How dark is the sky in Fairmont, MN?

Satellite radiance puts Fairmont 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. Fairmont's sky is brighter than 15.5% of the 3,206 cities in this dataset.

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 Fairmont is from a meaningfully darker sky

Prior Lake, MN, about 90 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the rural band, one step darker than Fairmont. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

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.

Fairmont against the rest of the dataset

Fairmont, MN counts roughly 10,176 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Among all 3,206 cities here, Fairmont ranks 495 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.