City · Big Stone County, Minnesota

Ortonville, Minnesota

Ortonville is a city in Big Stone County, Minnesota. It has 2,028 residents. Ortonville, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 88 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,846 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #139 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on social associations (high), pharmacies (high) and mammography screening (high). It ranks worst on access to exercise opportunities (low), new business applications (low) and public EV charging ports (low).

88Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,846 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #139 of 364 in MN
Population: 2,028 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 483.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 2748706

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety93#1,093/15,637
Economy44#8,804/15,631
Housing61#5,797/14,977
Health42#8,983/15,609
Healthcare73#4,217/15,650
Environment99#228/15,453
Education86#2,232/15,649
Infrastructure66#5,287/15,650
Community81#3,014/15,651
Leisure & amenities99#171/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Ortonville, Minnesota ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Big Stone County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Social associations · high35.3 /10k
100/100Minnesota 12.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBig Stone County value
Pharmacies · high5.9 /10k
100/100Minnesota 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsBig Stone County value
Mammography screening · high64.0%
100/100Minnesota 54.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBig Stone County value
Preventable hospital stays · low926 /100k
100/100Minnesota 2,419 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBig Stone County value
Primary care physicians · high175 /100k
99/100Minnesota 90 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBig Stone County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Minnesota 9.4 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100k2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionBig Stone County value

Weaknesses

Access to exercise opportunities · low6.8%
0/100Minnesota 86.4%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteBig Stone County value
New business applications · low6.3 /1k
1/100Minnesota 12.7 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauBig Stone County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Minnesota 5.6 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyBig Stone County value
Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Minnesota 8.0United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationBig Stone County value
Distance to an airport · high107 mi
8/100Minnesota 43 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauBig Stone County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high102 mi
9/100Minnesota 32 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauBig Stone County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedWorsening
1.0 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
11.8% (2015-2019) → 27.3% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
25.9% (2015-2019) → 40.3% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
1.8× (2015-2019) → 3.0× (2020-2024)
+64%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.2% (2015-2019) → 91.6% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
12.7% (2015-2019) → 5.4% (2020-2024)
−7.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Ortonville, Minnesota improved on 3 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 7 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Bachelor's++15 points11.8% → 27.3%
Uninsured−7.2 points12.7% → 5.4%
Broadband+11 points80.2% → 91.6%

Declined2

Inequality+0.0940.384 → 0.478
Price / income+1.2×1.8× → 3.0×

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Ortonville, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.2 min2015-2019	10.7 min2020-2024	−2.6 min	Within the margin of error	76%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.8%2015-2019	27.3%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	97%
Broadband subscriptions	80.2%2015-2019	91.6%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	67%
Effective property tax rate	1.09%2015-2019	1.00%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	31%
High school diploma or higher	91.5%2015-2019	92.4%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Home price to income ratio	1.8×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+1.2×	Declined	17%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3842015-2019	0.4782020-2024	+0.094	Declined	5%
Median household income	$48,9062015-2019	$56,1332020-2024	+15%	Within the margin of error	23%
Poverty rate	11.5%2015-2019	12.1%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Rent as share of income	22.6%2015-2019	26.5%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Rent-burdened households	25.9%2015-2019	40.3%2020-2024	+14 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.7%2015-2019	5.4%2020-2024	−7.2 points	Improved	92%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Ortonville, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ortonville, Minnesota in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Ortonville, Minnesota itself moved −9.5 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,028 residents (±146)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

859 households (±81)

Ortonville, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k21%†179
$25k–50k20%169
$50k–75k25%†212

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

859 households (±81)

Ortonville, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own78%673
Rent22%186

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+16.5 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

785 workers (±108)

Ortonville, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone73%575
Carpool16%†123
Public transit2.2%†17

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Big Stone County, the county holding most of Ortonville's residents.

Big Stone County has 178 employer establishments, 349 for every 10,000 residents (1.41× the US rate of 248; 1.30× Minnesota's), with 1,372 paid employees at an average annual pay of $51,497. The Census Bureau also counts 409 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 178; 409 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 349; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 1,372
Average annual pay: $51,497; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Big Stone County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Religious organizations	14	27.5	4.95×More than typical	32	$11,156	—
Specialty trade contractors	14	27.5	1.77×More than typical	43	$59,930	31
Ambulatory health care services	10	19.6	0.94×About typical	56	$66,839	7
Restaurants and other eating places	10	19.6	1.07×About typical	98	$11,755	3
Automotive repair and maintenance	8	15.7	3.12×Too few to compare	28	$52,179	8
Truck transportation	8	15.7	3.10×Too few to compare	37	$63,459	24
Building equipment contractors	7	13.7	2.28×Too few to compare	38	$54,737	8
Construction of buildings	7	13.7	1.82×Too few to compare	46	$99,522	13
Full-service restaurants	7	13.7	1.79×Too few to compare	59	$11,814	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	7	13.7	3.13×Too few to compare	10	$46,700	5
Banks and credit unions	5	9.8	3.04×Too few to compare	32	$65,375	—
Lessors of real estate	5	9.8	0.80×Too few to compare	8	$46,750	33

Rank places for an industry Open Big Stone County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 5,098 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $9,788 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Ortonville, Minnesota: $4.83 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $9,788; +104% vs FY2025
Per resident: $4.83; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$9,788100%

Top recipients

CITY OF ORTONVILLE$9,788100%

Spending by fiscal year

1.2KFY2017
1.9KFY2018
1.5KFY2019
138.6FY2020
654FY2021
2.3KFY2022
9.3KFY2023
4.8KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) · 6231$9,788100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Ortonville, Minnesota, so they do not add up across cities.

Ortonville, Minnesota's figures are part of those of Big Stone County, MN ($741.6K in FY2026), never added to them: 1.3% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Ortonville is mostly in Big Stone County.

See federal money in Big Stone County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Ortonville, Minnesota is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Michelle FischbachR-MN-7 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.4%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Big Stone County98100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Big Stone County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2748706

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends