Isanti County, MN

County Profile

42,596 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Isanti County, MN.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

62out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 48% of 1,225 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity1077th of 1,255 counties35
SchoolsTop 47% of 973 counties53
GrowthTop 5% of 1,226 counties79
Housing affordabilityTop 46% of 1,255 counties94
Climate1202nd of 1,254 counties51
Physical resilienceTop 48% of 1,255 counties63
Access956th of 1,255 counties67
Economic stabilityTop 8% of 1,255 counties91
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published profiles: unemployment is 5.5% and the Opportunity signal places Isanti County in the bottom 14%.

In the public schools here, 46% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.4 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 483 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 112% on the prior year.

At a glance

Population
42,596
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$87,440
Top 11% nationally
Density
98/sq mi
435.8 sq mi of land
Median age
40.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Isanti County
Minnesota
Metro area
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
Nearest major airport
MSP
47 mi · Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain
Median home value
$306,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.5% is lower than 12% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment fell 2.0% over the past year, to 22,067 employed residents.

Household income is higher than at least 89% of measured US locations.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$4,140$87,440Top 11%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,076$39,737Top 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate7.5%Bottom 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute33.6 minTop 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher20.7%Bottom 42%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment22,067Bottom 27%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-1.4%Bottom 29%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-2.0%Bottom 18%June 2026
Labor force23,352Bottom 28%June 2026
Labor force participation67.1%Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)0.8%Top 14%June 2026
Unemployment rate5.5%Top 12%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/067.12.0
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.5% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202487k79k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $87,440 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides93,560$38,860
Retail Salespersons51,180$36,670
General and Operations Managers44,890$103,570
Registered Nurses43,600$103,040
Customer Service Representatives38,630$49,480
Fast Food and Counter Workers37,920$33,040

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

46% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 54% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.4 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
22
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
46.2%
Bottom 47% in Minnesota
Reading proficiency
53.9%
Top 25% in Minnesota
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Cambridge-Isanti High SchoolCambridge-Isanti Public School Dist1,58221.4
Cambridge Middle SchoolCambridge-Isanti Public School Dist60717.342%62%
Cambridge Intermediate SchoolCambridge-Isanti Public School Dist53616.862%56%
Cambridge Primary SchoolCambridge-Isanti Public School Dist49815.1
Isanti Middle SchoolCambridge-Isanti Public School Dist44914.542%52%
BRAHAM ELEMENTARYBRAHAM PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT42914.845%53%
Isanti Intermediate SchoolCambridge-Isanti Public School Dist42215.653%44%
Isanti Primary SchoolCambridge-Isanti Public School Dist40713.1
BRAHAM AREA SECONDARYBRAHAM PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT35420.825%55%
Art and Science Academy · charterArt and Science Academy17115.550%45%
Cambridge-Isanti STEAM SchoolCambridge-Isanti Public School Dist13917.464%56%
Art & Science Academy Middle School · charterArt and Science Academy12510.430%56%

35.4% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Minnesota’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,273 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.5 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
17.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,273
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$306,200
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.50Top 31%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate83.7%Top 6%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5717,268Top 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$63$1,273Top 14%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,780$306,200Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.5%Top 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate5.6%Bottom 8%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
79/ 100
Top 5% of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2020 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 6% since 2020, reaching 43,687 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before.

Population is still rising, but more slowly than in the preceding year.

At 11.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
483
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
11.3
Top 5% nationally
Year over year
+112%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
44.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202444k41k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
202020212022202320242025468183
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−13%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 82°F and January a low of 4°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 29.7 inches, including 44.1 inches of snow.

-10°10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CAMBRIDGE, 3.0 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation29.7"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall44.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low4°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing59°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

63 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and strong wind.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 73% of measured US locations.

WildfireModerate
HailModerate
TornadoModerate
Strong windHigh
Inland floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, heat wave, cold wave, landslide, drought, ice storm, winter weather, earthquake.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Isanti County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 10.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 11.8 per 100,000 residents in Isanti County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.8
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
11.8
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
17.5
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Isanti County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Isanti County rather than Isanti County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest 47 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-ChamberlainMSP47 mi11,006 ft
Chippewa Valley RgnlEAU100 mi8,101 ft
Duluth IntlDLH103 mi10,591 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

Cities in Isanti County, MN