North Mankato, Minnesota

Area Profile

14,211 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for North Mankato, in Nicollet County.

73out of 100
Area Score
Top 7% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 7% of 4,199 cities measured80
SchoolsTop 9% of 4,162 cities measured82
GrowthTop 33% of 4,224 cities measured58
Housing affordabilityTop 2% of 4,218 cities measured89
Climate4,144th of 4,225 cities measured53
Physical resilienceTop 32% of 4,226 cities measured73
Access3,958th of 4,226 cities measured61
Economic stabilityTop 4% of 4,226 cities measured80
The quick read

North Mankato ranks in the top 7% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.5% and median household income of $80,791. The unemployment rate is published for Nicollet County, MN, which contains North Mankato, rather than for North Mankato alone.

Public schools test above most of the state: 72% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 9% of published profiles for schools.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most cities measured: rent takes 23% of renter income and the median home is 2.6 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
14,211
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$80,791
Top 32% nationally
Density
2,208/sq mi
6.4 sq mi of land
Median age
38.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Minnesota
Metro area
Nearest major airport
MSP
63 mi · Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain
Median home value
$262,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Nicollet County, MN, which contains North Mankato, is 3.5%, lower than in 81% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Nicollet County, MN, which contains North Mankato, grew 1.4% over the past year, to 19,271 employed residents.

41% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 82% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsNicollet County, MN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,17918th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftNicollet County, MN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$55,53216th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,2592024 ACS 5-Year$80,791Top 32%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$9,2732024 ACS 5-Year$51,604Top 16%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.3%Top 21%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year16.2 minTop 7%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year40.7%Top 18%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year75.3%43rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentNicollet County, MN’s figureJuly 202619,271Bottom 22%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Nicollet County, MN’s figureJuly 2026+2.5%Top 16%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Nicollet County, MN’s figureJuly 2026+1.4%Top 12%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceNicollet County, MN’s figureJuly 202619,97722nd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year88.8%Top 13%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageMankato, MN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$62,430Bottom 24%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageMankato, MN Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$49,530Bottom 38%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%75th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Nicollet County, MN’s figureJuly 2026+0.1%Bottom 39%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateNicollet County, MN’s figureJuly 20263.5%Top 19%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year10.2%61st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202481k73k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $80,791 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 — Mankato, MN

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides3,170$37,560
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,860$30,000
Retail Salespersons1,780$35,350
Registered Nurses1,570$103,400
General and Operations Managers1,180$86,890
Cashiers1,140$33,530

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 Nicollet County, MN, which contains this city.

72% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 68% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 15.2 students for every full-time teacher across 3 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
6
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.2
across 3 of them
Math proficiency
71.7%
Top 7% in Minnesota
Reading proficiency
68.3%
Top 18% in Minnesota
All 6 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Hoover ElementaryMANKATO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT46115.974%69%
Monroe ElementaryMANKATO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT36713.664%60%
Bridges Community ElementaryMANKATO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT25116.787%87%
Futures ProgramMANKATO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT332.810%10%
Futures SunMANKATO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT21———
Socrates OnlineSocrates0———

31.5% 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 12% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 87.6, 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 Mankato, MN Metro Area is up 31% over five years, and up 1.2% 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 $3,161 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.21% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,171, some 20% above the $973 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,171 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $46,800 a year, about 58% of the median household income here of $80,791.

The typical renter household here spends 23% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $973 a month.

A median home at $262,100 costs 2.6 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $98,919, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
87.6

Prices here run about 12% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Mankato, MN 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
22.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.6×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,171
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$973
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$262,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against North Mankato’s median household income of $80,791, 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 Mankato, MN Metro Area’s figure202387.6Top 2%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Mankato, MN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+1.2%24th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Mankato, MN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+30.8%16th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Mankato, MN Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+70.3%15th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year2.6Bottom 45%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year69.7%37th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2042024 ACS 5-Year6,12990th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$977Top 21%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,629Top 24%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,171Top 19%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$352024 ACS 5-Year$973Top 50%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$11,4542024 ACS 5-Year$262,10067th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1782024 ACS 5-Year$3,16175th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$8,6102024 ACS 5-Year$98,919Top 28%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.09%2024 ACS 5-Year1.21%64th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year22.7%Top 23%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±172024 ACS 5-Year1165th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%53rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.1%27th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1322024 ACS 5-Year20278th 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

58/ 100
Top 33% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2022 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 1% since 2020, to 14,142 in 2024.

63% of the 54 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Nicollet County, which contains North Mankato, lost about 0.3% 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 $56,179, close to the $55,532 of households that moved out.

At 3.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
54
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
3.8
Top 38% nationally
Year over year
+54%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
63.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202414k14k
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
−0.3%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
19%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$56,179
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$55,532
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Blue Earth County, MN 794 people · 40% of arrivals
  2. Le Sueur County, MN 117 people · 5.9% of arrivals
  3. Brown County, MN 103 people · 5.2% of arrivals
  4. Hennepin County, MN 92 people · 4.6% of arrivals
  5. Dakota County, MN 49 people · 2.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Blue Earth County, MN 642 people · 31% of departures
  2. Hennepin County, MN 182 people · 8.7% of departures
  3. Le Sueur County, MN 132 people · 6.3% of departures
  4. Brown County, MN 92 people · 4.4% of departures
  5. Cottonwood County, MN 69 people · 3.3% 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 Nicollet County, MN. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420257015
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2022 (−36%).

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 6°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 33.9 inches, including 38.7 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 MANKATO, 2.2 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals33.9"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals38.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals6°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

73 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 47% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Strong windHigh
Winter weatherModerate
HailModerate
TornadoHigh
Heat waveModerate
Inland floodingModerate
LightningModerate

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

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
156
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
702
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.

North Mankato's police department reported 156 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 702.

Nicollet 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 about 8.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 8.8 per 100,000 residents in Nicollet County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
8.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
8.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
11.8
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.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by North Mankato’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 North Mankato (Nicollet County) rather than North Mankato 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.

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. 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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain at 63 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year91.7%Top 41%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle63 miBottom 7%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.3%Top 44%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-ChamberlainMSP63 mi11,006 ft
Rochester IntlRST79 mi9,034 ft
Chippewa Valley RgnlEAU134 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
73
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Other cities in Mankato, MN

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
MankatoBlue Earth County45,47369Mankato vs North Mankato
St. PeterNicollet County12,18566St. Peter vs North Mankato

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 North Mankato side by side with a similar place.

North Mankato vs River FallsNorth Mankato vs Port Washington

Moving to North Mankato 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
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
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
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 North Mankato

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in North Mankato with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track North Mankato closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
5600315,258$82,538$270,400—