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Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
Crunching costs, sorting signals, rendering insights.
After service, the right city means keeping more of what you've earned. We scored 2 cities across Minnesota for veterans: cost, taxes, and healthcare. Minneapolis takes #1 for 2026.
#1 Ranked: Minneapolis — cost index 101, rent $1,638/mo, income $80,269
Veteran scoring: cost index 101, state tax 9.85%, healthcare index 104 — preserving earned benefits
Data sourced from Census Bureau, Zillow, BLS, and Tax Foundation — current as of 2026
After service, the right city means keeping more of what you've earned. We scored 2 cities across Minnesota for veterans: cost, taxes, and healthcare. Minneapolis takes #1 for 2026.
Why Minneapolis ranks #1: the numbers tell a clear story. At 101 on the cost index, residents save roughly 11% less than the typical American. Rent sits at $1,638/month while the median household pulls in $80,269/year. The Utilities category is particularly strong at 93, though Healthcare (104) lags behind. Home prices average $327,043 — $140,327 below the national median.
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 (your mileage may vary — literally). Not even close to the national average.
| Rank | City | Cost Index | Median Rent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minneapolis | 101 | $1,638 | Details |
| 2 | St Paul | 97 | $1,485 | Details |
425,115 residents · Minnesota
What does daily life actually cost in Minneapolis? Start with the 24% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. On the category level, Utilities (index 93) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 104) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $80,269 — we had to double-check this one — and homes at $327,043 round out a profile that ranks #1 for clear reasons.
303,820 residents · Minnesota
What does daily life actually cost in St Paul? Start with the 24% rent-to-income ratio — that's the kind of margin that lets people build savings. On the category level, Utilities (index 89) is where the real savings show up, while Healthcare (index 100) is the line item most likely to surprise newcomers. Income at $73,055 and homes at $289,137 round out a profile that ranks #2 for clear reasons.
Our persona scoring model weights cost of living, income, rent, healthcare costs, tax burden, and population size differently based on what matters most to military veterans. Each factor contributes 10-25 points to a 0-100 composite score. Cities with the highest composite rank first. All data is sourced from federal agencies and verified research institutions. Cost of living indices are normalized to 100 (national median) using Zillow rent as the primary signal, with sub-category adjustments derived from regional BLS price data. Rankings are updated monthly as new data is released.
Minneapolis ranks #1 in Minnesota for this analysis with a cost index of 101 and median income of $80,269.
Minneapolis scores highest for military veterans due to its strong income potential, median rent of $1,638/mo, and competitive median income of $80,269.
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.
Minneapolis (ranked #1) has a cost index of 101 and rent of $1,638/mo, while St Paul (ranked #2) has a cost index of 97 and rent of $1,485/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 Minneapolis is $1,638/month as of 2026, based on Zillow's Observed Rent Index. This is $257 below the national median of $1,895/month.
The median home price in Minneapolis is $327,043, which is 4.1× 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.