Living in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.4% below the U.S. average in the St. Cloud metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood22 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.6 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 10.1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town8 public schools: 4 elementary, 2 middle and 2 high schools.
A hospital close byCentracare - St. Cloud Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityMinneapolis is about 61 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Sauk Rapids meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Sauk Rapids runs into the built-up area around St. Cloud (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $256,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 13%Benton County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $964 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $71,841U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 61%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,778 a yearMinnesota: $3,357
Homes built before 1940: 10%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 11%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 87.6U.S. average = 100 (the St. Cloud metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 13% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the St. Cloud metro area, not Sauk Rapids alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 13,7682020: 13,902
Median age: 35.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 12%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 29%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 10%U.S.: 6%
College students: 7%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (31%); manufacturing (16%); retail (10%)
Unemployment rate: 4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 7%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Centracare - St. Cloud Hospital, Saint Cloud, MN, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

8 public schools in Sauk Rapids, run by Sauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools and Saint Cloud Math and Science Academ.

Colleges in or next to town: Saint Cloud State University (10,000 to 19,999 students); St Cloud Technical and Community College (1,000 to 4,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Minnesota's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 93%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 3°F
July average high: 82°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 9 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 172 a year
Rain and melted snow: 28.5 inches a year
Snow: 48 inches a year
Elevation: 1,078 feet

Weather station: St Cloud Rgnl Ap (6 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

St. Cloud, MNCity of 73,0005

Minneapolis, MNMetro of 3.8 million61

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: St. Cloud, Minneapolis.

Benton County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area39 miles

Campus life. Check Saint Cloud State University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Sauk Rapids's history on Wikipedia.

Know Sauk Rapids?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Sartell, MN19,900 people, 3 miles
St. Cloud, MN73,000 people, 5 miles
Waite Park, MN8,500 people, 7 miles
St. Joseph, MN6,800 people, 8 miles
St. Augusta, MN3,800 people, 10 miles
Rockville, MN2,500 people, 12 miles

Smaller places

St. Stephen, MN827 people, 9 miles
St. John's University, MN (unincorporated)1,580 people, 12 miles
Clear Lake, MN689 people, 12 miles
Gilman, MN255 people, 14 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.