Minnesota, the “Land of 10,000 lakes.” Minnesota is a state filled with natural beauty, stunning lake country, and delightful towns. We’ve been making the round lately with our studies, analyzing various American states and identifying the richest cities there. Recently, we have covered several states of the Midwest, including the richest cities in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio. Here, we’re going to examine Minnesota.
We analyzed over 900 cities in the state in order to identify the richest cities in Minnesota. The manner in which we evaluated and scored each city’s ranking is detailed below.
Read on to find out what the wealthiest city in Minnesota is, plus the top 50 richest cities in the state overall.
What Are the Richest Cities in Minnesota?
In order to generate our list of the richest cities in Minnesota, we sourced critical financial data from the Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey. Equipped with these datasets, we constructed a four-factor scoring system to help identify the wealthiest cities in Minnesota:
- Median household income
- Mean (average) household income
- Median home value
- Median property taxes paid
When it comes to Census data, there are some important things to note: For certain factors, the Census numbers have upper limits and, therefore, no exact figure. For example, for median household income, the Census Bureau has an upper limit of “$250,000+”. For median home value, the upper limit is “$2,000,000+”. For median property taxes paid, the upper limit is “$10,000+”. Because of this, the mean household income (which is the same as average household income) dataset is crucial because the Census Bureau has exact figures for it. All four of these metrics were scored, added up, and then ranked by the cities’ combined scores.
Below you’ll find a table detailing the top 50 richest cities in Minnesota and their respective dollar figures for each metric:
The Richest City in Minnesota
The No. 1 richest city in Minnesota in our ranking is Minnetonka Beach, a town with a total of 184 households. As the town’s name suggests, Minnetonka Beach lies on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. It is a remarkably beautiful place during the summer months. With a median household income of $246,250, Minnetonka Beach is tied with Sunfish Lake for having the highest median household income in Minnesota. The average household income in Minnetonka Beach is $351,598, the second highest in the state. With a reported median home value of $1.125 million, Minnetonka Beach’s median property taxes paid exceed $10,000 per year. According to Data USA, Management Occupations constitute the largest percentage of occupations for residents of Minnetonka Beach, accounting for 27.6% of the workforce. Notably, Business & Financial Operations Occupations account for 12% of the workforce. When it comes to the top-employing industries in Minnetonka Beach, they are Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (15.2% of the workforce), Manufacturing (13.6% of the workforce), and Wholesale Trade (11.6% of the workforce).
The No. 2 richest city in Minnesota is Sunfish Lake, an affluent southern suburb of Minneapolis. Like No. 1 Minnetonka Beach, the median household income in Sunfish Lake is $246,250. Meanwhile, the average household income in Sunfish Lake is lower than in Minnetonka Beach, at $340,480, making it the fourth highest in Minnesota. In terms of reported home value, the median home value in Sunfish Lake is $986,400, which is the second highest in Minnesota. The employment breakdown of Sunfish Lake generally makes sense for a high-income town. According to Data USA, like Minnetonka Beach, Management Occupations account for the highest share of the workforce, at 26%. When it comes to the top-employing industries in Sunfish Lake, they are Health Care & Social Assistance (21.3% of the workforce), Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (12% of the workforce), and Retail Trade (8.91% of the workforce).
The No. 3 richest city in Minnesota brings us back to Lake Minnetonka — the town of Woodland. This small community of 213 households is across the Lower Lake from Minnetonka Beach. The three biggest occupational categories, according to Data USA, are Sales & Related Occupations (29.5% of the workforce), Management Occupations (27.4% of the workforce), and Business & Financial Operations Occupations (13.7% of the workforce). Looking at Woodland’s top employers by industry, the breakdown is Manufacturing (25.2% of the workforce), Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (15% of the workforce), and Real Estate & Rental & Leasing (12.4% of the workforce). Woodland has a median household income of $193,125, which is the fifth highest in Minnesota. However, its average household income of $363,129 makes it the highest in the state. At $965,300, its reported median home value is the fourth highest in the state. Not coincidentally, the median property taxes paid in Woodland exceed $10,000 per year.