Brainerd is a medium-sized city located in the state of Minnesota. With a population of 14,400 people and seven associated neighborhoods, Brainerd is the 76th largest community in Minnesota.

A relatively large number of people in Brainerd telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 7.54% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. 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.

The percentage of adults in Brainerd who are college-educated is close to the national average for all communities of 21.84%: 20.34% of the adults in Brainerd have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Brainerd in 2022 was $31,316, which is low income relative to Minnesota, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $125,264 for a family of four. However, Brainerd contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

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

The most common language spoken in Brainerd is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Italian.