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Everyone wants a home that mixes affordability with comfort and Minnesota does this very well. Families love the North Star State's beaches, midlands, and mountains as tourists before moving here and calling it home.
But before you decide to relocate, you have to do some research into the exact cost of living around the state -- and that's how we're going to help you.
These are the places in Minnesota that cost a pretty penny -- the most expensive cities in the state.
After we saved up for months and could finally afford it, we landed on this list of the ten most expensive cities in Minnesota for 2023.
So where is the most expensive place to live in Minnesota? That would be Hopkins.
the 2017-2021 American Community Survey for the 147 places in Minnesota with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the 10 most expensive places to live in Minnesota for 2023:
What's the most expensive place to live in Minnesota? Well, HomeSnacks crunched the numbers and discovered that Hopkins is the most expensive place to live in Minnesota.
So hopefully Hibbing (the cheapest place to live in Minnesota) can show these guys how to live on a budget in the coming years. Read on for how these places had costs rise faster than inflation.
And if you already knew these places were expensive, check out some more reading about Minnesota and the most expensive cities in the country:
The 10 Most Expensive Places To Live In Minnesota For 2023
1. Hopkins
/10
Population: 18,861
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.8x (2nd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 52.3x (4th most expensive)
More on Hopkins: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Hopkins comes in at $60,824 and the median home value is $289,500 for 2023.
2. Minneapolis
/10
Population: 425,091
Rank Last Year: 3 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.1x (5th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 60.5x (22nd most expensive)
More on Minneapolis: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Minneapolis comes in at $70,099 and the median home value is $284,400 for 2023.
3. Little Canada
/10
Population: 10,704
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.0x (7th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 55.4x (9th most expensive)
More on Little Canada: Real Estate | Data
The median income in Little Canada comes in at $61,959 and the median home value is $247,200 for 2023.
4. Falcon Heights
/10
Population: 5,388
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.1x (4th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 68.0x (55th most expensive)
More on Falcon Heights: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Falcon Heights comes in at $77,685 and the median home value is $315,500 for 2023.
5. New Hope
/10
Population: 21,683
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.8x (9th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 57.4x (13th most expensive)
More on New Hope: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in New Hope comes in at $64,929 and the median home value is $249,600 for 2023.
6. St. Louis Park
/10
Population: 49,539
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 7)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.5x (19th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 64.1x (39th most expensive)
More on St. Louis Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in St. Louis Park comes in at $87,639 and the median home value is $308,800 for 2023.
7. West St. Paul
/10
Population: 20,476
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 2)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.0x (6th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 53.1x (5th most expensive)
More on West St. Paul: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in West St. Paul comes in at $57,434 and the median home value is $232,400 for 2023.
8. Burnsville
/10
Population: 63,926
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.5x (23rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 59.4x (18th most expensive)
More on Burnsville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Burnsville comes in at $79,059 and the median home value is $275,500 for 2023.
9. Edina
/10
Population: 53,059
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 1)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 4.7x (3rd most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 75.6x (96th most expensive)
More on Edina: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Edina comes in at $115,047 and the median home value is $537,400 for 2023.
10. Minnetonka
/10
Population: 53,809
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 4)
Home Price To Income Ratio: 3.5x (20th most expensive)
Income To Rent Ratio: 69.6x (68th most expensive)
More on Minnetonka: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The median income in Minnetonka comes in at $106,023 and the median home value is $373,000 for 2023.
Methodology: How We Determined The Most Expensive Places To Live In The North Star State For 2023
The two most important things to think about when it comes to being able to afford if you can live comes down to:
- How much do money do I make?
- How much do I have spend to live there?
You need to understand your costs in the context of how much money you make.
For example, if the median household earns $100,000 and spends $40,000 on housing it's actually cheaper to live there than a place with a median income of $50,000 and housing costs of $21,000. You might spend more on housing, but you have more money overall to play with.
With that example in mind, we derived several statistics from the latest Census American Community Survey 2017-2021 around incomes and costs. They are:
- Median Home Price / Median Income (lower is better)
- Median Income / Median Rent (Higher is better)
- Median Home Price
We added simply median home price because high home prices generally correlate with higher expenses for all costs related to homes (heating, electricity, etc).
You can then compare these metrics in each of the places in Minnesota to figure out which is the most expensive.
What you are left with is a "Cost of Living Index" by taking the average rank of each of these metrics for each city.
So we used that cost of living index in order to rank all of the 147 places in Minnesota that have more than 5,000 people.
The place with the highest cost of living in Minnesota according to the data is Hopkins. You can download the data here.
Summary: Taking A Chunk Out Of Your Paycheck In Minnesota For 2023
Well there you have it, the places in Minnesota that have the highest cost of living, with Hopkins ranking as the most expensive city in the North Star State.
