North Branch, Minnesota
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1950 and the latest in 1985. It stands in North Branch City. It lies in ZIP code area 55056. The Survey maps it on the North Branch quadrangle. 10,787 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 899 feet above sea level.
Research this city
Population over time
2 figuresNorth Branch grew from 10,125 to 10,787 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 10,125 | |
| 2020 | 10,787 | +662 (+7%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 16 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1950 USGS Rush City quadrangle1:48000
- 1953 USGS Stillwater quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Rush City quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1955 USGS Stillwater quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Stillwater quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Stillwater quadrangle1:250000
- 1975 USGS Stillwater quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1983 USGS North Branch quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Grantsburg quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
105 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 105 fires within 5 miles of North Branch between 1992 and 2020, burning about 360 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 8 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 54 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 16 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 9 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 8 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 4 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 30 September 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 29 September 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 27 September 2000 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 10 September 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 6.0 acres | Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge | HENRY |
| 23 August 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 8 June 2000 | Debris and open burning | 26 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of North Branch: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E F Hals Sand & Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
30 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names North Branch in 30 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 17 thunderstorm wind, 10 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 funnel cloud. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2009 | Tornado (EF0) | North Branch | $100,000 | A National Weather Service Storm Survey determined that an EF-0 tornado tracked from near the North Branch Middle School, northwest to near Rivercrest and Riverview Courts in North Branch, Minnesota. Roof damage was indicated at the middle school, with a telephone pole snapped, and major trees blown down in the residential area. Based on roof damage and trees blown down, winds were estimated at 70 to 80 mph. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | Large tree was snapped near its base in North Branch. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | A large tree snapped near its base in North Branch. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | Multiple trees reported down. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | A Hennepin County Emergency Management Meteorologist forwarded multiple photos of trees down in the city of North Branch along Harder Parkway. |
| June 2015 | Hail | North Branch | - | Several reports of large hail occurred around the city of North Branch. The largest hail stone was tennis ball size. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | A few trees were blown down near North Branch. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | Numerous trees were blown down near North Branch. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | A large tree was blown down. |
| September 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | A trained spotter reported two twelve to eighteen inch diameter trees downed. |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | Two large trees blown down. |
| April 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | Trees were downed. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | A dozen trees were downed throughout the city. |
| June 2004 | Funnel Cloud | North Branch | - | A funnel cloud was reported by law enforcement. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | Few trees toppled. |
| June 2003 | Flash Flood | North Branch | - | County wide flooding. Four to eight inches of rainfall were reported across the county. Some township roads were covered by water, with closures widespread along Highway 95 between North Branch and Taylors Falls. Highway 15 was also closed near Almelund. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | Estimated Winds. Trees, powerlines toppled. |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | Several trees down. Estimated windspeed. |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | Large tree limbs down. Estimated windspeed. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | Trees blown down. Estimated windspeed. |
| August 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Branch | - | There was roof damage at a mall. Cars were overturned. Trees and power lines were downed. |
| July 2023 | Hail | North Branch | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | North Branch | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | North Branch | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | North Branch | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Hail | North Branch | - | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Hail | North Branch | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | North Branch | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | North Branch | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | North Branch | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on North Branch | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1913823 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 648609. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.








