sites don’t include places with under 3,000 residents, but we included them.)

These are the results that we got:

Under 3,000 Residents

Rank:	City:	Population:	Total Number of Crimes:	Crime Score:
1	Comfrey	353	0	0,00
2	McGregor	363	0	0,00
3	Pillager	482	0	0,00
4	Hokah	543	0	0,00
5	Motley	650	0	0,00
6	Brownton	723	0	0,00
7	Cleveland	726	0	0,00
8	Twin Valley	761	0	0,00
9	Lamberton	766	0	0,00
10	West Concord	768	0	0,00
11	Kimball	797	0	0,00
12	Silver Lake	813	0	0,00
13	Henning	814	0	0,00
14	Hallock	899	0	0,00
15	Battle Lake	938	0	0,00
16	Houston	963	0	0,00
17	Eden Valley	1 035	0	0,00
18	Hector	1 045	0	0,00
19	Lake Shore	1 056	0	0,00
20	Atwater	1 110	0	0,00
21	New Richland	1 188	0	0,00
22	Fulda	1 209	0	0,00
23	Adrian	1 220	0	0,00
24	New York Mills	1 228	0	0,00
25	Spring Grove	1 264	0	0,00
26	Preston	1 290	0	0,00
27	Rice	1 389	0	0,00
28	Babbitt	1 498	0	0,00
29	Belgrade/Brooten	1 524	0	0,00
30	Dawson/Boyd	1 547	0	0,00
31	Lewiston	1 558	0	0,00
32	Dundas	1 623	0	0,00
33	Canby	1 674	0	0,00
34	Rushford	1 703	0	0,00
35	Lester Prairie	1 722	0	0,00
36	Silver Bay	1 764	0	0,00
37	Blooming Prairie	1 956	0	0,00
38	Slayton	1 979	0	0,00
39	Springfield	1 999	0	0,00
40	Nisswa	2 066	0	0,00
41	Arlington	2 163	0	0,00
42	Crosslake	2 294	0	0,00
43	Crosby	2 335	0	0,00
44	Breezy Point	2 418	0	0,00
45	Le Center	2 482	0	0,00
46	Foley	2 671	0	0,00
47	Caledonia	2 718	0	0,00
48	Osseo	2 801	0	0,00
49	Montgomery	2 995	0	0,00
50	Albany	2 752	1	0,36
51	Winsted	2 247	1	0,45
52	Hawley	2 223	1	0,45
53	Mapleton	2 203	1	0,45
54	Howard Lake	2 091	1	0,48
55	Braham	1 791	1	0,56
56	Ortonville	1 774	1	0,56
57	Avon	1 597	1	0,63
58	Minneota	1 360	1	0,74
59	Roseau	2 665	2	0,75
60	Wheaton	1 295	1	0,77
61	Clara City	1 282	1	0,78
62	Paynesville	2 510	2	0,80
63	Pequot Lakes	2 328	2	0,86
64	Wells	2 170	2	0,92
65	Tracy	2 094	2	0,96
66	Mountain Lake	2 047	2	0,98
67	Aitkin	1 985	2	1,01
68	Waterville	1 874	2	1,07
69	Pine River	925	1	1,08
70	Granite Falls	2 700	3	1,11
71	Osakis	1 750	2	1,14
72	Barnesville	2 608	3	1,15
73	Glenwood	2 593	3	1,16
74	Lauderdale	2 548	3	1,18
75	Pelican Rapids	2 507	3	1,20
76	Madelia	2 266	3	1,32
77	Moose Lake	2 821	4	1,42
78	Buffalo Lake	680	1	1,47
79	Starbuck	1 255	2	1,59
80	Breitung Township	612	1	1,63
81	Gilbert	1 788	3	1,68
82	Staples	2 945	5	1,70
83	Renville	1 177	2	1,70
84	Hill City	585	1	1,71
85	Floodwood	523	1	1,91
86	Lake Crystal	2 496	5	2,00
87	Wabasha	2 471	5	2,02
88	Walker	930	2	2,15
89	Janesville	2 261	5	2,21
90	Warroad	1 796	4	2,23
91	Blackduck	838	2	2,39
92	Fairfax	1 127	3	2,66
93	Deer River	933	3	3,22
94	Olivia	2 328	8	3,44
95	Milaca	2 909	10	3,44
96	Onamia	861	3	3,48
97	Isle	803	3	3,74
98	Gaylord	2 236	9	4,03
99	Akeley	442	2	4,52
100	Appleton	1 322	6	4,54
101	Clearbrook	520	3	5,77
102	Danube	457	3	6,56