Here's a look at the most affordable cities in Minnesota according to the data:
- Hibbing
- Stewartville
- Montevideo
For more Minnesota reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Minnesota
- Cheapest Places To Live In Minnesota
- Most Dangerous Cities In Minnesota
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Minnesota
- Safest Places In Minnesota
- Worst Places To Live In Minnesota
Detailed List Of The Most Expensive Cities In Minnesota
| Rank | City | ExpensiveScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hopkins | 17.67 |
| 2 | Minneapolis | 26.0 |
| 3 | Little Canada | 30.0 |
| 4 | Falcon Heights | 30.33 |
| 5 | New Hope | 31.33 |
| 6 | St. Louis Park | 31.33 |
| 7 | West St. Paul | 31.5 |
| 8 | Burnsville | 33.67 |
| 9 | Edina | 34.67 |
| 10 | Minnetonka | 34.67 |
| 11 | Bloomington | 35.0 |
| 12 | Richfield | 37.33 |
| 13 | St. Paul | 37.83 |
| 14 | White Bear Lake | 38.0 |
| 15 | New Brighton | 40.0 |
| 16 | Hermantown | 41.67 |
| 17 | Waite Park | 43.0 |
| 18 | Shorewood | 45.0 |
| 19 | Apple Valley | 45.0 |
| 20 | Anoka | 46.67 |
| 21 | Robbinsdale | 47.0 |
| 22 | Woodbury | 47.33 |
| 23 | Orono | 48.33 |
| 24 | Golden Valley | 48.67 |
| 25 | Mankato | 49.67 |
| 26 | Chanhassen | 50.33 |
| 27 | Bemidji | 50.67 |
| 28 | Little Falls | 52.0 |
| 29 | Fridley | 52.33 |
| 30 | Roseville | 53.67 |
| 31 | Brooklyn Park | 54.33 |
| 32 | Arden Hills | 54.33 |
| 33 | Forest Lake | 54.83 |
| 34 | Chisago City | 55.0 |
| 35 | Waconia | 55.0 |
| 36 | Hugo | 55.33 |
| 37 | Maplewood | 57.33 |
| 38 | Cambridge | 57.33 |
| 39 | Stillwater | 57.33 |
| 40 | Eagan | 57.67 |
| 41 | Plymouth | 58.0 |
| 42 | St. Anthony | 58.0 |
| 43 | Mahtomedi | 58.67 |
| 44 | North St. Paul | 59.0 |
| 45 | Minnetrista | 59.33 |
| 46 | Brooklyn Center | 59.33 |
| 47 | Eden Prairie | 59.67 |
| 48 | Chaska | 60.67 |
| 49 | Spring Lake Park | 61.33 |
| 50 | Dayton | 61.67 |
| 51 | Alexandria | 62.17 |
| 52 | Detroit Lakes | 62.33 |
| 53 | Inver Grove Heights | 62.67 |
| 54 | Baxter | 62.67 |
| 55 | Medina | 63.67 |
| 56 | Ham Lake | 64.33 |
| 57 | Mendota Heights | 64.33 |
| 58 | Blaine | 64.67 |
| 59 | Ramsey | 66.17 |
| 60 | Faribault | 66.33 |
| 61 | Albertville | 66.67 |
| 62 | Brainerd | 67.0 |
| 63 | Vadnais Heights | 67.33 |
| 64 | Grand Rapids | 67.67 |
| 65 | North Oaks | 68.0 |
| 66 | Moorhead | 68.67 |
| 67 | Oakdale | 69.33 |
| 68 | Savage | 70.67 |
| 69 | Sartell | 71.33 |
| 70 | Maple Grove | 72.33 |
| 71 | Andover | 72.33 |
| 72 | Mound | 72.67 |
| 73 | Shoreview | 73.33 |
| 74 | Coon Rapids | 73.33 |
| 75 | Winona | 73.33 |
| 76 | Fergus Falls | 73.67 |
| 77 | Shakopee | 73.67 |
| 78 | Lakeville | 74.33 |
| 79 | Monticello | 75.0 |
| 80 | St. Paul Park | 75.0 |
| 81 | Crystal | 75.0 |
| 82 | Northfield | 75.33 |
| 83 | Oak Grove | 75.33 |
| 84 | St. Peter | 75.33 |
| 85 | Victoria | 77.0 |
| 86 | La Crescent | 77.67 |
| 87 | Columbia Heights | 78.0 |
| 88 | Prior Lake | 78.0 |
| 89 | St. Cloud | 79.33 |
| 90 | Corcoran | 79.33 |
| 91 | Zimmerman | 80.0 |
| 92 | Rochester | 80.33 |
| 93 | Duluth | 81.0 |
| 94 | Cottage Grove | 81.33 |
| 95 | Lake Elmo | 82.0 |
| 96 | Litchfield | 82.33 |
| 97 | South St. Paul | 83.33 |
| 98 | Elk River | 83.33 |
| 99 | Lake City | 83.5 |
| 100 | Sauk Rapids | 83.67 |
