Like all states, Minnesota has certain places that are going on hard times. These Minnesota places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Minnesota.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 148 cities in Minnesota with more than 5,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Poorest Places In Minnesota For 2024:
What’s the poorest city in Minnesota? According to the facts, Waite Park is the poorest place in Minnesota for 2024.
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.
For more Minnesota reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Minnesota
- Cheapest Places To Live In Minnesota
- Most Dangerous Cities In Minnesota
- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
The 10 Poorest Cities In Minnesota For 2024
1. Waite Park
/10
Population: 8,290
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 2)
Median Income: $52,391 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 25.1% (highest)
People In Poverty: 2,082
More on Waite Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Waite Park, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Minnesota thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 8,290 people averages the 7th 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
/10
Population: 8,415
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $49,789 (5th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 23.3% (3rd highest)
People In Poverty: 1,964
More on Virginia: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
The second poorest city in Minnesota is Virginia.
The city ranks as having the 3rd highest incidence of poverty and 5th lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 17th highest in the North Star State.
3. Brainerd
/10
Population: 14,412
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $46,933 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 19.4% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,795
More on Brainerd: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Placing as the third poorest city, Brainerd’s median income ranks as the 2nd 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 19.4% 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. Bemidji
/10
Population: 15,441
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 3)
Median Income: $49,799 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.8% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 3,364
More on Bemidji: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Bemidji ranks as the fourth poorest place in Minnesota.
The town ranks as having the 6th lowest median household income and the 5th 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. Little Falls
/10
Population: 9,084
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Median Income: $44,455 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.7% (11th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,607
More on Little Falls: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
The fifth poorest city in Minnesota is Little Falls.
The city ranks as having the 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 Little Falls.
6. Winona
/10
Population: 26,083
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 1)
Median Income: $52,500 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 21.3% (6th highest)
People In Poverty: 5,547
More on Winona: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Winona ranks as the sixth poorest place in the North Star State.
It ranks as having the 6th highest incidence of poverty and the 105th highest unemployment rate.
7. Montevideo
/10
Population: 5,350
Rank Last Year: 15 (Up 8)
Median Income: $49,435 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 15.9% (20th highest)
People In Poverty: 852
More on Montevideo: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Montevideo places as the seventh poorest city in Minnesota.
The city of over 5,350 ranks as having the 20th 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. St. Cloud
/10
Population: 68,910
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Median Income: $58,910 (18th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 19.8% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 13,637
More on St. Cloud: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
St. Cloud ranks as the eighth poorest city in Minnesota.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
9. Grand Rapids
/10
Population: 11,158
Rank Last Year: 20 (Up 11)
Median Income: $53,317 (11th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 17.0% (14th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,892
More on Grand Rapids: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Grand Rapids couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Minnesota; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 11th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Grand Rapids ranks as having the 14th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Minnesota.
10. Mankato
/10
Population: 44,444
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Income: $61,726 (27th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 22.5% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 9,982
More on Mankato: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Minnesota is Mankato.
The city of 44,444 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the North Star State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Minnesota for 2024
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 used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2018-2022 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 148 places with more than 5,000 people in Minnesota, we ranked each place from 1 to 148 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, Waite Park, crowned the “Poorest Place In Minnesota For 2024”.
