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Ottertail, MN

This is a small community in a single neighborhood. As throughout the site, some neighborhood-level data are reserved for subscribers.





Overview


Ottertail is a tiny city located in the state of Minnesota. With a population of 687 people and just one neighborhood, Ottertail is the 433rd largest community in Minnesota. Ottertail has seen a significant amount of newer housing growth in recent years. Quite often, new home construction is the result of new residents moving in who are middle class or wealthier, attracted by jobs, a healthy local economy, or other amenities as they leave nearby or far away areas for greener pastures. This seems to be the case in Ottertail, where the median household income is $93,056.00.

Ottertail real estate is some of the most expensive in Minnesota, although Ottertail house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.

Occupations and Workforce

Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Ottertail is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Ottertail is a city of sales and office workers, professionals, and managers. There are especially a lot of people living in Ottertail who work in sales jobs (17.31%), office and administrative support (13.08%), and management occupations (10.77%).

Also of interest is that Ottertail has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 15.77% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Setting & Lifestyle

Another notable thing is that Ottertail is an extremely popular destination for tourists and seasonal residents. So much of the population is seasonal such that the city’s population swells significantly during the vacation season, and drops again when the season ends. Because of this, much of the local economy is centered around tourism; some businesses may be operated only during the high season. During the low season, year-round residents will notice that the city is a substantially quieter place to live.

Because of many things, Ottertail is a great place for families with children to consider. First of all, many other families with children live here, making Ottertail a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families, as well as find family-oriented services and community. The city’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic values. With regard to real estate, Ottertail has a high rate of owner-occupied single family homes, which tends to reflect stability in the local community. Finally, Ottertail’s overall crime rate ranks among the lowest in the country, making it one of the safest places to raise a family.

It is a fairly quiet city because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Ottertail has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Ottertail has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Ottertail than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Ottertail may be for you.

Being a small city, Ottertail does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.

Demographics

In terms of college education, Ottertail is somewhat better educated than the 21.84% who have a 4-year degree or higher in the typical US community: 27.60% of adults 25 and older in the city have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Ottertail in 2022 was $58,851, which is wealthy relative to Minnesota and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $235,404 for a family of four. However, Ottertail contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

The people who call Ottertail home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Ottertail residents report their race to be White. Important ancestries of people in Ottertail include German, Norwegian, Irish, Swedish, and European.

The most common language spoken in Ottertail is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Miao/Hmong.

Notable & Unique Neighborhood Characteristics

Many things matter about a neighborhood, but the first thing most people notice is the way a neighborhood looks and its particular character. For example, one might notice whether the buildings all date from a certain time period or whether shop signs are in multiple languages. This particular neighborhood in Ottertail, the neighborhood, has some outstanding things about the way it looks and its way of life that are worth highlighting.

Real Estate

Vacant homes and apartments are a significant characteristic of this neighborhood. In fact, with 57.4% of the residential real estate vacant, the neighborhood claims the distinction of having a higher vacancy rate than 99.2% of the neighborhoods in America. This can either be because much of the property is seasonally occupied, like in many vacation areas, or that much of the real estate is more permanently abandoned.

In addition, uncrowded roads, rural America and space to be the individual you are. If you like these characteristics, this neighborhood may fit you. With just 31 residents per square mile, is less crowded than 92.6% of all U.S. neighborhoods. One of the notable things about is that it is one of the quietest neighborhoods in America, according to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and quantitative rating of quietness. When you are here, you will find it to be very quiet. If quiet and peaceful are your cup of tea, you may have found a great place for you.

People

Priests and therapists would like to think they know the secrets to a truly successful marriage, but according to NeighborhoodScout's research, the folks of the neighborhood may actually hold the key. 71.8% of its residents are married, which is a higher percentage than is found in 97.6% of the neighborhoods in America.

In addition, if you are planning to retire in Minnesota, this neighborhood should be on your must-see list. For many reasons, may be considered a retiree's dream neighborhood. According to NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis and metrics, it's peaceful and quiet, has above average safety from crime compared to other neighborhoods in Minnesota, while also offering a diverse range of housing options. This, along with the vibrant mix of very educated seniors and other age groups who choose to live here, makes the neighborhood more retiree-friendly than 96.7% of neighborhoods in MN. If a Minnesota retirement is in your future, this neighborhood should be one of the places you visit.

Diversity

Did you know that the neighborhood has more Norwegian and Finnish ancestry people living in it than nearly any neighborhood in America? It's true! In fact, 26.8% of this neighborhood's residents have Norwegian ancestry and 4.5% have Finnish ancestry.

The Neighbors

How wealthy a neighborhood is, from very wealthy, to middle income, to low income is very formative with regard to the personality and character of a neighborhood. Equally important is the rate of people, particularly children, who live below the federal poverty line. In some wealthy gated communities, the areas immediately surrounding can have high rates of childhood poverty, which indicates other social issues. NeighborhoodScout's analysis reveals both aspects of income and poverty for this neighborhood.

The neighbors in the neighborhood in Ottertail are upper-middle income, making it an above average income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 61.4% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 1.7% of the children seventeen and under living in this neighborhood are living below the federal poverty line, which is a lower rate of childhood poverty than is found in 76.3% of America's neighborhoods.

What we choose to do for a living reflects who we are. Each neighborhood has a different mix of occupations represented, and together these tell you about the neighborhood and help you understand if this neighborhood may fit your lifestyle.

In the neighborhood, 46.5% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants, with 20.6% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in manufacturing and laborer occupations (19.8%), and 11.4% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.

Languages

The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 98.9% of households.

Ethnicity / Ancestry

Culture is the shared learned behavior of peoples. Undeniably, different ethnicities and ancestries have different cultural traditions, and as a result, neighborhoods with concentrations of residents of one or another ethnicities or ancestries will express those cultures. It is what makes the North End in Boston so fun to visit for the Italian restaurants, bakeries, culture, and charm, and similarly, why people enjoy visiting Chinatown in San Francisco.

In the neighborhood in Ottertail, MN, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (40.7%). There are also a number of people of Norwegian ancestry (26.8%), and residents who report Irish roots (10.7%), and some of the residents are also of Swedish ancestry (10.5%), along with some English ancestry residents (5.2%), among others.

Getting to Work

Even if your neighborhood is walkable, you may still have to drive to your place of work. Some neighborhoods are located where many can get to work in just a few minutes, while others are located such that most residents have a long and arduous commute. The greatest number of commuters in neighborhood spend between 15 and 30 minutes commuting one-way to work (38.3% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.

Here most residents (66.3%) drive alone in a private automobile to get to work. In addition, quite a number also carpool with coworkers, friends, or neighbors to get to work (9.5%) . In a neighborhood like this, as in most of the nation, many residents find owning a car useful for getting to work.


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Economics & Demographics include:
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Crime includes:
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