Lyon County, MN

County Profile

25,503 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Lyon 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.

55out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 25% of 1,225 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity937th of 1,255 counties42
SchoolsTop 6% of 973 counties85
Growth1194th of 1,226 counties16
Housing affordabilityTop 22% of 1,255 counties100
Climate1202nd of 1,254 counties51
Physical resilience891st of 1,255 counties44
Access1133rd of 1,255 counties51
Economic stabilityTop 32% of 1,255 counties73
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published profiles: unemployment is 5.0% and the Opportunity signal places Lyon County in the bottom 25%.

Residential permitting has slowed: 27 units authorized over the past twelve months, 71% below the prior year.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by inland flooding, tornado and drought.

At a glance

Population
25,503
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$75,303
Top 26% nationally
Density
36/sq mi
714.4 sq mi of land
Median age
37.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Lyon County
Minnesota
Metro area
Marshall, MN
Nearest major airport
FSD
72 mi · Joe Foss Fld
Median home value
$200,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.0% is lower than 22% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment fell 1.4% over the past year, to 12,691 employed residents.

31% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 79% of measured US locations.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$2,081$75,303Top 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,798$39,073Top 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate12.2%Bottom 41%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute15.9 minBottom 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher31.1%Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment12,691Bottom 8%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-2.7%Bottom 16%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.4%Bottom 33%June 2026
Labor force13,362Bottom 8%June 2026
Labor force participation67.5%Top 9%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)0.5%Top 27%June 2026
Unemployment rate5.0%Top 22%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.01.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.0% 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
202120222023202475k62k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $75,303 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.

55% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 55% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.8 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
20
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.8
across all schools here
Math proficiency
55.0%
Top 8% in Minnesota
Reading proficiency
54.8%
Top 22% in Minnesota
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
MARSHALL HIGH SCHOOLMARSHALL PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT88615.8
MARSHALL MIDDLE SCHOOLMARSHALL PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT65513.652%47%
Southview ElementaryMARSHALL PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT52411.9
PARK SIDE ELEMENTARYMARSHALL PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT4078.7
LAKEVIEW ELEMENTARYLAKEVIEW SCHOOL DISTRICT38911.460%60%
TRACY ELEMENTARYTRACY AREA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT35912.864%58%
LAKEVIEW SECONDARYLAKEVIEW SCHOOL DISTRICT33115.045%55%
TRACY SECONDARYTRACY AREA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT31114.842%52%
MINNEOTA SECONDARYMINNEOTA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT29615.655%65%
MINNEOTA ELEMENTARYMINNEOTA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT25811.774%57%
Marshall EC Voluntary PreKMARSHALL PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT114
LYND ELEMENTARYLynd Public School District10413.050%50%

46.8% 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 $781 takes 12% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.7 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
12.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.7×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$781
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$200,700
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income2.67Bottom 36%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate72.5%Bottom 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4411,269Bottom 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$53$781Bottom 30%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$7,568$200,700Top 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income12.4%Bottom 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate10.3%Bottom 31%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
16/ 100
Ranks 1194 of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2022 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 1% since 2020, reaching 25,577 in 2024.

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

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 1.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
27
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.1
Bottom 17% nationally
Year over year
−71%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
2020202120222023202426k25k
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
20222023202420259125
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−69%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 4°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 28.9 inches, including 43.5 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 40, in the Good band, and about 2 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

-10°10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MARSHALL, 5.2 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.1"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index60.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation28.9"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall43.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low4°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10022024 calendar year
Median air quality index40.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing59°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
40
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
60
90th percentile index
Days above 100
2
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

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. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

44 / 100
Physical resilience

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

Winter weatherModerate
DroughtModerate
HailElevated
Inland floodingHigh
TornadoHigh
Heat waveModerate
Strong windModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, ice storm, landslide, wildfire, earthquake, lightning.

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.

Lyon County records 2.5 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 9.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 8.5 per 100,000 residents in Lyon County.

Homicide
2.5
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
9.6
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
8.5
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
15.9
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 Lyon 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 Lyon County rather than Lyon 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 72 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Joe Foss FldFSD72 mi9,000 ft
Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-ChamberlainMSP133 mi11,006 ft
Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day FldSUX141 mi9,002 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
55
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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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

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 Lyon County, MN