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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Families relocating within Minnesota face a complex equation: income, housing costs, healthcare, and quality schools. That tracks. We ran the numbers on 2 cities. St Paul — index 97, rent $1,485/mo, healthcare index 100 — ranks #1 on our family-weighted model. Not even close to the national average.
Families relocating within Minnesota face a complex equation: income, housing costs, healthcare, and quality schools. That tracks. We ran the numbers on 2 cities. St Paul — index 97, rent $1,485/mo, healthcare index 100 — ranks #1 on our family-weighted model. Not even close to the national average.
Our family scoring model prioritizes four dimensions: household income above $60K (supporting a family-sized budget), cost index under 100 (keeping daily expenses manageable), healthcare index under 110 (critical for pediatric care and family premiums), and population above 200K (ensuring access to quality schools and youth programs). St Paul leads because it scores across all four. Minneapolis and the runner-up follow with different strengths in income and population (and that gap widens if you factor in state taxes).
Here's St Paul by the numbers — and there's a lot to like (and a little to watch). Cost index: 97. Rent: $1,485/month. Income: $73,055/year. Home price: $289,137. Population: 303,820. The strongest category is Utilities at 89; the most expensive is Healthcare at 100. Translate that rent to annual numbers, and residents are saving renters $4,920 per year vs. the national median. If you've ever felt priced out, the numbers here offer a different path.
If you're ready to act on this, three things to do next: 1) Click into the city pages for the top 3 and check rent trends — direction matters more than the snapshot. 2) Run your income through the salary calculator for a personalized cost comparison. 3) Compare your top two picks head-to-head on our comparison page. The data is here; the decision is yours.
#1 Ranked: St Paul — cost index 97, rent $1,485/mo, income $73,055
Family-weighted scoring: income $73,055, healthcare index 100, population 303,820 — balancing career, care, and schools
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
303,820 residents · Minnesota
The #1 spot goes to St Paul, and the breakdown explains why. And on balance, renters here pay $1,485/month — saving renters $4,920 per year compared to the national average. Meanwhile, Utilities is the standout at index 89, making it one of the cheapest in the country for that category. The weak spot? Healthcare at 100. At a 24% rent-to-income ratio, there's genuine breathing room in the average household budget. One to watch.
425,115 residents · Minnesota
Dive into Minneapolis's numbers: cost index 101 (11 points below national average), rent $1,638/month, income $80,269, and a home price of $327,043. And with some exceptions, the city's cost profile isn't flat — Utilities is the cheapest category at 93, while Healthcare runs 104. With 425,115 residents, it balances mid-size city convenience with manageable costs (not adjusted for inflation, but still telling).
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Paul | 97 | $1,485 | Details |
| 2 | Minneapolis | 101 | $1,638 | Details |
St Paul ranks #1 in Minnesota for this analysis with a cost index of 97 and median income of $73,055.
St Paul scores highest for families due to its below-average cost of living, median rent of $1,485/mo, and competitive median income of $73,055.
Our cost of living index uses real Zillow rent data as the foundation, indexed to 100 (national median). Sub-categories (housing, food, transport, utilities, healthcare) are derived from the overall index with regional adjustments. Data is updated monthly.
St Paul (ranked #1) has a cost index of 97 and rent of $1,485/mo, while Minneapolis (ranked #2) has a cost index of 101 and rent of $1,638/mo — a 4-point difference in cost of living.
City data is refreshed monthly from Census Bureau population estimates, Zillow rent and home price indices, BLS salary data, and Tax Foundation tax rates. Last updated: 2026.
The median 1-bedroom rent in St Paul is $1,485/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $410 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in St Paul is $289,137, which is 4.0× the local median income. It's on the edge of affordability for median-income households. The national median home price is $467,370.
Minnesota has a 9.85% state income tax rate. Combined state and local sales tax averages 7.545%, and the effective property tax rate is 1.02%.
This ranking was generated using data current as of early 2026. Population and income data comes from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (5-year estimates). Rent and home price data is from Zillow's monthly releases. Tax rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2025 edition. Rankings are refreshed monthly.