How dark is the sky in Bloomington, MN?

Satellite radiance puts Bloomington in the suburban edge band. A noticeable glow near the horizon. Brighter stars and constellations are easy to pick out; the Milky Way is washed out. Only 13.7% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Bloomington.

Worth remembering: this is satellite radiance, not a ground observation. A true Bortle rating needs a human eye at night, this is the closest large-scale substitute.

How far Bloomington is from a meaningfully darker sky

The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Prior Lake, MN, roughly 9 miles away in a straight line, rated rural. Road distance will be more.

Prior Lake, MN is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

Bloomington against the rest of the dataset

Bloomington, MN counts roughly 88,344 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Among all 3,206 cities here, Bloomington ranks 439 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.