Stargaze Atlas

Minnesota dark-sky map — light pollution by town

100 towns rated · darkest: East Bethel · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

Minnesota has 100 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — East Bethel (Bortle 4) — to its brightest city cores. 3 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Sort the table by darkness to find the best stargazing near you, then open any town for its exact rating, what you can see, the nearest darker skies to drive to, and tonight's live Moon, cloud, and aurora conditions. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy for planning, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide Minnesota · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
100

3 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).

Darkest town
East Bethel
Genuinely dark towns
3

All Minnesota towns by darkness

Darkest sky first. Click a column heading to sort, or filter by name. A satellite reading, not a survey-grade measurement — and the real dark skies are usually a short drive out of any town.

Minnesota towns, darkest sky first.
Sky
East Bethel 4 Rural / suburban transition 1.8
Lino Lakes 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.0
Ham Lake 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.2
Otsego 5 Suburban sky 3.0
Ramsey 5 Suburban sky 3.3
Andover 5 Suburban sky 5.7
Minnetonka Mills 5 Suburban sky 5.9
Vadnais Heights 5 Suburban sky 6.3
Coon Rapids 5 Suburban sky 7.1
Eagan 6 Bright suburban sky 8.6
Mendota Heights 6 Bright suburban sky 8.8
West Coon Rapids 6 Bright suburban sky 9.1
Hugo 6 Bright suburban sky 9.4
Hopkins 6 Bright suburban sky 9.8
Inver Grove Heights 6 Bright suburban sky 11
Buffalo 6 Bright suburban sky 12
Eden Prairie 6 Bright suburban sky 12
North Branch 6 Bright suburban sky 12
Saint Michael 6 Bright suburban sky 12
Edina 6 Bright suburban sky 13
West Saint Paul 6 Bright suburban sky 13
Big Lake 6 Bright suburban sky 13
Crystal 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Maple Grove 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Burnsville 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Fairmont 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Minnetonka 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Golden Valley 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Elk River 6 Bright suburban sky 17
North Mankato 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Prior Lake 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Mounds View 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Fridley 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Red Wing 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Sartell 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Savage 6 Bright suburban sky 20
Mankato 6 Bright suburban sky 20
Little Canada 7 Suburban / urban transition 20
Shoreview 7 Suburban / urban transition 20
Forest Lake 7 Suburban / urban transition 21
Worthington 7 Suburban / urban transition 21
Champlin 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Sauk Rapids 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Hastings 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
New Brighton 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Lakeville 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Cottage Grove 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Cloquet 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Winona 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Hutchinson 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Stillwater 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
New Hope 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
Austin 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
Shakopee 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
Farmington 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
Rogers 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
Saint Louis Park 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Saint Peter 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
White Bear Lake 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
Longfellow Community 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
Alexandria 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
Northfield 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Fergus Falls 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
North Saint Paul 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
Oakdale 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Robbinsdale 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Brooklyn Park 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Marshall 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Roseville 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Owatonna 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Albert Lea 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Columbia Heights 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Hibbing 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Rosemount 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Duluth 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
Monticello 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
Waconia 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
New Ulm 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
Richfield 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
Grand Rapids 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Willmar 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Brainerd 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
Blaine 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
Bemidji 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
Anoka 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Chanhassen 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Faribault 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Bloomington 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Woodbury 7 Suburban / urban transition 40
South Saint Paul 8 City sky 41
Chaska 8 City sky 41
Rochester 8 City sky 47
Maplewood 8 City sky 49
Plymouth 8 City sky 50
Brooklyn Center 8 City sky 51
Moorhead 8 City sky 57
Saint Cloud 8 City sky 64
Apple Valley 8 City sky 98
Saint Paul 8 City sky 98
Minneapolis 9 Inner-city sky 164

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in Minnesota?
The darkest town tracked here is East Bethel. Sort the table on this page by darkness to see the full ranking, from the most rural, star-filled skies down to the brightest city cores.
How many dark-sky towns does Minnesota have?
Of 100 towns rated here, 3 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better) — good for seeing the Milky Way on a clear, moonless night.
How are these light-pollution ratings measured?
From VIIRS 2024 annual-average satellite night-lights, sampled at each town's center and mapped to a darkness class and an estimated Bortle band. It is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading. See the methodology page for details.

Explore

Learn to read the Bortle scale, check the meteor shower calendar, or search all towns from the home page.