Willmar, Minnesota
Area Profile
21,378 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Willmar, in Kandiyohi County.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 13 sourcesEmployment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.2% and the Opportunity signal places Willmar in the bottom 16%. The unemployment rate is published for Kandiyohi County, MN, which contains Willmar, rather than for Willmar alone.
In the public schools here, 43% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.5 students for every teacher.
Residential permitting has slowed: 8 units authorized over the past twelve months, against 11 the year before.
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
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment across Kandiyohi County, MN, which contains Willmar, is 5.2% — higher than in all but 19% of the 4,226 measured US cities.
Employment across Kandiyohi County, MN, which contains Willmar, fell 2.0% over the past year, to 21,947 employed residents.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income of new arrivalsKandiyohi County, MN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $59,666 | 26th percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Income of those who leftKandiyohi County, MN’s figurefiling years 2022–2023 | $58,898 | 22nd percentileof 4,101 | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Median household income ±$3,9572024 ACS 5-Year | $62,280 | Bottom 43%of 29,223 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$2,2472024 ACS 5-Year | $31,826 | Bottom 43%of 31,420 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 11.6% | Bottom 46%of 31,773 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 13.9 min | Top 4%of 31,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 25.3% | Top 39%of 31,919 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 78.8% | 55th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentKandiyohi County, MN’s figureJuly 2026 | 21,947 | Bottom 26%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)Kandiyohi County, MN’s figureJuly 2026 | +1.3% | Top 27%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)Kandiyohi County, MN’s figureJuly 2026 | −2.0% | Bottom 21%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceKandiyohi County, MN’s figureJuly 2026 | 23,151 | 26th percentileof 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 78.3% | Top 50%of 31,513 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.9% | 84th percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)Kandiyohi County, MN’s figureJuly 2026 | +0.8% | Bottom 6%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateKandiyohi County, MN’s figureJuly 2026 | 5.2% | Bottom 19%of 4,226 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 8.2% | 53rd percentileof 31,433 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Median household income, successive ACS releases
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Kandiyohi County, MN, which contains this city.
43% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 45% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 13.5 students for every full-time teacher across 8 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willmar Senior High | Willmar Public School District | 1,205 | 16.3 | 34% | 49% |
| Willmar Middle School | Willmar Public School District | 842 | 13.8 | 55% | 50% |
| Kennedy Elementary | Willmar Public School District | 672 | 12.2 | 46% | 44% |
| Lakeland Elementary School | Willmar Public School District | 623 | 13.5 | 40% | 39% |
| Roosevelt Elementary | Willmar Public School District | 580 | 12.6 | 56% | 46% |
| Willmar Area Learning Center | Willmar Public School District | 91 | 7.6 | 10% | 10% |
| Jefferson Learning Center | Willmar Public School District | 89 | 6.8 | — | — |
| DREAM Technical Academy · charter | TECHNICAL ACADEMIES OF MINNESOTA | 72 | 24.0 | 5% | 25% |
| Lake Park School | Willmar Public School District | 33 | — | — | — |
| Middle School ALC | Willmar Public School District | 27 | — | — | — |
| Prairie Lakes Education Center | Willmar Public School District | 19 | 2.4 | 10% | — |
| Lakeview School | Willmar Public School District | 11 | — | — | — |
65.0% 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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →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 $2,031 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.02% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $973, close to the $910 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $973 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,900 a year, about 62% of the median household income here of $62,280.
The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $910 a month.
A median home at $198,400 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $84,986, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
The figures above are measured against Willmar’s median household income of $62,280, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Minnesota’s figure2026 Q2 | +3.8% | 63rd percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Minnesota’s figure2026 Q2 | +42.5% | 49th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Minnesota’s figure2026 Q2 | +88.5% | 44th percentileof 4,154 | 2026 Q2 |
| Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year | 2.3 | Top 45%of 26,815 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year | 59.4% | 19th percentileof 31,717 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±2342024 ACS 5-Year | 8,860 | 93rd percentileof 32,177 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $787 | Top 7%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,353 | Top 10%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $973 | Top 5%of 4,072 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$642024 ACS 5-Year | $910 | Top 43%of 23,120 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$9,5892024 ACS 5-Year | $198,400 | 53rd percentileof 29,111 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$1942024 ACS 5-Year | $2,031 | 57th percentileof 26,440 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$10,4942024 ACS 5-Year | $84,986 | Top 42%of 27,548 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.11%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.02% | 53rd percentileof 20,543 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 27.5% | Top 45%of 22,950 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±622024 ACS 5-Year | 38 | 79th percentileof 32,330 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.4% | 56th percentileof 31,895 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 5.9% | 44th percentileof 31,769 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±1882024 ACS 5-Year | 563 | 91st percentileof 32,330 | 2024 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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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 4% since 2020, reaching 21,892 in 2024.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 8 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.
Federal tax returns show Kandiyohi County, which contains Willmar, lost about 0.8% 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 $59,666, close to the $58,898 of households that moved out.
At 0.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.
Population, annual estimates
People moving in and out
Where newcomers came from
- Stearns County, MN 178 people · 12% of arrivals
- Chippewa County, MN 73 people · 5.1% of arrivals
- Hennepin County, MN 71 people · 4.9% of arrivals
- Renville County, MN 71 people · 4.9% of arrivals
- Meeker County, MN 69 people · 4.8% of arrivals
Where people who left went
- Hennepin County, MN 196 people · 11% of departures
- Stearns County, MN 163 people · 9.2% of departures
- Chippewa County, MN 89 people · 5.0% of departures
- Meeker County, MN 78 people · 4.4% of departures
- Swift County, MN 75 people · 4.2% 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 Kandiyohi County, MN. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.
Housing units permitted per year
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 28.7 inches, including 46.1 inches of snow.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 28.7" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals | 46.1" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 3°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 82°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 60°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
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 42% 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 90% of measured US cities.
Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, winter weather, drought, ice storm, landslide, inland flooding, wildfire, lightning, earthquake, volcanic activity, avalanche, coastal flooding, hurricane, tsunami.
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.
Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.
Willmar's police department reported 339 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 1,180.
Kandiyohi County has a modeled homicide rate of about 2.0 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.
Drug overdose deaths run at about 7.0 per 100,000 residents in Kandiyohi County.
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 Willmar’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 Willmar (Kandiyohi County) rather than Willmar 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.
- 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
1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain at 91 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 88.2% | Bottom 43%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 91 mi | Bottom 2%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 1 | Bottom 1%of 4,226 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 6.2% | Top 43%of 31,588 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain | MSP | 91 mi | 11,006 ft |
| Joe Foss Fld | FSD | 135 mi | 9,000 ft |
| Hector Intl | FAR | 150 mi | 9,001 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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Similar places
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Moving to Willmar from somewhere else?
You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.
Data & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Safety | Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency | 2025 calendar year |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Demographics, Income | Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county) | filing years 2022–2023 |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Safety | U.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 |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Housing | U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions) | 2026 Q2 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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 Willmar
1 ZIP areaEvery ZIP area in Willmar with census figures of its own, largest first.
| ZIP | Population | Median household income | Median home value | Area Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56201 | 25,146 | $68,804 | $216,300 | 53 |