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Minnesota brings to mind images of Saint Paul, beautiful landscapes, and some of the best people you'll find in the good ole US of A.
However, like all states, Minnesota has certain places that are going on hard times. These places have an above average percent of people that are living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
With all the talk about income inequality going on around the country, we thought it prudent to take a look at the places in each state that are struggling to make it even as the economy continues to improve. So we set our sites on bringing attention to the places in Minnesota that could use a helping hand.
To do so, we analyzed the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 146 places in Minnesota with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the ten poorest places in Minnesota for 2021:
Again, this isn't a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it's just a look at the facts.
What's the poorst city in Minnesota? According to the facts, Bemidji is the poorest place in Minnesota for 2021.
Rich people more your cup of tea? Feel free to check out the best places in Minnesota or the most dangerous.
For more on how we calculated the top ten, and for more information about these places, read on.
If you're looking for something more national, check out the poorest states in America or the poorest cities in America.
For more Minnesota reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Minnesota
- Cheapest Places To Live In Minnesota
- Most Dangerous Cities In Minnesota
The 10 Poorest Cities In Minnesota For 2021
1. Bemidji
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Bemidji, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Minnesota thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 15,132 people averages the lowest median household income in Minnesota and the highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Virginia
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The second poorest city in Minnesota is Virginia.
The city ranks as having the 2nd highest incidence of poverty and 3rd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate 'only' ranks as the 3rd highest in the North Star State.
3. International Falls
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Placing as the third poorest city, International Falls's median income ranks as the 7th lowest.
And that's a sign that there's a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 16.623466390184895% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the North Star State.
4. St. Cloud
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St. Cloud ranks as the fourth poorest place in Minnesota.
The town ranks as having the 20th lowest median household income and the 6th highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there's still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Fairmont
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The fifth poorest city in Minnesota is Fairmont.
The city ranks as having the 12th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 11th highest in Minnesota.
Still not the best news for Fairmont.
6. Little Falls
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Little Falls ranks as the sixth poorest place in the North Star State.
It ranks as having the 22nd highest incidence of poverty and the 16th highest unemployment rate.
7. Willmar
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Willmar places as the seventh poorest city in Minnesota.
The city of over 19,712 ranks as having the 17th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Mankato
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Mankato ranks as the eighth poorest city in Minnesota.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as the 38th highest in the state.
9. Winona
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Winona couldn't stay out of the top ten poorest places in Minnesota; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 16th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Winona ranks as having the 13th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Minnesota.
10. Faribault
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And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Minnesota is Faribault.
The city of 23,800 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the North Star State.
How We Determined The Poorest Places In Minnesota for 2021
The first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don't think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the "poorest places". So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2015-2019 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income adjusted for the cost of living
- Unemployment Rate
The "median household income adjusted for the cost of living" attempts to gauge how expensive it is to live in a place and how that impacts the quality of life. For example, a town might have fewer people living below the official poverty line, but the cost of living is so high they'd still feel poor.
The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for improvement in the city or town. If more people are employed, the brighter the future looks and vice versa.
After we collected the data for all 146 places with more than 5,000 people in Minnesota, we ranked each place from 1 to 146 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a "Poor Score" with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Bemidji, crowned the "Poorest Place In Minnesota For 2021". You can download the data here.
