Golden Valley, Minnesota

Area Profile

21,725 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Golden Valley, in Hennepin County.

58out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 47% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity2,519th of 4,199 cities measured52
Schools3,396th of 4,162 cities measured25
Growth3,611th of 4,224 cities measured29
Housing affordabilityTop 33% of 4,218 cities measured72
Climate4,079th of 4,225 cities measured54
Physical resilienceTop 7% of 4,226 cities measured93
AccessTop 31% of 4,226 cities measured97
Economic stabilityTop 38% of 4,226 cities measured64
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.4% and median household income $108,772, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Hennepin County, MN, which contains Golden Valley, rather than for Golden Valley alone.

In the public schools here, 41% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.0 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 29% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.2 times what its owners earn.

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
21,725
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$108,772
Top 14% nationally
Density
2,129/sq mi
10.2 sq mi of land
Median age
44.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Minnesota
Nearest major airport
MSP
10 mi · Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain
Median home value
$431,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Hennepin County, MN, which contains Golden Valley, is 4.4% — higher than in all but 47% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Hennepin County, MN, which contains Golden Valley, fell 2.1% over the past year, to 687,515 employed residents.

60% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 93% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $108,772 is higher than in 86% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsHennepin County, MN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$71,24247th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftHennepin County, MN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$94,67081st percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$11,4682024 ACS 5-Year$108,772Top 14%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$6,5902024 ACS 5-Year$68,225Top 7%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.5%Top 45%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.0 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.7 minTop 24%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year60.0%Top 7%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year63.6%16th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentHennepin County, MN’s figureJuly 2026687,515Top 11%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Hennepin County, MN’s figureJuly 2026−2.5%Bottom 19%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Hennepin County, MN’s figureJuly 2026−2.1%Bottom 17%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceHennepin County, MN’s figureJuly 2026718,99489th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year85.6%Top 22%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageMinneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$74,580Top 30%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageMinneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$59,320Top 23%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.3%91st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Hennepin County, MN’s figureJuly 2026+0.6%Bottom 12%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateHennepin County, MN’s figureJuly 20264.4%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year29.5%94th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024114k105k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $108,772 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

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Hennepin County, MN, which contains this city.

41% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 52% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.0 students for every full-time teacher across 14 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
16
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.0
across 14 of them
Math proficiency
40.8%
Bottom 11% in Minnesota
Reading proficiency
52.3%
Bottom 24% in Minnesota
The 12 largest of 16 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Meadowbrook ElementaryHOPKINS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT79215.574%74%
Robbinsdale Spanish Immersion El.ROBBINSDALE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT73318.360%66%
Robbinsdale MiddleROBBINSDALE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT56714.918%40%
Beacon Academy · charterBEACON ACADEMY52417.534%47%
The FAIR School - CrystalROBBINSDALE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT43920.919%38%
School of Engineering-Arts at OlsonROBBINSDALE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT43216.663%66%
Neill ElementaryROBBINSDALE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT35912.038%43%
Sandburg Middle SchoolROBBINSDALE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT34114.230%46%
Lakeview ElementaryROBBINSDALE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT31812.731%37%
Sonnesyn ElementaryROBBINSDALE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT31312.531%40%
Highview AlcROBBINSDALE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT27719.85%—
Noble ElementaryROBBINSDALE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT26211.432%42%

51.1% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 4% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 104.3, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area is up 27% over five years, and up 2.6% 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 $5,350 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.24% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,709, close to the $1,785 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,709 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $68,400 a year, about 63% of the median household income here of $108,772.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,785 a month.

A median home at $431,400 costs 3.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $134,867, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
104.3

Prices here run about 4% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
29.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,709
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,785
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$431,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Golden Valley’s median household income of $108,772, 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
Cost of living indexthe Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area’s figure2023104.3Bottom 36%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+2.6%39th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+27.3%10th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+72.6%17th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year3.2Bottom 30%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year70.7%39th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±4022024 ACS 5-Year10,36794th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,405Top 50%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,262Bottom 47%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,709Bottom 48%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1172024 ACS 5-Year$1,785Bottom 12%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,3822024 ACS 5-Year$431,40085th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$3472024 ACS 5-Year$5,35091st percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$14,3402024 ACS 5-Year$134,867Top 10%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.09%2024 ACS 5-Year1.24%65th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year29.1%Bottom 45%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1282024 ACS 5-Year15892nd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.5%66th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.7%43rd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2702024 ACS 5-Year74493rd percentileof 32,3302024 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

29/ 100
Ranks 3,611 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 fallen 5% since 2020, to 21,263 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 7 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Hennepin County, which contains Golden Valley, lost about 0.7% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $71,242, below the $94,670 of households that moved out.

At 0.3 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
7
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.3
Bottom 12% nationally
Year over year
+250%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202422k21k
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. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
42%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$71,242
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$94,670
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Ramsey County, MN 8,655 people · 16% of arrivals
  2. Anoka County, MN 5,394 people · 9.7% of arrivals
  3. Dakota County, MN 4,745 people · 8.6% of arrivals
  4. Carver County, MN 1,715 people · 3.1% of arrivals
  5. Wright County, MN 1,601 people · 2.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Ramsey County, MN 8,910 people · 14% of departures
  2. Anoka County, MN 6,868 people · 11% of departures
  3. Dakota County, MN 6,338 people · 10% of departures
  4. Wright County, MN 3,026 people · 4.8% of departures
  5. Carver County, MN 2,806 people · 4.5% 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 Hennepin County, MN. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025104.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+25%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 83°F and January a low of 7°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 30.7 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 42, in the Good band, and about 4 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MPLS CRYSTAL AP, 5.0 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year632024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals30.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals7°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals83°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year42024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year422024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals57°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
42
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
63
90th percentile index
Days above 100
4
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. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

93 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 41% of it. Inland flooding and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 93% of measured US cities.

TornadoModerate
HailElevated
Strong windModerate

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

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
86
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
949
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Golden Valley's police department reported 86 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 949.

Hennepin County records 4.6 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 9.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 26.0 per 100,000 residents in Hennepin County.

Homicide
4.6
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
9.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
26.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
12.1
per 100,000 residents

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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Golden Valley’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. 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 Golden Valley (Hennepin County) rather than Golden Valley itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and 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.

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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. 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 10 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year94.7%Top 27%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle10 miTop 27%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year3.5%Top 28%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-ChamberlainMSP10 mi11,006 ft
Rochester IntlRST86 mi9,034 ft
Chippewa Valley RgnlEAU92 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
58
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Other cities in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
MinneapolisHennepin County427,24657Minneapolis vs Golden Valley
St. PaulRamsey County307,28456St. Paul vs Golden Valley
BloomingtonHennepin County88,66556Bloomington vs Golden Valley
Brooklyn ParkHennepin County83,87654
PlymouthHennepin County79,22070
WoodburyWashington County78,30568
LakevilleDakota County74,35471
BlaineAnoka County72,48857
Maple GroveHennepin County71,17364
EaganDakota County68,00067
BurnsvilleDakota County64,46357
Coon RapidsAnoka County63,46851

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Golden Valley side by side with a similar place.

Golden Valley vs BurnsvilleGolden Valley vs South St. Paul

Moving to Golden Valley from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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.

ZIP codes in Golden Valley

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Golden Valley with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
5542228,452$93,914$325,90056
5542724,764$92,821$360,20059