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.

Safety

DSt. CloudSafer than 14% of U.S. towns B−Sauk RapidsSafer than 54% of U.S. towns

Schools

C−St. CloudBetter than 23% of districts in the state BSauk RapidsBetter than 58% of districts in the state

Health

B−St. CloudHealthier than 49% of U.S. towns B+Sauk RapidsHealthier than 66% of U.S. towns

6St. Cloud

16Sauk Rapids

Lists won, of 23 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

SafestSafety · 166 towns #157#90 Highest graduation rateSchools · 238 towns #235#144 Best schoolsSchools · 230 towns #214#131 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 90 towns #35#4 Most trailsOutdoors · 223 towns #148#73 Most walkableOutdoors · 275 towns #122#43 Most activeHealth · 273 towns #198#132 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 273 towns #206#148

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

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $290 more a month in Sauk Rapids

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%

St. Cloud$1,570/mo

Typical home $258K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.03% · or rent about $1,003/mo · Housing →

Sauk Rapids$1,870/mo

Typical home $304K (Zillow) · tax rate 1.08% · or rent about $964/mo · Housing →

The difference: $290 a month, about $3,500 a year, between Sauk Rapids and St. Cloud.

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

St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

St. CloudSauk Rapids

St. Cloud ↔ Sauk Rapids4.8 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

2,672 Sauk Rapids residents work in St. Cloud (39.2% of its workers)

945 St. Cloud residents work in Sauk Rapids (3.4% of its workers)

Work & commute in Sauk Rapids →

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

St. CloudSauk Rapids

Snow a year48″48″

January low3°F 3°F

July high82°F 82°F

Growing season (days)144d 144d

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)52nd 54th

Outdoors & history

St. CloudSauk Rapids

Trails16 mi 5 mi

Conserved land5.2%3.7%

Settled1856 1851

National Register places14 1

Famous people born here—6

Community

St. CloudSauk Rapids

Library hours a week57 hrs —

Colleges in town3 —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined1 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

St. CloudSauk Rapids

People

Population 70,629Highest 13,852Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +4.6%Lowest MN: +7.6% +8.5%Highest MN: +7.6%

Median age 30.6±0.7Lowest 21% below MN 35.3±1.6Highest 9% below MN

Kids under 18 21.9%±1.3Lowest MN: 22.9% 26.1%±2.4Highest MN: 22.9%

Age 65+ 13.3%±0.9Highest MN: 17.3% 12.4%±1.8Lowest MN: 17.3%

St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 30.4%Highest MN: 39.4% 29.3%Lowest MN: 39.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 13.6%±1.1Highest MN: 5.8% 7%±2Lowest MN: 5.8%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $61,374±$4kLowest 31% below MN $71,841±$7kHighest 19% below MN

Sauk Rapids and St. Cloud are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $225,000±$7kLowest 32% below MN $256,100±$10kHighest 22% below MN

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,003±$44Highest 22% below MN $964±$53Lowest 25% below MN

St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,320Lowest 31% below MN $2,778Highest 17% below MN

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 47.5%±4.7Highest MN: 48.1% 35.5%±11.9Lowest MN: 48.1%

St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 20.2%Highest MN: 9.3% 7%Lowest MN: 9.3%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 48.6%Lowest MN: 72.2% 61.2%Highest MN: 72.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1981Lowest 2 yrs newer than MN 1988Highest 9 yrs newer than MN

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 20 minHighest 13% below MN 19 minLowest 15% below MN

Work from home 8.5%±1.2Lowest MN: 17.6% 9.9%±2.4Highest MN: 17.6%

Sauk Rapids and St. Cloud are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 44%Highest 10.5%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 4.3 mi 4.3 mi

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.56Highest 0.71Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Waite Park (8%)St. Cloud (39%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others 3% work in Sauk Rapids39% work in St. Cloud

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 5.2%Highest 3.7%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 16.4 miHighest 5.3 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.4 miLowest 0.8 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 47Highest 8Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 53.4Lowest 76.1Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #214 of 230 in MN #131 of 230 in MN

School district STRIDE Academy · MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONSBenton-Stearns Education District · Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools

High school in town Technical Senior HighSauk Rapids-Rice Senior High

Students per teacherat that high school 17.9Lowest 19.1Highest

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.

St. Cloud neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 1w

Life Along the Mississippi

1 neighbor in St. Cloud can answer.

Sauk Rapids neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Sauk Rapids’s Town Square.

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Bordering St. Cloud

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Minden Township1,428 people · $297K homes

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Haven Township2,164 people · $347K homes

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Waite Park8,399 people · $219K homes

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Le Sauk Township1,446 people · $296K homes

Towns like St. Cloud

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Mankato45,473 people · $262K homes

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Moorhead45,036 people · $249K homes

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Duluth87,093 people · $243K homes

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Brooklyn Center32,479 people · $274K homes

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.

St. Cloud vs Sauk Rapids

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Sauk Rapids places higher on 16 of 23 MN lists

A typical home costs $290 more a month in Sauk Rapids

St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids share a border

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Life Along the Mississippi

Set another town beside St. Cloud and Sauk Rapids

Bordering St. Cloud

Towns like St. Cloud

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