Brainerd, MN: how dark is the sky here?

Brainerd reads as suburban on this dataset's scale. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. That's brighter than 79.2% of the 3,206 US cities in this dataset.

This comes from a satellite measuring light radiating upward, not a person's eyes on the ground, so it isn't the same as a Bortle class, though the two track each other closely.

How far Brainerd is from a meaningfully darker sky

The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Sartell, MN, roughly 51 miles away in a straight line, rated suburban edge. Road distance will be more.

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

How Brainerd compares nationally

Brainerd, MN has a population of about 14,400, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Brainerd places 2,524 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.