There You Have It - The Poorest Places In Minnesota For 2021
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Minnesota, we weren't sure what we'd encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Minnesota.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you're curious enough, here are the richest cities in Minnesota, according to data:
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Richest: North Oaks
2nd Richest: St. Michael
3rd Richest: Corcoran
For more Minnesota reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Minnesota
- Safest Places In Minnesota
- Worst Places To Live In Minnesota
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Minnesota
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Minnesota
Rank | City | Population |
---|---|---|
1 | Bemidji | 15,132 |
2 | Virginia | 8,484 |
3 | International Falls | 5,981 |
4 | St. Cloud | 68,001 |
5 | Fairmont | 10,127 |
6 | Little Falls | 8,664 |
7 | Willmar | 19,712 |
8 | Mankato | 42,093 |
9 | Winona | 26,854 |
10 | Faribault | 23,800 |
11 | Hibbing | 16,014 |
12 | Austin | 25,114 |
13 | Waseca | 8,988 |
14 | St. Paul | 304,547 |
15 | Albert Lea | 17,773 |
16 | Duluth | 85,915 |
17 | Minneapolis | 420,324 |
18 | West St. Paul | 19,779 |
19 | Red Wing | 16,338 |
20 | Brooklyn Center | 30,849 |
21 | Waite Park | 7,692 |
22 | Marshall | 13,651 |
23 | Worthington | 13,105 |
24 | Cloquet | 12,005 |
25 | Brainerd | 13,373 |
26 | Columbia Heights | 20,118 |
27 | Lake City | 5,261 |
28 | Glencoe | 5,495 |
29 | Jordan | 6,230 |
30 | Anoka | 17,471 |
31 | Falcon Heights | 5,571 |
32 | Montevideo | 5,108 |
33 | Detroit Lakes | 9,197 |
34 | Mounds View | 13,094 |
35 | Crookston | 7,756 |
36 | North St. Paul | 12,406 |
37 | East Grand Forks | 8,604 |
38 | Little Canada | 10,451 |
39 | Spring Lake Park | 6,535 |
40 | South St. Paul | 20,194 |
41 | Sauk Rapids | 13,703 |
42 | St. Joseph | 7,030 |
43 | Cambridge | 8,774 |
44 | Moorhead | 42,939 |
45 | St. Peter | 11,854 |
46 | Grand Rapids | 11,165 |
47 | Fridley | 27,668 |
48 | New Brighton | 22,556 |
49 | Fergus Falls | 13,707 |
50 | New Hope | 20,925 |
51 | Morris | 5,334 |
52 | Maplewood | 40,545 |
53 | Hutchinson | 13,914 |
54 | Owatonna | 25,685 |
55 | North Mankato | 13,778 |
56 | Northfield | 20,347 |
57 | Burnsville | 61,311 |
58 | Buffalo | 16,210 |
59 | Thief River Falls | 8,790 |
60 | Crystal | 22,975 |
61 | Roseville | 36,026 |
62 | Hopkins | 18,382 |
63 | Richfield | 36,063 |
64 | Rochester | 115,557 |
65 | Inver Grove Heights | 35,320 |
66 | Brooklyn Park | 80,068 |
67 | Isanti | 5,749 |
68 | Alexandria | 13,554 |
69 | Robbinsdale | 14,468 |
70 | Oakdale | 27,963 |
71 | Monticello | 13,583 |
72 | Coon Rapids | 62,517 |
73 | New Prague | 7,899 |
74 | North Branch | 10,454 |
75 | Elk River | 24,522 |
76 | Arden Hills | 10,293 |
77 | Bloomington | 85,332 |
78 | St. Francis | 7,652 |
79 | St. Paul Park | 5,356 |
80 | Eagan | 66,379 |
81 | Litchfield | 6,631 |
82 | White Bear Lake | 25,673 |
83 | Blaine | 64,114 |
84 | Vadnais Heights | 13,444 |
85 | Hastings | 22,738 |
86 | Sartell | 18,005 |
87 | New Ulm | 13,242 |
88 | Chisago City | 5,090 |
89 | St. Anthony | 9,038 |
90 | Shakopee | 40,731 |
91 | Zimmerman | 5,657 |
92 | Forest Lake | 20,004 |
93 | Wyoming | 7,914 |
94 | Apple Valley | 52,889 |
95 | Shorewood | 7,867 |
96 | La Crescent | 5,138 |
97 | St. Louis Park | 48,677 |
98 | Mahtomedi | 8,164 |
99 | Baxter | 8,202 |
100 | Mound | 9,480 |
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