The Town Files

The 14 Quietest Small Towns in Minnesota

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 165 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Minnesota. #1 is Columbus, MN.

Map of the 14 towns1234567891011121314
Numbers match the ranking.
The 14 Quietest Small Towns in Minnesota1. Columbus90th pct2. Thomson86th pct3. Afton85th pct4. Watab82nd pct5. Mountain Iron82nd pct6. Harris76th pct7. Pokegama75th pct8. Cohasset75th pct9. Linwood67th pct10. White67th pct11. Brockway66th pct12. Zumbrota63rd pct13. Palmer60th pct14. Blue Hill60th pct
  1. 14Blue Hill, Minnesota

    Quieter than 60% of Minnesota towns

    2,507 people · Sherburne County · median home $373,300 · income $108,113 · Jan low 4°F · 49 in snow

  2. 13Palmer, Minnesota

    Quieter than 60% of Minnesota towns

    2,517 people · Sherburne County · median home $382,700 · income $120,625 · Jan low 3°F · 48 in snow

  3. 12Zumbrota, Minnesota

    Quieter than 63% of Minnesota towns

    3,726 people · Goodhue County · median home $249,300 · income $78,156 · Jan low 4°F · 44 in snow

  4. 11Brockway, Minnesota

    Quieter than 66% of Minnesota towns

    2,895 people · Stearns County · median home $363,000 · income $116,250 · Jan low 0°F · 51 in snow

  5. 10White, Minnesota

    Quieter than 67% of Minnesota towns

    3,136 people · St. Louis County · median home $123,600 · income $55,293 · Jan low -7°F · 76 in snow

  6. 9Linwood, Minnesota

    Quieter than 67% of Minnesota towns

    5,334 people · Anoka County · median home $380,100 · income $115,972 · Jan low 3°F · 52 in snow

  7. 8Cohasset, Minnesota

    Quieter than 75% of Minnesota towns

    2,689 people · Itasca County · median home $330,500 · income $92,692 · Jan low -3°F · 60 in snow

  8. 7Pokegama, Minnesota

    Quieter than 75% of Minnesota towns

    2,825 people · Pine County · median home $316,000 · income $77,888 · Jan low -1°F · 45 in snow

  9. 6Harris, Minnesota

    Quieter than 76% of Minnesota towns

    3,276 people · Itasca County · median home $301,800 · income $79,243 · Jan low -1°F · 60 in snow

  10. 5Mountain Iron, Minnesota

    Quieter than 82% of Minnesota towns

    2,878 people · St. Louis County · median home $192,800 · income $83,293 · Jan low -1°F · 69 in snow

  11. 4Watab, Minnesota

    Quieter than 82% of Minnesota towns

    3,402 people · Benton County · median home $318,200 · income $99,018 · Jan low 0°F · 52 in snow

  12. 3Afton, Minnesota

    Quieter than 85% of Minnesota towns

    2,955 people · Washington County · median home $679,300 · income $133,305 · Jan low 6°F · 47 in snow

  13. 2Thomson, Minnesota

    Quieter than 86% of Minnesota towns

    5,465 people · Carlton County · median home $339,000 · income $119,338 · Jan low 2°F · 71 in snow

  14. 1Columbus, Minnesota

    Quieter than 90% of Minnesota towns

    4,159 people · Anoka County · median home $460,200 · income $123,194 · Jan low 2°F · 44 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, Minnesota towns0255075100$98K$251K$403K$556K$709KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 14 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in Minnesota.

More Minnesota rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 165 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Minnesota (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: