A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Rockford Township$2,430/mo

Typical home $405K (Census) · tax rate 0.92% · or rent about $1,359/mo · Housing →

Hanover$2,770/mo

Typical home $452K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.06% · or rent about $1,853/mo · Housing →

The difference: $330 a month, about $4,000 a year, between Hanover and Rockford Township.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Where they are

Rockford Township and Hanover share a border

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Rockford TownshipHanover

Rockford Township ↔ Hanover7.3 miles apart · They share a border

Report cards

Hanover places higher on 13 of 18 MN lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Minnesota ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Schools

–Rockford TownshipNot graded A−HanoverBetter than 80% of districts in the state

Health

A−Rockford TownshipHealthier than 78% of U.S. towns AHanoverHealthier than 93% of U.S. towns

3Rockford Township

13Hanover

Lists won, of 18 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most conserved landOutdoors · 268 towns #251#45 Most educatedPeople · 275 towns #183#43 Fastest growingGrowth · 272 towns #155#24 Highest incomeIncome · 275 towns #128#13 Cheapest rentCost of living · 257 towns #157#237 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 273 towns #89#8 HealthiestHealth · 273 towns #112#31 Lowest obesityHealth · 273 towns #138#61

Left end = #1 in Minnesota. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Rockford Township’s rankings →

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Rockford TownshipHanover

Snow a year45″45″

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)79th 56th

Outdoors & history

Rockford TownshipHanover

Trails0 mi 2 mi

Conserved land0.7%11.4%

Settled1856 —

National Register places—1

Archive photos12 —

Community

Rockford TownshipHanover

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Minnesota average

Rockford TownshipHanover

People

Population 3,407Lowest 3,626Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +5.5%Lowest MN: +7.6% +20.8%Highest MN: +7.6%

Median age 43.3±7.8Highest 12% above MN 36.1±2.5Lowest 7% below MN

Rockford Township and Hanover are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 29.4%±7.2Lowest MN: 22.9% 33.1%±5.4Highest MN: 22.9%

Hanover and Rockford Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 17.8%±4.5Highest MN: 17.3% 7.9%±2.3Lowest MN: 17.3%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 27.5%Lowest MN: 39.4% 52.4%Highest MN: 39.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.4%±1.8Lowest MN: 5.8% 3.2%±1.7Highest MN: 5.8%

Hanover and Rockford Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $93,378±$31kLowest 5% above MN $156,536±$14kHighest 76% above MN

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $404,900±$46kLowest 23% above MN $447,900±$21kHighest 36% above MN

Hanover and Rockford Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,359±$50Lowest 6% above MN $1,853±$1kHighest 45% above MN

Hanover and Rockford Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $3,723Lowest 11% above MN $4,755Highest 42% above MN

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 4.9%±12.8Lowest MN: 48.1% 28%±21.9Highest MN: 48.1%

Hanover and Rockford Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 0.9%Highest MN: 9.3% 0.6%Lowest MN: 9.3%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 88.6%Lowest MN: 72.2% 93%Highest MN: 72.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1978Lowest 1 yr older than MN 2003Highest 24 yrs newer than MN

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 35 minHighest 53% above MN 31 minLowest 35% above MN

Work from home 17.6%±6Lowest MN: 17.6% 27.4%±5Highest MN: 17.6%

Hanover and Rockford Township are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 2.3%Highest 1.9%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 18.8 miHighest 18.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.40Highest 0.37Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Plymouth (9%)Minneapolis (11%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in HanoverFew work in Rockford Township

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 0.7%Lowest 11.4%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 0.2 miLowest 1.9 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.0 miLowest 0.3 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 2 2

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 4.0Lowest 26.2Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading —#10 of 230 in MN

School district —Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools

High school in town —None in town

Minnesota average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Rockford Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Rockford Township’s Town Square.

Hanover neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Hanover’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Rockford Township and Hanover

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Rockford Township

+ Compare

Franklin Township2,904 people · $638K homes

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Rockford4,597 people · $329K homes

+ Compare

Greenfield2,894 people · $568K homes

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Buffalo16,499 people · $314K homes

Towns like Rockford Township

+ Compare

Cambridge Township2,534 people · $373K homes

+ Compare

Columbus4,248 people · $460K homes

+ Compare

Rockville2,452 people · $366K homes

+ Compare

Maple Lake Township2,490 people · $470K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Minnesota towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Rockford Township vs Hanover

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $330 more a month in Hanover

Rockford Township and Hanover share a border

Hanover places higher on 13 of 18 MN lists

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Rockford Township and Hanover

Bordering Rockford Township

Towns like Rockford Township

Post to Rockford Township

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