The 10 Best Places To Live In Minnesota For 2022

The 10 Best Places To Live In Minnesota For 2022

Chanhassen is a Carver County city of 25,965 located about a half-hour outside of Minneapolis. A low poverty level and low unemployment rate create a solid economic foundation for the city. Not to mention that both the median household income and median home price in Chanhassen are in the top ten statewide at $124,184/year and $400,300 respectively. Chanhassen also has the 4th lowest adult high school dropout rate in Minnesota, so the motto “stay in school” is certainly felt deeply here.

It’s easy to stop and smell the flowers in a city as awesome as Chanhassen. Especially when you’ve got the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum right in your neighborhood.

Wrapping up our list of best places to live in Minnesota is Minnetonka, a Twin Cities suburb of 53,760. Minnetonka’s inclusion on this list means that more than half the best places to live in the state are located in Hennepin County. If you’re looking for a more mature community, Minnetonka might be your best bet, because the median age here is 43, the highest on this list. But there’s good news for young people as well because Minnetonka’s school district has a student expenditure about 55% higher than the statewide average. That’s part of the reason why we named Minnetonka one of the best cities for families in Minnesota. All the family-friendly activities available at Purgatory Park is another reason.

Now, at $100,363/year, Minnetonka has the lowest median household income on this list. Seeing as home prices are in the same ballpark as other cities listed here, it makes sense that we named Minnetonka one of the most expensive cities in Minnesota. Don’t let that put you off though; we think Minnetonka is worth every penny.

Located about 45 minutes west of Minneapolis, the city of Waconia comes in as the 3rd best place in Minnesota. Waconia really outshines the competition in terms of economic success. With a ridiculously low poverty level of 2.7% and an unemployment rate of 2.1%, you’d better believe that everyone gets in on the good times in Waconia. Of the places we’ll be covering on this list, Waconia has the lowest cost of living, with an emphasis on affordable health care. Speaking of which, Waconia has the 47th highest rate of residents with health insurance in the state at 97.3%.

If you’re an outdoorsman or woman, you’ll also appreciate living beside Lake Waconia, which attracts visitors year-round for its renowned fishing. If that’s too slow-paced for you, paddling your way over to Coney Island to spot some bald eagles might be your jam.

We begin our tour of Minnesota’s best of the best with Edina, a suburb of the Twin Cities. Education is taken very seriously in this city of 52,215, with multiple Blue Ribbon award-winning elementary schools and a 7.5/10 average rating on GreatSchools. The graduation rate in Edina is more than 10% higher than the statewide average, so it’s no surprise that the high school dropout rate is one of the lowest in Minnesota. It’s not just the kiddos who love to learn in Edina either; over 30% of adults have at least a master’s degree.

Edina is also the most densely populated city on this list, so you know you’ll never be far from the action here. In fact, Edina residents enjoy the shortest commute of cities we’re covering here at just 21 minutes. The median household income in Edina is $108,576/year and home prices are among the priciest in the state. Meaning you might want a lucrative job lined up before committing to a mortgage.

While Edina often gets overshadowed by the Twin Cities, there’s plenty to do here as well. A local favorite is Centennial Lakes Park, complete with an 18-hole putting course, skating rink, amphitheater, and farmer’s market.

Plymouth is the largest Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb we’ll be covering, with a population of 78,879. We don’t hand out perfect 10/10 SnackAbility scores to just any place. Excellent public schools, low crime, and top-notch amenities all make Plymouth an enviable place to live. There’s so much to do at the French Regional Park that I won’t even try to list all the options, and Millenium Garden has been hailed as Plymouth’s best kept secret.

The poverty level and unemployment rate in Plymouth are both substantially lower than the national average, sitting at 3.7% and 2.3% respectively. Folks are doing pretty well for themselves in Plymouth, with a median household income of $112,631/year.

Mendota Heights, Minnesota, exists as a suburb of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, part of the largest metro complex in the state. That might make the city of 11,339 inhabitants seem like a typical urban expanse. Nope. While it does have many of the amenities of a major metropolitan area, it holds a meaningful connection to nature as well. It also serves as the number 6 top community in Minnesota.

Mendota Heights sits along two major rivers, the Mississippi and the Minnesota. This provides excellent scenic vistas and outdoor activities, whether its hiking on Pike Island or a trip to Fort Snelling State Park.

Still, living in the area gives you an exciting city experience as well. It’s 15 minutes to the center of Minneapolis. And, if you’re looking to see the wider world, it’s just over 5 minutes to the region’s busiest airport.

Given its location, Mendota Heights provides an excellent home base for commuters. As such, you’ll find many wealthy executives (and retired executives) living in the community. That leads to a relatively high median age of 47 and a hefty median income of $119,347.

All that cash floating around contributes to high home prices. The median home value sits at $402,600.

From the very big Plymouth, we turn to the very small Medina, a city of 6,549 and the 7th best place to live in Minnesota. Medina might not be so little for long, though, because it’s added nearly 33% to its population since 2010, making it one of the fastest growing cities in Minnesota. And the newcomers seem to be well-educated because over 30% of Medina’s population has a master’s degree, PhD, or professional degree.

Folks don’t seem to have much trouble getting work in Medina, where the unemployment rate is under 2%. And they’re getting paid well for their time, seeing as Medina has the 4th highest median household income in Minnesota at $156,563/year. However, you pretty much need to be earning the big bucks to make it in Medina, because the cost of living here is roughly 45% higher than the national average and the highest of anywhere we’re covering on this list.

Some other perks come along with Medina. Like having Baker Park Preserve in your neighborhood for everything from golf to camping to sledding. And you don’t have to worry about getting jumped here, because Medina has the 32nd least amount of violent crime in the state. If you do get hurt though, it’s probably no big deal, since 99.4% of residents have health insurance.

Eden Prairie is one of Minneapolis’ largest suburbs, with a population of 64,481. We gave Eden Prairie a perfect 10/10 for education on our SnackAbility scale thanks to consistently high test scores and top-quality schools. It’s no accident Eden Prairie ended up with such an amazing educational system; the city spends about 15% more per student than the Minnesota average.

Eden Prairie is also known for its low crime rate, solid housing and job markets, and high percentage of college graduates. Homes in Eden Prairie go for around $374,700 and the median household income is $115,227/year. If you do decide to settle down here, you’ll never have to worry about where to go for a day out shopping, because the Mall of America is just down the road.

Methodology: How We Calculated The Best Cities To Live In Minnesota

Now that we had our set of cities, it was time to rank them.

We ranked each place in Minnesota across a number of criteria from one to 144, with one being the best.

We then took the average rank across all criteria, with the city posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title “Best Place To Live In Minnesota”.

The criteria we looked at were:

• Median Home Values
• Median Income
• Population Density (Higher better)
• Unemployment Rate
• Commute Time
• Crime
• Education Levels
• Health Insurance Coverage
• Poverty rates

Sources of criteria include the New Census Data and FBI Crime Data. You can download the data here.

After the dust settled, what was the best place to live in Minnesota? That would be Chanhassen.

If your city or town isn’t among the top 10, jump down to the bottom of the post to see a detailed chart of the best places in Minnesota.

Otherwise, buckle up for a ride down good living lane with Chanhassen at the end of the cul-de-sac.