56379Sauk Rapids, Minnesota

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 56379.

58out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 43% of 5,298 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity5516th of 6,210 published ZIP areas33
Schools2827th of 4,422 published ZIP areas41
GrowthTop 20% of 5,428 published ZIP areas66
Housing affordabilityTop 24% of 6,685 published ZIP areas94
Climate6702nd of 6,789 published ZIP areas51
Physical resilienceTop 35% of 6,709 published ZIP areas70
Access6467th of 6,791 published ZIP areas54
Economic stabilityTop 8% of 6,742 published ZIP areas83
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published ZIP profiles: unemployment is 5.3% and the Opportunity signal places 56379 in the bottom 11%.

In the public schools here, 44% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 16.9 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 97 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 385% on the prior year.

At a glance

Population
17,607
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$76,138
Top 43% nationally
Density
197/sq mi
89.4 sq mi of land
Median age
36.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Sauk Rapids
Minnesota
Metro area
St. Cloud, MN
Nearest major airport
MSP
67 mi · Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain
Median home value
$272,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.3% is lower than 19% of the 6,544 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment fell 2.4% over the past year, to 21,258 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$4,503$76,138Top 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,087$39,718Top 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate6.7%Bottom 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute21.7 minBottom 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher29.4%Top 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment21,258Bottom 21%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-1.8%Bottom 22%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-2.4%Bottom 13%June 2026
Labor force22,449Bottom 21%June 2026
Labor force participation73.7%Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$63,750Bottom 31%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$50,840Top 48%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)0.8%Top 15%June 2026
Unemployment rate5.3%Top 19%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202476k64k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $76,138 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 — St. Cloud, MN
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides3,140$37,100
Registered Nurses2,910$105,290
Retail Salespersons2,850$34,860
Cashiers2,560$32,480
General and Operations Managers2,340$89,700
Office Clerks, General2,240$46,390

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 does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Sauk Rapids, MN, the city containing this ZIP code.

44% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 48% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 16.9 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
10
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
16.9
across all schools here
Math proficiency
44.1%
Bottom 41% in Minnesota
Reading proficiency
47.9%
Bottom 42% in Minnesota
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Sauk Rapids-Rice Senior HighSauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools1,31919.4
Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle SchoolSauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools1,05519.937%42%
Mississippi Heights ElementarySauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools80815.252%53%
Pleasantview ElementarySauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools73413.345%50%
ALC - Sauk RapidsST. CLOUD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT59
Hillside Early Childhood CenterSauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools58
Benton-Stearns Education DistrictBenton-Stearns Education District248.0
Benton Stearns Education District 1Benton-Stearns Education District178.5
Sauk Rapids ECFESauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools0
Sauk Rapids-Rice Online School (SRRSauk Rapids-Rice Public Schools0

35.0% 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 $993 takes 16% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.6 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
15.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.6×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$993
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$272,400
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.58Top 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate65.7%Bottom 23%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2527,439Top 21%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$79$993Bottom 48%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$9,804$272,400Top 38%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income15.7%Bottom 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate3.2%Bottom 13%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 20% of 5,428 published city 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.

78% of recently permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

At 7.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US ZIP areas.

Units permitted
97
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
7.0
Top 20% nationally
Year over year
+385%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
78.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Sauk Rapids, 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 3°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 28.5 inches, including 47.9 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 ST CLOUD RGNL AP, 6.8 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
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
Seasonal temperature swing58°F1991-2020 Normals

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.

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.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 71% of measured US ZIP areas.

HailModerate
Strong windElevated
TornadoElevated
Inland floodingModerate
Heat waveModerate

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

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 offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Benton County records 2.7 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 10.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 13.9 per 100,000 residents in Benton County.

Homicide
2.7
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
10.8
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
13.9
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 Benton 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 56379 rather than 56379 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 67 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-ChamberlainMSP67 mi11,006 ft
Duluth IntlDLH123 mi10,591 ft
Chippewa Valley RgnlEAU137 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
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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
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
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

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.

56379 vs Sauk Rapids

How this ZIP area compares with Sauk Rapids as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

56379
Sauk Rapids
Median household income
$76,138
vs
$71,841
Per capita income
$39,718
vs
$38,385
Population density
197/sq mi
vs
2,203/sq mi
Median home value
$272,400
vs
$256,100
Median gross rent
$993
vs
$964
Homeownership rate
65.7%
vs
61.2%
Bachelor's degree or higher
29.4%
vs
29.3%
Poverty rate
6.7%
vs
7.0%
Median age
36.5
vs
35.3

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.