Affordable Princeton Storage Units

Moving and storage go hand in hand. Whether traveling across town or the country, moving is an exciting and fresh start. While Storage Rentals of America is here to help you with all your storage needs, we also want to help you get familiar with the area. That's why we put together this resource guide for Princeton.

About Princeton, MN

Princeton is split between two counties in Minnesota, Mille Lacs and Sherburne. The population is 4,819 (2020 U.S. Census).

Historically, the city was platted in 1856. In its early years, it was a lumber town due to the immense pine forests found by going up the Rum River from the city area. Cut tree logs floated downstream to mills to make lumber or were sent to Minneapolis for further processing. Three sawmills were built from 1856 to 1867.

Near Princeton was a mine filled with abundant clay. This material was used to make bricks. From 1889 to the late 1920s, millions of bricks produced in Princeton each year were shipped on the Great Northern Railway. When the popularity of using bricks as a building material faded to be replaced by concrete, the local industry turned to farms, mostly wheat and potatoes. The potatoes were used for starch production and to make distilled liquor products.

This town is best known for producing 20 million bricks in 1902, which took 47 trainloads of 40 train cars each to haul them away for sale across America. Princeton Bricks set the national standard for high-quality building bricks. When bricks are called for in building construction specifications, the requirement is often stated as Princeton quality or better.

What to do in Princeton, MN

Shopping, fishing, canoeing, boating, golfing, and rollerblading are all fun.

• Shopping: The local shopping malls are the Riverside Plaza downtown and Boutique, which is out on Highway 169 before you drive into town.
• Destination: Silver Lake is to the east of the town and a fun place to go fishing.
• Features: The Princeton Golf Course, the Thunder Blades Roller Rink, and the Alpha and Omega Pizza Farm are fun places for the whole family to enjoy.

Working in Princeton, MN

The local economy depends on manufacturing, retail, and health care. The unemployment rate is 7.9%, which is high compared to the national average of 6.0%. The median household income is $37,870 annually. The predicted job growth rate over the next ten years is 31.9%, compared to the national average growth rate of 33.5%. The average commute time is 27 minutes.

The most popular industries are health care services (10.5%), education (8.5%), building construction (6.6%), furniture manufacturing (5.6%), metal products (5.4%), grocery stores (5.2%), and machinery (4.2%).

Princeton, MN Neighborhoods

This city has nice neighborhoods with historic homes mixed with others built since the 1970s.

The most expensive homes are found in these three neighborhoods:

• Bradford/Crown: This is the best neighborhood. The median home price in this area is $377,016, which compares favorably to the median home price in America at $423,600. Most homes are owner-occupied. Residential construction happened mostly between 1970 and 1999 in this neighborhood. A few houses were built after 2000 also. You will find three- and four-bedroom homes mixed with apartment complexes. The average rent is $1,773, with a vacancy rate of 17.1%, so many places are usually available.
• Santiago: The median home price is $336,671. The average rent is $1,451, with a vacancy rate of 3/5%. This low rate may make finding a nice place to rent somewhat difficult. This neighborhood is popular with first-time homebuyers and retirees.
• Brickton: This area was where brick manufacturing started. Most of the newer houses were built after 1970. The median home price is $313,422. The average rent is $1,909, with a vacancy rate of 3.7%, making it extremely difficult to find a place to rent.

Princeton, MN School District

The public school district is the Princeton Public Schools District (477). The district spends around $12,727 per student annually. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16 to one.

There is one private school in the area. It is the Discovery Montessori School (PK to 4th grade).

There are no colleges and universities in the city for higher education. There are 40 colleges and universities within 50 miles. The nearest ones are the Minnesota School of Business in Elk River (17 miles from Princeton), Anoka Technical College (26 miles from Princeton), and Saint Cloud State University (27 miles from Princeton).

Moving to Princeton, MN

This information will help you turn on your utilities if you move into the area.

The Princeton Public Utilities Commission offers water and electricity. The City of Princeton provides sewer services. CenterPoint Energy provides natural gas. Cable TV is provided by Mediacom. Telephone and Internet connections are provided by CenturyLink Communications and others.

The City of Princeton Parks & Recreation Department manages the public parks, including miles of hiking trails, bike paths, a dog park, a golf disc course, and fishing and canoeing at Riverside Park.

The municipal government consists of an elected mayor and four elected members serving on the city council.

Princeton, MN Housing

The median home price in this area is $379,900, trending up by 35.7% year-over-year. The moderate home prices, 27% below the national average, help keep the cost of living in this area very reasonable. The cost of living is 4% lower than other communities in the state and 1% lower than the national average. Housing cost is low; however, the price is going up. There was a huge real estate market boom in this area, with major increases in sales prices over the last few years. The property prices may be cooling off a little, but interest rates are rising.