Ottertail is a tiny city located in the state of Minnesota. With a population of 721 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 $80,500.00.
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.
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 (19.03%), management occupations (15.93%), and healthcare (7.96%).
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.
A relatively large number of people in Ottertail telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 19.47% 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.
Another notable thing is that Ottertail is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the city experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller city.
Because of many things, Ottertail is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Ottertail really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Ottertail perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live.
The city is relatively quiet, having a combination of lower population density and few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. For example, Ottertail has relatively fewer families with younger children, and/or college students. Combined, this makes Ottertail a pretty quiet place to live overall. If you like quiet, you will probably enjoy it here.
As is often the case in a small city, Ottertail doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.
The education level of Ottertail citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 31.36% of adults in Ottertail have at least a bachelor's degree.
The per capita income in Ottertail in 2022 was $59,018, which is wealthy relative to Minnesota and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $236,072 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 English.
The most common language spoken in Ottertail is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Polish.
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.
Despite all of the residential real estate here in the neighborhood, NeighborhoodScout has discovered that much of it is vacant. In resort or second-home vacation areas, this naturally occurs because homes and apartments are seasonally occupied, and empty for a portion of the year. In non-vacation or resort areas, however, this can be an indicator of property abandonment or a weak real estate market. The vacancy rate here is 57.1%, which is higher than 99.3% of all U.S. neighborhoods.
In addition, unpopulated, and rural, the neighborhood is one of the least crowded neighborhoods in all of America. If you like open space, no traffic, and lots of room, this neighborhood may be just what you are looking for. According to NeighborhoodScout's leading research, this neighborhood is less densely populated than 92.6% of the neighborhoods in America. 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.
Astoundingly, NeighborhoodScout's research reveals that this single neighborhood has a higher concentration of married couples living here than 97.0% of all U.S. neighborhoods. Whether they have school-aged children or not, married couples are the rule in the neighborhood. If you are a married couple, you may find many people here with a similar lifestyle, and perhaps common interests. But if you are single, you might not find many other singles here.
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 96.1% of neighborhoods in MN. If a Minnesota retirement is in your future, this neighborhood should be one of the places you visit.
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 3.9% have Finnish ancestry.
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 middle-income, making it a moderate income neighborhood. NeighborhoodScout's exclusive analysis reveals that this neighborhood has a higher income than 53.1% of the neighborhoods in America. In addition, 4.3% 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 65.9% of America's neighborhoods.
A neighborhood is far different if it is dominated by enlisted military personnel rather than people who earn their living by farming. It is also different if most of the neighbors are clerical support or managers. What is wonderful is the sheer diversity of neighborhoods, allowing you to find the type that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.
In the neighborhood, 49.2% of the working population is employed in executive, management, and professional occupations. The second most important occupational group in this neighborhood is manufacturing and laborer occupations, with 20.4% of the residents employed. Other residents here are employed in sales and service jobs, from major sales accounts, to working in fast food restaurants (19.1%), and 10.5% in clerical, assistant, and tech support occupations.
The most common language spoken in the neighborhood is English, spoken by 98.4% of households.
Culture is shared learned behavior. We learn it from our parents, their parents, our houses of worship, and much of our culture – our learned behavior – comes from our ancestors. That is why ancestry and ethnicity can be so interesting and important to understand: places with concentrations of people of one or more ancestries often express those shared learned behaviors and this gives each neighborhood its own culture. Even different neighborhoods in the same city can have drastically different cultures.
In the neighborhood in Ottertail, MN, residents most commonly identify their ethnicity or ancestry as German (41.0%). There are also a number of people of Norwegian ancestry (26.8%), and residents who report Irish roots (10.3%), and some of the residents are also of Swedish ancestry (9.3%), along with some English ancestry residents (5.6%), among others.
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 (39.6% of working residents), which is shorter than the time spent commuting to work for most Americans.
Here most residents (66.9%) 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.