Cost of living in Minnesota

Minnesota at a glance

Median rent

$1,280

Census ACS, B25064, monthly

Median household income

$89,062

Census ACS, B19013, yearly

Median home value

$329,300

Census ACS, B25077

Median property tax bill

$3,357

Census ACS, B25103, yearly, current owners

Mean commute

23 min

Census ACS, DP03, one way

Unemployment

4.1%

Census ACS, DP03

Minnesota's own published state rows, never an average of its counties. Prices overall run 1% below the national average (BEA regional price parity, 2024).

Figures from the 2024 release of the Census American Community Survey, checked September 2026. Health, hazard and price-level readings name their own release beside them.

The three most populous counties in Minnesota

These are the most populous places in Minnesota, not a match to you. Set what matters to you on Find your fit and this becomes your three closest matches here. Made-up answers work too. This is a tool, not a survey.

• Hennepin County

  Population

  1.27M

  Rent

  $1,487

  Household income

  $97,653

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $4,480

  Set as targetPlan

• Ramsey County

  Population

  543K

  Rent

  $1,329

  Household income

  $81,568

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $3,966

  Set as targetPlan

• Dakota County

  Population

  446K

  Rent

  $1,548

  Household income

  $106,318

  Prop. tax (yearly)

  $3,749

  Set as targetPlan

Minnesota, worth the trip

Admitted to the Union on May 11, 1858, as the 32nd state. The part of Minnesota southwest of the Mississippi came to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Fort Snelling, the first permanent US settlement, was established in 1819 above the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers.

• Voyageurs National Park

  Lakes, forests and streams across 218,000 acres of northern Minnesota, named for the French-Canadian voyageurs who traveled them.

• Grand Portage National Monument

  A reconstructed fur trade depot on Lake Superior that tells of the Grand Portage Anishinaabe and the North West Company.

• Pipestone National Monument

  Quarries of red stone that Indigenous people have worked for over 3,000 years to make pipes.

History: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Each place links to the page of the agency that looks after it.

Property tax in Minnesota

Current owners in Minnesota pay a median 1.02% of home value a year in property tax. Example: $3,357 a year, the median bill. By county, the median bill runs from $1,126 in Traverse County to $4,501 in Carver County. These are bills that current owners pay, as the Census measures them. Each county's own figure is in the table below.

Health in Minnesota

Life expectancy

79.3 yrs

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS vital statistics

No health insurance

5.4%

County Health Rankings, from Census SAHIE, people under 65

Poor or fair health

13.5%

County Health Rankings, from CDC BRFSS. Modeled, not counted

Injury deaths per 100K people

77

County Health Rankings, from CDC NCHS, counted deaths

Each is the figure County Health Rankings publishes for Minnesota as a whole, never an average of its counties. Each county's own health readings are on its page.

Natural hazards in Minnesota

Expected yearly loss, statewide

$2.6B

All natural hazards, an average year. Larger states lose more

Building loss rate

$1.26

Per $1,000 of building value, each year. Fair to compare between states

Costliest hazard

Inland flooding

$1.3B of the expected yearly loss, the largest share of any hazard FEMA assesses

Air quality

—

The EPA publishes air quality by county and metro area, never by state. It is on each county's page

FEMA publishes a risk score for counties and none for states, so none is shown here. Each county's score is on its own page.

Side by side

Hennepin County, MN is the largest county here. Set it beside another place, reading by reading.

All 87 counties in Minnesota

Each has its published readings on its own page. Press a column to sort by it. Pick one, or open the map to see them shaded side by side.

Household income, home value and population are on each county's own page, and in this table on a wider screen.

Where these numbers come from

Each reading is the published figure, not an estimate. A dash means the source did not publish one, or published one too uncertain to print.

• State figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 20245-year estimates, the state's own row (tables B25064, B19013, B25077, B25103, B01003, DP03).
• County figures: the same survey, each county's own row, as on every county page.
• Price level: Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional price parities, 2024, all items, state-level.
• Health: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025, University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the state's own row. Poor or fair health is a modeled estimate from CDC survey data. The other three are counted or calculated.
• Natural hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025, state table, expected annual loss. This product uses FEMA data but is not endorsed by FEMA.
• Air quality has no state figure: the EPA publishes it by county and metro area only.
• Photographs: Wikimedia Commons and the county photo feed, each credited to its photographer under its own licence, beneath the picture.