Living in Minneapolis-St Paul, MN
On Locationistics's default family weighting, Minneapolis-St Paul ranks #15 of 103 US metros and #1 of 2 in Minnesota. Typical home $395k · median income $100k · 3,714k residents.
Live data: 103 of 103 metros refreshed — BLS unemployment 2026-07 · FBI crime 2025 · Census ACS ACS 2024 5-year · Zillow ZHVI 2026-07-31 · last refresh Sep 6, 2026. Sources and limits.
Strongest here
- Income vs. cost — 96/100
- Healthcare access — 93/100
- College pipeline — 84/100
Weakest here
- Temperate climate — 10/100
- Property growth — 10/100
- Job market — 24/100
Who lives in Minneapolis-St Paul
Racial and ethnic composition of the metro, from Census ACS table B03002.
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 71.4%
- Hispanic or Latino
- 6.8%
- Black (non-Hispanic)
- 9.1%
- Asian (non-Hispanic)
- 6.9%
- Other or two or more
- 5.8%
Diversity index 59/100 — how evenly the population is spread across these groups. It is descriptive, not a judgement: weight it up, down or to zero on the ranking engine.
Schools in Minneapolis-St Paul
Measured grade-8 test results across every public school district in the metro, weighted by how many students sat the tests (2020 school year).
- Reading proficient
- 52.6%
- Math proficient
- 41.9%
- Combined
- 47.3%
Source: NCES EDFacts assessments via the Urban Institute Education Data API. A dash means the state withheld that subject for this year. States set their own proficiency bars, so compare within a state first.
Sports & college recruiting in Minneapolis-St Paul
How much college scholarship attention is within reach of local high schools — the four-year colleges and universities in the metro, how many of them are large programs, and how the state as a whole compares.
- Recruiting reach
- 62/100
- Colleges in metro
- 29
- Large universities
- 3
Source: NCES IPEDS four-year institution directory. This measures where scholarship programs are, not signings per high school — no recruiting-signings dataset is public. Large means 10,000+ students, the size at which a university fields a full slate of scholarship teams.
All 14 factor scores
- Temperate climate
- 9°F Jan low · 83°F Jul high
- 10
- School academics
- 70/100 · 47.3% proficient grade 8
- 78
- School sports & recruiting
- 62/100 · 29 colleges nearby, 3 large
- 70
- Safe neighbourhoods
- 64/100 safety index
- 64
- Home affordability
- $395k typical home · 4.0× income
- 79
- Property growth
- +11% over 5 years
- 10
- Faith community
- 480 adherents per 1,000
- 43
- College pipeline
- 74/100 college pipeline
- 84
- Job market
- 4.4% unemployment · 26/100 job market
- 24
- Income vs. cost
- $100k median · cost index 101
- 96
- Self-employment health
- 74/100 small-business index
- 83
- Short commutes
- 24 min mean commute
- 57
- Population diversity
- 59/100 diversity · 71.4% White · 6.8% Hispanic · 9.1% Black · 6.9% Asian
- 38
- Healthcare access
- 86/100 healthcare index
- 93
Common questions
Is Minneapolis-St Paul a good place to live?
It depends on your weighting, which is the whole point of this tool. On the default family weighting it sits at #15 nationally, carried by income vs. cost and held back by temperate climate. Re-weight the factors to see where it lands for you.
How much does a house cost in Minneapolis-St Paul?
The typical home value is about $395k, roughly 4.0× the median household income, and values are up 11% over five years.
What is the weather like?
Around 9°F for a typical January low and 83°F for a typical July high, using NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
Similar metros in the Midwest
Thinking of moving to Minneapolis-St Paul?
The relocation guide covers what an interstate move costs, the licence, registration and tax paperwork with its deadlines, and how to line up work in a new metro before you arrive.
Want the whole picture in one place? The Minneapolis-St Paul relocation report is a full written analysis of this metro — ranks, every factor, affordability maths, schools, community and comparable metros — for $29.
Figures are compiled public-data estimates. Methodology and sources.