Morse, Minnesota

Township in Itasca County · population 555 (2020 Census)

Median home: $211,700
Household income: $79,063
Jan low / Jul high: -3° / 78°
Snow a year: 44 in
Tornadoes ≤10 mi since 1950: 2
Median age: 37.1

Morse is a township of 555 people in Itasca County, Minnesota. The median home is worth $211,700, below the typical Minnesota town ($301,800). It ranks better for a vacation home than 95% of Minnesota towns, quieter than 78% of Minnesota towns.

How Morse 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 Morse is worth $211,700, below the typical Minnesota town ($301,800). Homes cost about 2.7 times the median household income of $79,063, which is more affordable than 79% of Minnesota towns. Median rent is $1,083 a month. 93.9% of households own their home.

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

Housing	Morse	Typical Minnesota town
Median home value	$211,700	$301,800
Median rent	$1,083	$991
Median household income	$79,063	$87,375
Home value ÷ income	2.7×	3.4×
Homeownership	93.9%	88.6%
Median year built	1979	1979
Seasonal / vacation homes	7.7%	—

Who lives in Morse

People	Morse	Typical Minnesota town
Median age	37.1	42.7
Age 65 and over	16.9%	20.0%
Under 18	27.1%	—
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.0%	26.2%
Below the poverty line	8.5%	6.9%
Veterans	9.0%	—
Born outside the U.S.	1.9%	—
Work from home	6.7%	11.1%
Average commute	25.8 min	24.5 min
Homes with broadband	93.0%	90.2%

Weather in Morse

July highs average 78.3°F and January lows -2.9°F. About 27.7 inches of rain and melted snow fall a year, with 44.1 inches of snow (typical Minnesota town: 47.0 in). Expect about 2 days a year at 90°F or hotter and 185 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 Pokegama Dam station (14.3 mi away); snowfall estimated from the 4 nearest snow stations, weighted by distance.

Tornadoes, storms and disasters

2 tornadoes have passed within 10 miles of Morse since 1950, compared with 14 for the typical Minnesota town. The strongest, an EF1, struck on May 30, 2022 about 2.4 miles from the town center. The most recent was on May 30, 2022.

NOAA Storm Events Database, tornado tracks (start to end point) passing within 10 miles of the town center, 1950–2026.

Hail of 1 inch or larger has been reported within 10 miles 14 times; the largest was 2.00 inches on August 1, 2002.

Severe weather in Itasca County since 1996

NOAA Storm Events Database, Itasca County, 1996–2026 (all event types recorded since 1996). 5 deaths recorded.

Itasca County has been included in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1953, most often for flood, drought, hurricane.

Declared	Incident	Declaration
June 28, 2024	Flood	DR-4797: Severe Storms And Flooding
August 9, 2022	Severe Storm	DR-4666: Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, And Flooding
April 7, 2020	Biological	DR-4531: Covid-19 Pandemic
March 13, 2020	Biological	EM-3453: Covid-19
September 5, 2018	Flood	DR-4390: Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding

Jobs and pay in Itasca County

Itasca County had 16,608 jobs in 2024, paying an average of $54,071 a year. Unemployment was 4.6% in 2023; in Morse itself the ACS puts it at 8.9%.

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).

Towns near Morse

Deer River, MN
3.0 mi · 909 people · home $111,200
Deer River, MN
5.6 mi · 644 people · home $218,800
Cohasset, MN
11.6 mi · 2,689 people · home $330,500
Wabana, MN
16.4 mi · 503 people · home $302,900
Arbo, MN
16.8 mi · 862 people · home $263,700
Grand Rapids, MN
16.9 mi · 11,126 people · home $213,800
La Prairie, MN
18.9 mi · 653 people · home $212,800
Coleraine, MN
19.8 mi · 2,006 people · home $211,800

Morse questions

Is Morse, Minnesota a good place to retire?

On The Town Files lifestyle rankings, Morse scores better for retirees than 55% of Minnesota towns and quieter than 78%. 16.9% of residents are 65 or older (median age 37.1).

How much does a house cost in Morse?

The median owner-occupied home in Morse is valued at $211,700 (Census ACS 2020–2024), against a median household income of $79,063, so homes cost about 2.7 times income. Median rent is $1,083 a month.

What is the weather like in Morse?

July highs average 78.3°F and January lows -2.9°F (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). It gets about 27.7 inches of precipitation a year and 44.1 inches of snow.

Does Morse get tornadoes?

2 tornadoes have passed within 10 miles of Morse since 1950 (NOAA Storm Events); the strongest was an EF1 on May 30, 2022. The typical Minnesota town has had 14.

How this page is made. Every number comes from public data, matched to Morse's Census boundary (GEOID 2706144332). 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.