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 →

St. Augusta$2,180/mo

Typical home $371K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.76% · Housing →

The difference: $600 a month, about $7,200 a year, between St. Augusta 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.

Report cards

St. Augusta places higher on 10 of 19 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.

Safety

DSt. CloudSafer than 14% of U.S. towns –St. AugustaNot graded

Schools

C−St. CloudBetter than 23% of districts in the state C−St. AugustaBetter than 23% of districts in the state

Health

B−St. CloudHealthier than 49% of U.S. towns A−St. AugustaHealthier than 78% of U.S. towns

8St. Cloud

10St. Augusta

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Highest incomeIncome · 275 towns #240#25 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 273 towns #206#35 Most affordableCost of living · 275 towns #62#202 Most conserved landOutdoors · 268 towns #125#255 HealthiestHealth · 273 towns #231#111 Most activeHealth · 273 towns #198#80 Most walkableOutdoors · 275 towns #122#233 Shortest commuteGetting around · 275 towns #80#179

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

Where they are

St. Cloud and St. Augusta share a border

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

St. CloudSt. Augusta

St. Cloud ↔ St. Augusta5.4 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

652 St. Augusta residents work in St. Cloud (38.5% of its workers)

299 St. Cloud residents work in St. Augusta (1.1% of its workers)

Work & commute in St. Augusta →

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. CloudSt. Augusta

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 23rd

Outdoors & history

St. CloudSt. Augusta

Trails16 mi 3 mi

Conserved land5.2%0.6%

Settled1856 —

National Register places14 1

Archive photos—1

Community

St. CloudSt. Augusta

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. CloudSt. Augusta

People

Population 70,629Highest 3,625Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +4.6%Lowest MN: +7.6% +5.4%Highest MN: +7.6%

Median age 30.6±0.7Lowest 21% below MN 36.3±1.5Highest 6% below MN

Kids under 18 21.9%±1.3Lowest MN: 22.9% 29.7%±6.6Highest MN: 22.9%

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

Age 65+ 13.3%±0.9Highest MN: 17.3% 11.5%±3.6Lowest MN: 17.3%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 30.4%Lowest MN: 39.4% 43.7%Highest MN: 39.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 13.6%±1.1Highest MN: 5.8% 1.8%±1.8Lowest MN: 5.8%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $61,374±$4kLowest 31% below MN $140,227±$40kHighest 57% above MN

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $225,000±$7kLowest 32% below MN $388,400±$40kHighest 18% above MN

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,003±$44 22% below MN —

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,320Lowest 31% below MN $2,936Highest 13% below MN

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 47.5%±4.7Lowest MN: 48.1% 63.1%±53.4Highest MN: 48.1%

St. Augusta and St. Cloud 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% 0%Lowest MN: 9.3%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 48.6%Lowest MN: 72.2% 91.1%Highest MN: 72.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1981Lowest 2 yrs newer than MN 2002Highest 23 yrs newer than MN

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 20 minLowest 13% below MN 25 minHighest 11% above MN

Work from home 8.5%±1.2 MN: 17.6% 8.5%±4.2 MN: 17.6%

Work in townworking residents 44%Highest 4%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 4.3 miLowest 9.3 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.56Highest 0.74Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Waite Park (8%)St. Cloud (38%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others 1% work in St. Augusta38% work in St. Cloud

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 5.2%Highest 0.6%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 16.4 miHighest 3.4 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.4 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 47Highest 2Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 53.4Highest 6.9Lowest

Schools

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

School district STRIDE Academy · MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS—

High school in town Technical Senior High—

Students per teacherat that high school 17.9 —

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.

St. Augusta neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to St. Augusta’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside St. Cloud and St. Augusta

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

Bordering St. Cloud

+ Compare

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 St. Augusta

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $600 more a month in St. Augusta

St. Augusta places higher on 10 of 19 MN lists

St. Cloud and St. Augusta 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 St. Augusta

Bordering St. Cloud

Towns like St. Cloud

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