55021 — Faribault, Minnesota

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 55021. Its median home value runs 16% above Faribault as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

49out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 18% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
Opportunity2,082nd of 3,116 ZIP areas measured46
Schools2,565th of 3,047 ZIP areas measured23
Growth1,752nd of 3,124 ZIP areas measured48
Housing affordability1,633rd of 3,112 ZIP areas measured67
Climate3,076th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured52
Physical resilience1,774th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured51
Access2,505th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured77
Economic stability2,055th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured45
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.5% and median household income $68,820, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Faribault, MN, which contains 55021, rather than for 55021 alone.

In the public schools here, 34% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.5 students for every teacher.

27 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 4% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Faribault, MN, which contains 55021, rather than for 55021 alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
30,908
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$68,820
Bottom 45% nationally
Density
175/sq mi
177 sq mi of land
Median age
40.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Faribault
Minnesota
Nearest major airport
MSP
40 mi · Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain
Median home value
$280,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Faribault, MN, which contains 55021, is 4.5% — higher than in all but 44% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Faribault, MN, which contains 55021, fell 1.2% over the past year, to 34,480 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsRice County, MN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$67,44649th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftRice County, MN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$64,93942nd percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$9,1242024 ACS 5-Year$68,820Bottom 45%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,6062024 ACS 5-Year$36,459Top 50%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year13.3%Bottom 36%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.7 minTop 23%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year20.0%Bottom 40%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year72.9%39th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentFaribault, MN’s figureJuly 202634,480Bottom 38%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Faribault, MN’s figureJuly 2026+1.3%Top 30%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Faribault, MN’s figureJuly 2026−1.2%Bottom 37%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceFaribault, MN’s figureJuly 202636,11137th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year74.4%Bottom 36%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.1%61st percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Faribault, MN’s figureJuly 2026+0.4%Bottom 24%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateFaribault, MN’s figureJuly 20264.5%Bottom 44%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year7.1%36th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202470k63k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $68,820 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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Faribault, MN, the city containing this ZIP code.

34% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 41% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.5 students for every full-time teacher across 11 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
19
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.5
across 11 of them
Math proficiency
33.8%
Bottom 8% in Minnesota
Reading proficiency
41.0%
Bottom 10% in Minnesota
The 12 largest of 19 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Faribault Senior HighFARIBAULT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT95618.436%39%
Faribault MiddleFARIBAULT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT59413.832%43%
Roosevelt ElementaryFARIBAULT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT47313.934%39%
Lincoln ElementaryFARIBAULT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT39112.243%43%
Jefferson ElementaryFARIBAULT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT38913.035%43%
Cannon River STEM School · charterCANNON RIVER STEM SCHOOL22414.939%52%
Faribault Area Learning CenterFARIBAULT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT11813.110%—
Minnesota State Academy for DeafMINNESOTA STATE ACADEMIES883.715%25%
Early Childhood Special EducationFARIBAULT PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT786.0——
Surad Academy · charterSurad Academy778.6——
Cvsec StepCannon Valley Special Education Coo475.2——
Minnesota State Academy for BlindMINNESOTA STATE ACADEMIES463.3——

68.7% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Minnesota’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Minnesota is up 43% over five years, and up 3.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,446 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.87% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,187, some 10% above the $1,076 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,187 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $47,500 a year, about 69% of the median household income here of $68,820.

The typical renter household here spends 32% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,076 a month.

A median home at $280,200 costs 3.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $87,770, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Rent as a share of income
31.8%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,187
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,076
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$280,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 55021’s median household income of $68,820, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Minnesota’s figure2026 Q2+3.8%65th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Minnesota’s figure2026 Q2+42.5%46th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Minnesota’s figure2026 Q2+88.5%40th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.2Bottom 34%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year71.8%33rd percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3632024 ACS 5-Year12,44388th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$905Top 19%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,534Top 25%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,187Top 26%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$952024 ACS 5-Year$1,076Bottom 44%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,1172024 ACS 5-Year$280,20064th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1132024 ACS 5-Year$2,44660th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,2062024 ACS 5-Year$87,770Top 43%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.06%2024 ACS 5-Year0.87%48th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year31.8%Bottom 31%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1062024 ACS 5-Year52694th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year4.2%70th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.0%28th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2062024 ACS 5-Year1,01988th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

48/ 100
Ranks 1,752 of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

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.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 27 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Faribault, MN, which contains 55021, rather than for 55021 alone.

At 1.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Faribault, MN, which contains 55021, rather than for 55021 alone.

Units permitted
27
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.1
Bottom 24% nationally
Year over year
+4%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
25%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$67,446
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$64,939
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Dakota County, MN 517 people · 19% of arrivals
  2. Hennepin County, MN 263 people · 9.7% of arrivals
  3. Steele County, MN 184 people · 6.8% of arrivals
  4. Scott County, MN 173 people · 6.4% of arrivals
  5. Le Sueur County, MN 158 people · 5.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Dakota County, MN 515 people · 18% of departures
  2. Hennepin County, MN 279 people · 9.7% of departures
  3. Steele County, MN 259 people · 9.0% of departures
  4. Scott County, MN 176 people · 6.1% of departures
  5. Le Sueur County, MN 134 people · 4.6% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Rice County, MN. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Faribault, MN, the city containing this ZIP code.

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 5°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 35.5 inches, including 43.3 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 FARIBAULT, 0.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals35.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals43.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals5°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals82°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals57°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

51 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 50% of it.

Strong windHigh
HailElevated
TornadoElevated
Inland floodingElevated
Heat waveModerate
LightningModerate

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, winter weather, landslide, drought, ice storm, wildfire, earthquake, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche, hurricane, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
1.9
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
7.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
8.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
12.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 55021 (Rice County) rather than 55021 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Faribault carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain at 40 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year89.6%Top 49%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle40 miBottom 20%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 21%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year8.6%Bottom 46%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-ChamberlainMSP40 mi11,006 ft
Rochester IntlRST47 mi9,034 ft
Chippewa Valley RgnlEAU96 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
49
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

55021 vs Faribault

How this ZIP area compares with Faribault as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

55021
Faribault
Median household income: 55021 is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$68,820
vs
$61,449
Per capita income: 55021 is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$36,459
vs
$33,225
Population density
175/sq mi
vs
1,568/sq mi
Median home value
$280,200
vs
$241,500
Median gross rent: Faribault is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$1,076
vs
$1,074
Homeownership rate
71.8%
vs
66.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher: 55021 is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
20.0%
vs
17.6%
Poverty rate: 55021 is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
13.3%
vs
15.7%
Median age
40.8
vs
38.7

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.