This report has been updated for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in Minnesota.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In Minnesota For 2024
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:
-
Richest: Dayton
2nd Richest: Victoria
3rd Richest: Rosemount
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 | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waite Park | 8,290 | 25.1% | $52,391 | 2,082 |
| 2 | Virginia | 8,415 | 23.3% | $49,789 | 1,964 |
| 3 | Brainerd | 14,412 | 19.4% | $46,933 | 2,795 |
| 4 | Bemidji | 15,441 | 21.8% | $49,799 | 3,364 |
| 5 | Little Falls | 9,084 | 17.7% | $44,455 | 1,607 |
| 6 | Winona | 26,083 | 21.3% | $52,500 | 5,547 |
| 7 | Montevideo | 5,350 | 15.9% | $49,435 | 852 |
| 8 | St. Cloud | 68,910 | 19.8% | $58,910 | 13,637 |
| 9 | Grand Rapids | 11,158 | 17.0% | $53,317 | 1,892 |
| 10 | Mankato | 44,444 | 22.5% | $61,726 | 9,982 |
| 11 | Willmar | 21,006 | 17.6% | $59,132 | 3,701 |
| 12 | Crookston | 7,472 | 15.3% | $52,557 | 1,143 |
| 13 | Morris | 5,094 | 16.8% | $59,261 | 855 |
| 14 | International Falls | 5,795 | 15.0% | $54,680 | 867 |
| 15 | Hibbing | 16,167 | 14.2% | $52,881 | 2,300 |
| 16 | Faribault | 24,418 | 15.8% | $58,881 | 3,860 |
| 17 | Worthington | 13,838 | 15.4% | $58,690 | 2,136 |
| 18 | Cloquet | 12,559 | 16.5% | $59,647 | 2,069 |
| 19 | Duluth | 86,772 | 17.5% | $63,545 | 15,159 |
| 20 | Fairmont | 10,411 | 13.9% | $56,744 | 1,450 |
| 21 | Marshall | 13,647 | 16.4% | $60,532 | 2,244 |
| 22 | Alexandria | 14,400 | 13.2% | $57,309 | 1,897 |
| 23 | St. Peter | 12,039 | 18.5% | $67,255 | 2,230 |
| 24 | Moorhead | 44,443 | 18.4% | $68,680 | 8,186 |
| 25 | Austin | 26,156 | 14.4% | $61,667 | 3,756 |
| 26 | St. Joseph | 7,066 | 24.0% | $74,318 | 1,695 |
| 27 | Albert Lea | 18,434 | 10.8% | $56,347 | 1,989 |
| 28 | Fergus Falls | 14,108 | 9.2% | $48,738 | 1,302 |
| 29 | St. Paul | 308,806 | 16.7% | $69,919 | 51,477 |
| 30 | Detroit Lakes | 9,966 | 10.9% | $60,317 | 1,082 |
| 31 | Red Wing | 16,627 | 12.6% | $65,107 | 2,090 |
| 32 | Redwood Falls | 5,091 | 11.5% | $64,214 | 586 |
| 33 | Minneapolis | 426,877 | 16.8% | $76,332 | 71,544 |
| 34 | Thief River Falls | 8,871 | 11.4% | $65,086 | 1,007 |
| 35 | Baxter | 8,668 | 11.5% | $67,064 | 994 |
| 36 | Columbia Heights | 21,822 | 13.1% | $70,470 | 2,856 |
| 37 | Isanti | 6,850 | 14.1% | $76,146 | 967 |
| 38 | Cambridge | 9,726 | 9.4% | $64,286 | 918 |
| 39 | Hutchinson | 14,588 | 9.6% | $64,635 | 1,397 |
| 40 | New Hope | 21,620 | 10.7% | $69,244 | 2,321 |
| 41 | New Ulm | 14,055 | 8.3% | $59,985 | 1,167 |
| 42 | Zimmerman | 6,243 | 14.7% | $79,720 | 919 |
| 43 | Little Canada | 10,624 | 10.7% | $69,673 | 1,132 |
| 44 | North St. Paul | 12,465 | 13.0% | $77,475 | 1,615 |
| 45 | Spring Lake Park | 6,966 | 11.6% | $74,697 | 808 |
| 46 | West St. Paul | 20,820 | 9.6% | $68,359 | 2,002 |
