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%

Watab Township$1,900/mo

Typical home $318K (Census) · tax rate 0.86% · or rent about $959/mo · Housing →

Rockford Township$2,430/mo

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

The difference: $540 a month, about $6,400 a year, between Rockford Township and Watab 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.

Report cards

Watab Township places higher on 10 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.

Health

B+Watab TownshipHealthier than 72% of U.S. towns A−Rockford TownshipHealthier than 78% of U.S. towns

10Watab Township

5Rockford Township

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

Shortest commuteGetting around · 275 towns #127#269 Lowest obesityHealth · 273 towns #252#138 Most remote workersWork · 272 towns #207#100 Lowest property taxCost of living · 275 towns #83#180 Cheapest rentCost of living · 257 towns #71#157 Highest graduation rateSchools · 238 towns #144#66 Closest to a top hospitalHealth · 275 towns #105#189 Fewest smokersHealth · 273 towns #167#86

Left end = #1 in Minnesota. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Watab 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

Watab TownshipRockford Township

Snow a year48″45″

January low3°F —

July high82°F —

Growing season (days)144d —

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)82nd 79th

Outdoors & history

Watab TownshipRockford Township

Trails5 mi 0 mi

Conserved land3.3%0.7%

Settled—1856

Archive photos—12

Community

Watab TownshipRockford Township

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.

Where they are

43 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Watab TownshipBenton County Rockford TownshipWright County

Watab Township ↔ Rockford Township43 miles apart

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

Watab TownshipRockford Township

People

Population 3,433Highest 3,407Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +10%Highest MN: +7.6% +5.5%Lowest MN: +7.6%

Median age 44.2±2.6Highest 14% above MN 43.3±7.8Lowest 12% above MN

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

Kids under 18 25.9%±5.3Lowest MN: 22.9% 29.4%±7.2Highest MN: 22.9%

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

Age 65+ 12.6%±3.4Lowest MN: 17.3% 17.8%±4.5Highest MN: 17.3%

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

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 28%Highest MN: 39.4% 27.5%Lowest MN: 39.4%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 2.1%±1.6Lowest MN: 5.8% 2.4%±1.8Highest MN: 5.8%

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

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $99,018±$30kHighest 11% above MN $93,378±$31kLowest 5% above MN

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

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $318,200±$48kLowest 3% below MN $404,900±$46kHighest 23% above MN

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

Rentmedian gross, monthly $959±$604Lowest 25% below MN $1,359±$50Highest 6% above MN

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

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,736Lowest 18% below MN $3,723Highest 11% above MN

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 50.8%±41.4Highest MN: 48.1% 4.9%±12.8Lowest MN: 48.1%

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

Below poverty line 6.6%Highest MN: 9.3% 0.9%Lowest MN: 9.3%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 95.3%Highest MN: 72.2% 88.6%Lowest MN: 72.2%

Typical home builtmedian year 1988Highest 9 yrs newer than MN 1978Lowest 1 yr older than MN

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 23 minLowest about the MN average 35 minHighest 53% above MN

Work from home 8.5%±3.9Lowest MN: 17.6% 17.6%±6Highest MN: 17.6%

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

Work in townworking residents 2.3% 2.3%

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 10.3 miLowest 18.8 miHighest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.32Lowest 0.40Highest

Top workplaceoutside town St. Cloud (33%)Plymouth (9%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Rockford TownshipFew work in Watab Township

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 3.3%Highest 0.7%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 4.7 miHighest 0.2 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.2 miHighest 0.0 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 1Lowest 2Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 6.7Highest 4.0Lowest

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.

Watab Township neighborsTown Square →

T Weaver · 1w

Watab Neighborhood Life

1 neighbor in Watab Township can answer.

Rockford Township neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Rockford Township’s Town Square.

Add a town

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Bordering Watab Township

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Wakefield Township2,800 people · $395K 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.

Watab Township vs Rockford Township

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $540 more a month in Rockford Township

Watab Township places higher on 10 of 18 MN lists

What daily life feels like in each

43 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Watab Neighborhood Life

Set another town beside Watab Township and Rockford Township

Bordering Watab Township

Towns like Watab Township

Post to Watab Township

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