Wright County, MN

County Profile

148,269 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Wright 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.

70out of 100
Area Score
Top 23% of 1,225 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity659th of 1,255 counties55
SchoolsTop 8% of 973 counties84
GrowthTop 21% of 1,226 counties66
Housing affordabilityTop 39% of 1,255 counties96
Climate1210th of 1,254 counties51
Physical resilienceTop 37% of 1,255 counties70
Access885th of 1,255 counties70
Economic stabilityTop 2% of 1,255 counties97
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.6% and median household income $107,209, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published profiles.

1,113 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 13% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Rent takes 14% of median household income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.3 times that income.

At a glance

Population
148,269
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$107,209
Top 3% nationally
Density
224/sq mi
661.1 sq mi of land
Median age
37.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Wright County
Minnesota
Metro area
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
Nearest major airport
MSP
42 mi · Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain
Median home value
$358,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.6% is lower than 34% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment fell 1.7% over the past year, to 82,698 employed residents.

34% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 85% of measured US locations.

Household income is higher than at least 97% of measured US locations.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$3,135$107,209Top 3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,088$46,650Top 10%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate5.2%Bottom 2%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute31.8 minTop 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher34.4%Top 15%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment82,698Top 31%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)0.1%Bottom 48%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.7%Bottom 27%June 2026
Labor force86,671Top 31%June 2026
Labor force participation72.8%Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)0.8%Top 14%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.6%Top 34%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/065.31.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.6% 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
2021202220232024107k94k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $107,209 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.

62% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 63% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.3 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
75
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.3
across all schools here
Math proficiency
62.3%
Top 1% in Minnesota
Reading proficiency
63.1%
Top 1% in Minnesota
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
ST. MICHAEL-ALBERTVILLE SENIOR HIGHSt. Michael-Albertville Schools2,20422.3
BUFFALO SENIOR HIGHBuffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools1,68124.0
Monticello Senior HighMonticello Public School District1,31320.5
BUFFALO COMMUNITY MIDDLEBuffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools1,16021.552%53%
Delano High SchoolDELANO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT1,15822.367%62%
St. Michael-Albertville Middle WestSt. Michael-Albertville Schools1,07621.557%64%
ST. MICHAEL-ALBERTVILLE MIDDLE EASTSt. Michael-Albertville Schools95919.264%70%
Prairie View Middle SchoolElk River Public School District95325.862%57%
ANNANDALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLANNANDALE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT92917.569%64%
Monticello MiddleMonticello Public School District86017.647%57%
Pinewood ElementaryMonticello Public School District79415.064%61%
Prairie View Elementary SchoolElk River Public School District75517.270%62%

23.7% 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 $1,288 takes 14% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.3 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
14.4%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.3×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,288
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$358,900
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.35Top 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate84.1%Top 5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±18257,416Top 16%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$63$1,288Top 13%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,451$358,900Top 12%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income14.4%Bottom 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate5.9%Bottom 9%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
66/ 100
Top 21% of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, 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 9% since 2020, reaching 154,593 in 2024.

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

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

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 5% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 7.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
1,113
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
7.5
Top 15% nationally
Year over year
−13%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
4.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024155k142k
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
2020202120222023202420252k1k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−14%).

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 3°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 28.5 inches, including 47.9 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 41, in the Good band, and about 3 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 ST CLOUD RGNL AP, 25.8 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index58.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation28.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall47.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low3°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10032024 calendar year
Median air quality index41.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing58°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
41
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
90th percentile index
Days above 100
3
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

70 / 100
Physical resilience

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

Strong windElevated
HailElevated
TornadoModerate
Inland floodingModerate
Heat waveModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, wildfire, ice storm, landslide, cold wave, drought, 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.

Wright County records 1.5 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 7.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 6.1 per 100,000 residents in Wright County.

Homicide
1.5
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
7.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
6.1
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
9.3
per 100,000 residents

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 Wright 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 Wright County rather than Wright 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 42 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-ChamberlainMSP42 mi11,006 ft
Rochester IntlRST113 mi9,034 ft
Chippewa Valley RgnlEAU123 mi8,101 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
70
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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.