The Ten Worst (and Best) Small Minnesota Towns for 2024

As we approach the end of the year, it's time to start taking a look at the best-of and worst-of lists for 2024.

Now in Minnesota, we're generally a pretty proud bunch, and hate to hear anybody talking trash about any of it -- but even here in the glorious Land of 10,000 Lakes, some things need to be at the top of lists, and some things naturally need to be at the bottom.

That doesn't mean we'll all agree on where things fall, in fact if I know anything, I know we won't agree. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Also, we don't all value the same things in the same way. So we disagree. That's OK.

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The team at Roadsnacks has done the homework for us. Now while we won't all agree on what the best and worst Minnesota small towns are, the Roadsnacks team has used real science (kind of) to create their 2024 lists -- looking at things like home values, income, unemployment, commutes, crime, education, and poverty rates.

So without any further adieu, here's the good, the bad, and the ugly of Minnesota small town rankings for 2024. We'll start with the good.

Ten Best Minnesota Cities & Towns for 2024

Mendota Heights (rank last year #6)
Plymouth (rank last year #1)
Albertville (rank last year #4)
Minnetonka (rank last year #7)
Medina (rank last year #2)
Chanhassen (rank last year #8)
Edina (tank last year #3)
Stillwater (rank last year #11)
Lakeville (rank last year #12)
Delano (rank last year #5)

Kasson shows up pretty well at #37, followed by Byron at #41. There's Northfield at #55, Owatonna at #69, and Rochester in the 75th spot, and Waseca shows up at #88.