Southwest Minnesota is a national leader in agricultural production, and renewable energy.
The region's thriving manufacturing sector includes food processing, machinery, printing, metal products, and computers and electronic products.
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1/26/2024 9:00:00 AM
Luke Greiner, Amanda O'Connell
Along with everything else, the cost of housing has increased rapidly over the past 5 years. For example, a 2022 story about a study from the Minneapolis Area Realtors suggests that the average price for a home in the Twin Cities had jumped 51% from 2017 to 2022. Data from the newly released American Community Survey show a similar increase, with the estimated median value of owner-occupied housing units climbing 44% statewide from 2017 to 2022, an increase of more than $87,000.
According to the 2022 American Community Survey estimates, the median value of owner-occupied housing units rose to $286,800 in Minnesota, compared to $281,900 in the U.S. Median values ranged from a high of $400,500 in Carver County to a low of $109,300 in Traverse County. Every county in Minnesota saw at least a 10% rise in median housing value from 2017 to 2022, with rapid gains spread across the state.
Southwest Minnesota is home to relatively affordable housing units, with 16 of the 23 counties in the region ranking in the bottom 30 of the 87 counties in the state for estimated median value of housing units. This includes three of the bottom five and six of the bottom 10 (see Table 1). The highest median values were found in the Mankato area, including in Le Sueur, Nicollet, and Blue Earth counties.
| Table 1. Selected Housing Characteristics in Southwest Minnesota, 2022 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Area | Total housing units, 2022 | Median value of owner-occupied units (dollars) | Rank (of 87), 2022 | Percent Increase, 2017-2022 | Rank (of 87), 2017-2022 |
| United States | 140,943,613 | $281,900 | - | +45.7% | - |
| Minnesota | 2,493,956 | $286,800 | - | +43.6% | - |
| Le Sueur Co. | 12,889 | $271,900 | 15 | +42.6% | 24 |
| Nicollet Co. | 13,461 | $240,700 | 25 | +35.2% | 54 |
| Blue Earth Co. | 29,264 | $239,200 | 26 | +40.0% | 33 |
| Sibley Co. | 6,462 | $196,600 | 48 | +37.7% | 46 |
| Waseca Co. | 7,899 | $191,800 | 51 | +29.8% | 74 |
| Rock Co. | 4,236 | $189,100 | 52 | +41.5% | 27 |
| Lyon Co. | 11,188 | $177,600 | 53 | +30.7% | 71 |
| Brown Co. | 11,765 | $165,200 | 58 | +22.1% | 82 |
| Murray Co. | 4,418 | $163,500 | 60 | +51.8% | 7 |
| Nobles Co. | 8,424 | $161,000 | 64 | +36.1% | 53 |
| Martin Co. | 9,737 | $148,100 | 68 | +31.8% | 67 |
| Yellow Medicine Co. | 4,526 | $145,400 | 69 | +46.7% | 15 |
| Cottonwood Co. | 5,157 | $141,600 | 70 | +58.4% | 3 |
| Jackson Co. | 4,912 | $140,500 | 72 | +23.1% | 80 |
| Lincoln Co. | 3,062 | $139,500 | 73 | +46.4% | 17 |
| Chippewa Co. | 5,640 | $138,900 | 74 | +32.9% | 64 |
| Redwood Co. | 7,110 | $138,700 | 75 | +42.4% | 26 |
| Swift Co. | 4,683 | $132,400 | 78 | +29.7% | 75 |
| Lac qui Parle Co. | 3,483 | $127,300 | 81 | +57.0% | 4 |
| Pipestone Co. | 4,339 | $126,500 | 82 | +38.7% | 37 |
| Watonwan Co. | 4,879 | $119,200 | 84 | +26.1% | 79 |
| Faribault Co. | 6,915 | $116,000 | 85 | +34.1% | 59 |
| Big Stone Co. | 2,980 | $115,000 | 86 | +18.6% | 86 |
| Source: 2018-2022 American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates,
Table DP04. Selected Housing Characteristics |
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While the highest median values are found mostly in the 7-county Twin Cities metro area and the surrounding counties, the fastest increase in median value in the state was recorded in Kittson County, which rose just over 70%, followed by Lake of the Woods County, which grew nearly 60%. Both counties are located in Northwest Minnesota, and saw big increases based on relatively low starting values in 2017. But the next two fastest increases were seen in Southwest Minnesota, with Cottonwood (+58.4%) and Lac qui Parle (+57.0%) ranking third and fourth fastest, followed by Murray (+51.8%) ranking seventh.
Affordable housing is a major workforce issue throughout the state. Even in Southwest Minnesota, where housing costs are relatively low, the recent increases have led to more challenges. Southwest Minnesota reported the lowest basic needs cost of living for a typical 3-person household in the state, with housing being one of the major costs. Increasing costs will have an impact on affordability moving forward, but the region still boasts lower cost housing than other regions.
Contact Luke Greiner at luke.greiner@state.mn.us or Amanda O'Connell at amanda.oconnell@state.mn.us.