| 47 | Litchfield | 6,598 | 7.9% | $60,804 | 519 |
| 48 | Robbinsdale | 14,452 | 12.3% | $80,125 | 1,776 |
| 49 | Brooklyn Center | 33,109 | 9.9% | $70,692 | 3,284 |
| 50 | Hopkins | 18,752 | 9.1% | $70,058 | 1,697 |
| 51 | Waseca | 9,208 | 7.2% | $62,632 | 663 |
| 52 | Fridley | 29,731 | 10.6% | $76,592 | 3,145 |
| 53 | Anoka | 17,892 | 9.0% | $73,118 | 1,613 |
| 54 | New Brighton | 23,141 | 11.1% | $84,707 | 2,573 |
| 55 | East Grand Forks | 9,118 | 10.2% | $81,783 | 930 |
| 56 | North Mankato | 14,238 | 8.7% | $74,602 | 1,238 |
| 57 | Sauk Rapids | 13,830 | 7.2% | $66,442 | 988 |
| 58 | Monticello | 14,447 | 9.2% | $80,290 | 1,334 |
| 59 | Mounds View | 13,100 | 11.6% | $89,358 | 1,523 |
| 60 | Sartell | 19,382 | 7.8% | $74,177 | 1,507 |
| 61 | South St. Paul | 20,598 | 9.7% | $82,644 | 2,006 |
| 62 | Owatonna | 26,400 | 8.8% | $78,295 | 2,333 |
| 63 | Lake City | 5,108 | 7.3% | $71,324 | 373 |
| 64 | Maplewood | 41,405 | 10.7% | $86,769 | 4,422 |
| 65 | Brooklyn Park | 84,951 | 8.9% | $82,271 | 7,543 |
| 66 | Rochester | 120,848 | 9.1% | $83,973 | 11,009 |
| 67 | Glencoe | 5,712 | 5.7% | $67,547 | 326 |
| 68 | Richfield | 36,809 | 7.2% | $80,712 | 2,653 |
| 69 | Northfield | 20,518 | 7.8% | $83,125 | 1,592 |
| 70 | Burnsville | 64,075 | 8.0% | $85,801 | 5,126 |
| 71 | White Bear Lake | 24,317 | 6.7% | $79,699 | 1,629 |
| 72 | Coon Rapids | 63,296 | 7.7% | $85,445 | 4,873 |
| 73 | Bloomington | 89,244 | 8.0% | $87,381 | 7,094 |
| 74 | Jordan | 6,648 | 11.6% | $111,290 | 773 |
| 75 | La Crescent | 5,352 | 5.3% | $70,813 | 283 |
| 76 | Buffalo | 16,288 | 6.6% | $81,868 | 1,071 |
| 77 | Crystal | 22,954 | 7.2% | $86,288 | 1,643 |
| 78 | Mound | 9,272 | 7.6% | $89,855 | 708 |
| 79 | Roseville | 36,066 | 7.1% | $87,702 | 2,575 |
| 80 | Falcon Heights | 5,232 | 7.0% | $87,750 | 366 |
| 81 | Oakdale | 28,029 | 6.3% | $86,003 | 1,771 |
| 82 | St. Louis Park | 49,500 | 7.2% | $94,263 | 3,564 |
| 83 | North Branch | 10,968 | 7.2% | $94,564 | 788 |
| 84 | Hastings | 22,063 | 6.1% | $87,722 | 1,337 |
| 85 | Golden Valley | 22,142 | 8.6% | $110,026 | 1,906 |
| 86 | Forest Lake | 20,553 | 6.3% | $91,157 | 1,290 |
| 87 | Hermantown | 10,135 | 5.0% | $85,417 | 511 |
| 88 | Stewartville | 6,684 | 6.1% | $92,961 | 408 |
| 89 | Vadnais Heights | 12,864 | 5.2% | $89,632 | 675 |
| 90 | Shakopee | 44,135 | 6.8% | $103,924 | 3,005 |
| 91 | St. Paul Park | 5,497 | 5.6% | $92,760 | 306 |
| 92 | St. Francis | 8,198 | 6.0% | $98,390 | 494 |
| 93 | Apple Valley | 55,594 | 5.9% | $97,588 | 3,285 |
| 94 | Blaine | 70,047 | 6.1% | $100,659 | 4,272 |
| 95 | Inver Grove Heights | 35,673 | 5.7% | $98,719 | 2,044 |
| 96 | Stillwater | 19,316 | 6.1% | $107,986 | 1,182 |
| 97 | Champlin | 23,666 | 6.5% | $113,570 | 1,535 |
| 98 | Eagan | 68,262 | 5.8% | $104,101 | 3,993 |
| 99 | Chisago City | 5,576 | 4.5% | $92,278 | 252 |
| 100 | Elk River | 25,936 | 4.8% | $95,597 | 1,250 |