Grand Lake, Minnesota

Township in St. Louis County · population 2,720 (2020 Census)

Median home: $329,000
Household income: $100,500
Jan low / Jul high: 1° / 76°
Snow a year: 79 in
Tornadoes ≤10 mi since 1950: 0
Median age: 41.3

Grand Lake is a township of 2,720 people in St. Louis County, Minnesota. The median home is worth $329,000, above the typical Minnesota town ($301,800). It ranks easier by car than 84% of Minnesota towns, better for cycling than 74% of Minnesota towns, better for families than 73% of Minnesota towns.

Grand Lake in our rankings:

#3 in 25 Small Towns in Minnesota With the Fewest Tornadoes Since 1950

How Grand Lake ranks

Percentile among Minnesota towns with at least 500 people on The Town Files lifestyle rankings. 50 is typical for the state; 90 means better than 90% of Minnesota towns.

The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025).

Homes and cost of living

The median home in Grand Lake is worth $329,000, above the typical Minnesota town ($301,800). Homes cost about 3.3 times the median household income of $100,500, which is more affordable than 55% of Minnesota towns. Median rent is $1,968 a month. 81.6% of households own their home.

Census ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. "Typical town" = median of Minnesota towns with 500+ people.

Housing	Grand Lake	Typical Minnesota town
Median home value	$329,000	$301,800
Median rent	$1,968	$991
Median household income	$100,500	$87,375
Home value ÷ income	3.3×	3.4×
Homeownership	81.6%	88.6%
Median year built	1979	1979
Seasonal / vacation homes	10.4%	—

Who lives in Grand Lake

People	Grand Lake	Typical Minnesota town
Median age	41.3	42.7
Age 65 and over	16.9%	20.0%
Under 18	20.9%	—
Bachelor's degree or higher	34.9%	26.2%
Below the poverty line	6.7%	6.9%
Veterans	6.0%	—
Born outside the U.S.	1.0%	—
Work from home	25.4%	11.1%
Average commute	30.0 min	24.5 min
Homes with broadband	88.8%	90.2%

Weather in Grand Lake

July highs average 76.4°F and January lows 0.7°F. About 30.9 inches of rain and melted snow fall a year, with 78.6 inches of snow (typical Minnesota town: 47.0 in). Expect about 1 days a year at 90°F or hotter and 184 nights at or below freezing.

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals: average daily high and low by month; precipitation and snowfall in inches. Temperatures from the Duluth Nws station (9.7 mi away); snowfall estimated from the 4 nearest snow stations, weighted by distance.

Tornadoes, storms and disasters

NOAA's Storm Events Database has no tornado within 10 miles of Grand Lake since 1950.

Hail of 1 inch or larger has been reported within 10 miles 32 times; the largest was 3.00 inches on May 14, 2007.

Severe weather in St. Louis County since 1996

NOAA Storm Events Database, St. Louis County, 1996–2026 (all event types recorded since 1996). 39 deaths recorded.

St. Louis County has been included in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1953, most often for fire, flood, drought.

Declared	Incident	Declaration
May 14, 2025	Fire	FM-5583: Munger Shaw Fire
June 28, 2024	Flood	DR-4797: Severe Storms And Flooding
July 19, 2023	Flood	DR-4722: Severe Storms And Flooding
July 13, 2022	Flood	DR-4659: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding
April 7, 2020	Biological	DR-4531: Covid-19 Pandemic

Jobs and pay in St. Louis County

St. Louis County had 95,504 jobs in 2024, paying an average of $60,452 a year. Unemployment was 3.2% in 2023; in Grand Lake itself the ACS puts it at 9.3%.

BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024, private-sector jobs and average annual pay.

Annual average unemployment rate (BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics via USDA ERS).

Public schools in Grand Lake

1 public school with — students.

School	Grades	Students	Per teacher
N.E. REGIONAL CORRECTION CNTR.	8-12	—	—

Towns near Grand Lake

Hermantown, MN
10.7 mi · 10,221 people · home $382,300
Rice Lake, MN
11.0 mi · 4,112 people · home $309,600
Proctor, MN
14.7 mi · 3,120 people · home $224,700
Thomson, MN
15.1 mi · 5,465 people · home $339,000
Duluth, MN
15.4 mi · 86,697 people · home $242,700
Cloquet, MN
15.7 mi · 12,568 people · home $212,700
Superior, WI
21.3 mi · 26,751 people · home $180,400

Grand Lake questions

Is Grand Lake, Minnesota a good place to retire?

On The Town Files lifestyle rankings, Grand Lake scores better for retirees than 33% of Minnesota towns and quieter than 54%. 16.9% of residents are 65 or older (median age 41.3).

How much does a house cost in Grand Lake?

The median owner-occupied home in Grand Lake is valued at $329,000 (Census ACS 2020–2024), against a median household income of $100,500, so homes cost about 3.3 times income. Median rent is $1,968 a month.

What is the weather like in Grand Lake?

July highs average 76.4°F and January lows 0.7°F (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). It gets about 30.9 inches of precipitation a year and 78.6 inches of snow.

Does Grand Lake get tornadoes?

No tornado has been recorded within 10 miles of Grand Lake in NOAA's Storm Events Database since 1950.

How this page is made. Every number comes from public data, matched to Grand Lake's Census boundary (GEOID 2713724956). Comparisons use the median of Minnesota towns with at least 500 people. Weather comes from the nearest NOAA normals station; storm counts use NOAA tornado tracks within 10 miles of the town center.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020–2024)
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census and 2025 Gazetteer (2020 / 2025)
NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals (1991–2020)
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (1950–2026)
FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations (this product uses the FEMA OpenFEMA API but is not endorsed by FEMA) (1953–2026)
NCES Common Core of Data (2023–24)
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; USDA ERS county unemployment (BLS LAUS) (2000–2024)
The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025)

Data snapshot 2026-11-13.