3,000 – 10,000 Residents

Rank:	City:	Population:	Total Number of Crimes:	Crime Score:
1	Benson	3 050	0	0,00
2	Two Harbors	3 523	0	0,00
3	Le Sueur	4 016	0	0,00
4	Corcoran	6 195	0	0,00
5	Medina	6 852	1	0,15
6	Wayzata	6 560	1	0,15
7	Dayton	6 542	1	0,15
8	Elko New Market	4 783	1	0,21
9	Lonsdale	4 141	1	0,24
10	Cannon Falls	4 063	1	0,25
11	Deephaven	3 980	1	0,25
12	Bayport	3 834	1	0,26
13	Belle Plaine	7 232	2	0,28
14	Plainview	3 295	1	0,30
15	West Hennepin	5 670	2	0,35
16	Morris	5 360	2	0,37
17	La Crescent	4 981	2	0,40
18	Oak Park Heights	4 972	2	0,40
19	Wyoming	7 993	4	0,50
20	Cold Spring/Richmond	5 656	3	0,53
21	Melrose	3 642	2	0,55
22	Zumbrota	3 477	2	0,58
23	Ely	3 344	2	0,60
24	Jordan	6 384	4	0,63
25	Blue Earth	3 113	2	0,64
26	Cambridge	9 008	6	0,67
27	Thief River Falls	8 825	6	0,68
28	Goodview	4 149	3	0,72
29	Lake City	5 140	4	0,78
30	St. Charles	3 773	3	0,80
31	Little Falls	8 669	7	0,81
32	Annandale	3 415	3	0,88
33	Sauk Centre	4 492	4	0,89
34	Glencoe	5 444	5	0,92
35	Kasson	6 514	6	0,92
36	Hermantown	9 770	9	0,92
37	New Prague	8 326	8	0,96
38	St. Joseph	7 227	7	0,97
39	St. Anthony	9 172	9	0,98
40	Isanti	5 985	6	1,00
41	Princeton	4 711	5	1,06
42	Lakes Area	9 833	11	1,12
43	Chisholm	4 875	6	1,23
44	Eagle Lake	3 195	4	1,25
45	East Grand Forks	8 597	11	1,28
46	Baxter	8 401	11	1,31
47	Dilworth	4 491	6	1,34
48	St. James	4 426	6	1,36
49	Perham	3 625	5	1,38
50	Detroit Lakes	9 362	14	1,50
51	Long Prairie	3 297	5	1,52
52	Becker	4 957	8	1,61
53	Proctor	3 038	5	1,65
54	Waseca	8 841	15	1,70
55	Montevideo	5 071	9	1,77
56	Sleepy Eye	3 347	6	1,79
57	Litchfield	6 632	12	1,81
58	Breckenridge	3 175	6	1,89
59	St. Paul Park	5 410	11	2,03
60	International Falls	5 871	13	2,21
61	East Range	3 590	8	2,23
62	St. Francis	7 894	19	2,41
63	Redwood Falls	4 951	12	2,42
64	Wadena	4 097	10	2,44
65	Spring Lake Park	6 994	19	2,72
66	Crookston	7 794	23	2,95
67	Eveleth	3 582	11	3,07
68	Park Rapids	4 262	16	3,75
69	Waite Park	7 764	33	4,25
70	Virginia	8 398	41	4,88
71	Windom	4 393	33	7,51

