Carol is a young college graduate and former librarian from St. Paul. She moves to the small town of Gopher Prairie after her marriage, carrying ambitious, progressive ideas about urban planning, literature, and art. Her energetic personality clashes directly with the conservative, repetitive habits of her new neighbors. She organizes parties, reads extensively, and attempts to start a dramatic association to elevate the town's culture.

Will is a 42-year-old country doctor born and raised in Gopher Prairie. He takes immense pride in his hometown, his automobile, and his medical practice. He operates with practical competence, treating poor farmers with patience while strictly adhering to the middle-class social hierarchy of the town. He expects his home to reflect the standard, conventional tastes of his wealthy peers.

Miles, known locally as the "Red Swede," works as a handyman and later runs a dairy business. He openly embraces socialist politics and atheism, which makes him a social pariah among the respectable merchants of Gopher Prairie. Despite his radical reputation, he possesses a strong work ethic and desires a stable family life.

Vida is a high school teacher and a prominent organizer within Gopher Prairie's social clubs. She actively campaigns for civic improvements, such as a new school building, but insists on doing so within the acceptable bounds of town politics. She possesses a pragmatic intelligence and represses her own strong emotional and physical desires beneath a busy public schedule.

Guy is a lawyer who is twenty years older than Carol. He reads extensively and possesses a sharp, critical view of small-town problems. He characterizes himself as a victim of the "Village Virus," a condition in which ambitious people lose their drive and settle into comfortable provincial routines.

Bea is a young woman raised in a tiny farming community of 67 people. Unlike Carol, Bea views Gopher Prairie as a splendid metropolis filled with stores and electric lights. She takes a job as a maidservant in the Kennicott household, where her cheerful disposition brings warmth to the home.

Mrs. Bogart is a widow and the Kennicotts' immediate neighbor. She claims strict adherence to the Baptist faith but spends her time spying on others and spreading malicious gossip. She uses the language of morality to enforce social conformity and punish anyone who behaves differently.

Cy is Mrs. Bogart's teenage son and the leader of a local boys' gang. He behaves aggressively and acts with impunity, knowing his mother will defend him against any accusations. He actively terrorizes vulnerable residents and manipulates social situations to his advantage.

Erik is a young man from a poor Swedish farming family who works as an assistant to the local tailor. He reads poetry, cares deeply about clothing design, and desires a more cultured life. The men of the town derisively call him "Elizabeth" because he does not conform to their ideas of rugged masculinity.

Fern is a 22-year-old teacher from the city. She is tall, energetic, and completely uninfected by the provincial mindset of the town. She tries to maintain a lively social life outside of her classroom duties but finds her actions heavily policed by the local authorities.

Raymond, often called Raymie, is a timid store clerk who shares Vida Sherwin's political and intellectual interests. Following his marriage and his subsequent enlistment in World War I, his personality hardens into a stern, confident military posture.

Maud is married to the local druggist. She frequently invents medical complaints to schedule unnecessary examinations with Will Kennicott. She explicitly invites Will to visit her home while her husband is away.

Dave operates the local drugstore. He is firmly entrenched in the business community of Gopher Prairie and participates in the endless rounds of parlor games and local gossip.

Percy is a millionaire automobile company president who grew up in Gopher Prairie and moved to Boston. He returns for a visit in June, boasting about his wealth and adopting a condescending attitude toward progressive politics. He frequently uses statistics to shut down arguments.

Harry runs a successful store and acts as one of the social gatekeepers in Gopher Prairie. He organizes tennis tournaments and social outings but strictly limits participation to his approved circle of wealthy friends.

Juanita considers herself a leader among the younger, wealthier women of Gopher Prairie. She actively leads the gossip against Carol, mocking Carol's attempts at cultural reform and criticizing her management of domestic staff.

Ethel is the town librarian. She strongly dislikes visitors touching or checking out books, preferring the collection to remain clean and undisturbed on the shelves. She harbors a deep grudge against the children of the wealthy class.

Hugh is the young son of Carol and Will Kennicott, named after Carol's late father. His arrival temporarily softens the tension in the household, providing Carol with a positive focal point and encouraging Will to organize a child welfare week.

Olaf is the young son of the town handyman and the Kennicotts' former maid. He wins a prize during the child welfare week, which sparks resentment among the wealthier citizens who believe the award should have gone to "decent" parents.

Sam owns the local hardware store and several other businesses. He lives in a square, cream-colored house with a large furnace that Will Kennicott considers the absolute pinnacle of architectural achievement.

Luke is a very rich businessman who controls much of the local capital. When Carol asks him to sponsor civic rejuvenation projects, he flatly refuses to spend money on "shiftless beggars" or public amenities.

Ezra serves as the president of the local bank. He considers himself above the vulgarity of the regular townspeople and uses his financial authority to maintain control over the local economy.

Chet works as both the town undertaker and the furniture salesman. He engages in the standard hunting and fishing stories that dominate male conversation in the community.

Nat is the town tailor. He employs Erik Valborg and frequently associates with Will Kennicott and Harry Haydock, occasionally planning evenings of drinking and debauchery away from their wives.

Champ is one of the original founders of Gopher Prairie. Despite his historical status, he holds highly reactionary views, suggesting that socialists should be hanged and that modern life lacks religion. He struggles financially in his old age.

The wife of the town founder, she echoes her husband's harsh judgments regarding the modern world. She condemns the wealthy as wicked and insists that everyone needs more religion.

Bessie is Will Kennicott's aunt. She travels to Gopher Prairie and decides to move there permanently. She constantly preaches her own morality, obsesses over money, and dismisses anything modern as a ridiculous fad.

Whittier is Will's uncle. He matches his wife's obsession with money and her intense distrust of new ideas, representing the exact type of small-town mindset that Carol desperately tries to escape.

Mrs. Westlake is a local woman who briefly becomes close to Carol after she moves into her own bedroom to escape her husband. Though she presents herself as a confidante, she readily shares Carol's secrets with the rest of the town.

Married to the local attorney, Mrs. Flickerbaugh has responded to the pressures of the town by becoming a deliberate eccentric. She outright refuses to conform to local expectations, providing a rare example of survival through absolute defiance.

James is a professional "booster" hired to attract investors and industry to Gopher Prairie. He utilizes loud, blustering speeches and launches expensive publicity campaigns, including a highly ornamental street lighting project.