10,000 – 30,000 Residents

Rank:	City:	Population:	Total Number of Crimes:	Crime Score:
1	Minnetrista	10 527	3	0,28
2	Big Lake	11 236	5	0,44
3	Farmington	23 335	12	0,51
4	Northfield	20 707	12	0,58
5	Chaska	27 143	16	0,59
6	Elk River	25 081	15	0,60
7	New Ulm	13 205	8	0,61
8	Orono	20 349	14	0,69
9	Rogers	13 417	11	0,82
10	Golden Valley	21 934	18	0,82
11	Cloquet	12 009	10	0,83
12	Rosemount	24 961	21	0,84
13	Lino Lakes	21 925	19	0,87
14	Ramsey	27 358	24	0,88
15	Sauk Rapids	14 015	13	0,93
16	South Lake Minnetonka	12 762	12	0,94
17	New Hope	21 147	20	0,95
18	Buffalo	16 421	16	0,97
19	Champlin	25 636	25	0,98
20	North Mankato	13 977	14	1,00
21	Owatonna	25 792	27	1,05
22	Winona	26 720	30	1,12
23	Oakdale	28 097	36	1,28
24	North Branch	10 641	14	1,32
25	Mendota Heights	11 373	15	1,32
26	St. Peter	12 032	16	1,33
27	White Bear Lake	26 176	35	1,34
28	New Brighton	23 058	31	1,34
29	Centennial Lakes	11 025	15	1,36
30	Forest Lake	20 457	30	1,47
31	Prior Lake	27 362	42	1,53
32	Marshall	13 511	21	1,55
33	North St. Paul	12 595	20	1,59
34	Hastings	22 774	39	1,71
35	Hopkins	18 735	33	1,76
36	Grand Rapids	11 267	20	1,78
37	Mounds View	13 307	27	2,03
38	Alexandria	13 914	29	2,08
39	Austin	25 224	54	2,14
40	Albert Lea	17 597	38	2,16
41	Hutchinson	13 960	31	2,22
42	South St. Paul	20 148	46	2,28
43	Red Wing	16 408	38	2,32
44	Worthington	13 329	31	2,33
45	Anoka	17 591	44	2,50
46	Faribault	23 913	61	2,55
47	Hibbing	15 895	41	2,58
48	Crystal	23 184	60	2,59
49	Fairmont	10 023	26	2,59
50	Columbia Heights	20 632	60	2,91
51	Fridley	27 805	88	3,16
52	Fergus Falls	13 900	47	3,38
53	Robbinsdale	14 555	56	3,85
54	West St. Paul	19 694	82	4,16
55	Willmar	19 684	84	4,27
56	Brainerd	13 449	63	4,68
57	Bemidji	15 550	83	5,34

Over 30,000 Residents

Rank:	City:	Population:	Total Number of Crimes:	Crime Score:
1	Plymouth	80 616	37	0,46
2	Minnetonka	54 497	30	0,55
3	Eagan	66 824	39	0,58
4	Woodbury	72 527	45	0,62
5	Lakeville	67 206	45	0,67
6	Cottage Grove	37 534	29	0,77
7	Maple Grove	73 170	58	0,79
8	Eden Prairie	64 777	52	0,80
9	Edina	53 076	47	0,89
10	Blaine	66 260	61	0,92
11	Apple Valley	54 779	51	0,93
12	Savage	32 336	35	1,08
13	Burnsville	61 306	103	1,68
14	St. Louis Park	49 535	89	1,80
15	Shakopee	41 892	81	1,93
16	Richfield	36 100	73	2,02
17	Rochester	118 267	254	2,15
18	Inver Grove Heights	35 668	78	2,19
19	Roseville	36 750	83	2,26
20	Bloomington	85 902	203	2,36
21	Mankato	42 955	110	2,56
22	Duluth	85 846	292	3,40
23	Brooklyn Center	31 000	108	3,48
24	Brooklyn Park	81 211	299	3,68
25	Maplewood	41 341	158	3,82
26	St. Cloud	68 311	298	4,36
27	St. Paul	310 263	1 752	5,65
28	Minneapolis	431 016	3 990	9,26