Population
17,941 residents
Census ACS 2023 - Minnesota
City profile · Minnesota · Census ACS 2023
Population, income, housing, safety, climate and schools for Anoka - drawn straight from Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA, NCES, HUD and FEMA, refreshed on the 2024–2025 release cycle.
Anoka - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Anoka places in the 56th percentile for household income and the 48th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 17,941 residents in Anoka, a small town within Minnesota. The typical household in Anoka brings in $75,262 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 5.5%. Typical homes in Anoka are valued around $292,900, and the median resident age is 40.0 years. Educational attainment runs 27.4% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 61.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 2 residential building permits were authorized in Anoka (Building Boom), up 100% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Anoka reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 1431.5 incidents per 100,000 residents, below the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Minnesota tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Minnesota scores 98.6 (Near Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,709 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Minnesota run around $225, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. The average commute for Anoka workers runs 22.5 minutes, with 77.4% driving alone and 10.2% working from home. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 88.0 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very High).
Population
17,941 residents
Census ACS 2023 - Minnesota
Median Household Income
$75,262 /yr
Poverty 5.5%
Cost of Living Index (state)
98.6 (US=100)
Near Average - BEA RPP 2024, Minnesota average
Here's how Anoka stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
National percentiles can mask local variation. Looking only at Minnesota, Anoka ranks #155 of 229 Minnesota cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
For each metric we count every US city with population 1,000+ and a non-null value, then compute what share of them fall below Anoka's value: round(cities-below ÷ total × 100). Safety is inverted (percentile = share of cities with a higher crime rate) so a higher number always means safer. The in-state rank narrows that same crime-rate comparison to only the cities PlainCities tracks in Minnesota, breaking ties alphabetically. See the methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.
56th percentile nationally for median household income · 48th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
How Anoka's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$292,900 36th percentile more affordable than 36% of 15,600 US cities
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
| Year | Total |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2020 | 48 |
| 2021 | 127 |
| 2022 | 38 |
| 2023 | 8 |
| 2024 | 2 |
Permit volume increased 100% from 2019 to 2024.
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Based on 8,650 workers 16 and over.
State-average estimates for Minnesota - EIA 2023 residential energy data
Estimates reflect Minnesota state averages. Actual costs vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Cost of living is a Minnesota state average from BEA; rent and hazard risk are county-level figures from HUD and FEMA for the county Anoka sits in
Population-matched peers from other states, closest to Anoka's 17,941 residents (Census ACS 5-Year 2023).
Median-household-income-matched peers from other states, closest to Anoka's $75,262 (Census ACS 5-Year 2023, table B19013).
City-level race and ethnicity, Census ACS 5-year 2023 (tables B02001, B03001), OMB Directive 15 categories.
Population + median household income, sourced from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 (population) and B19013 (median household income).
| City | Population | Median Household Income |
|---|---|---|
| Anoka (this city) | 17,941 | $75,262 |
| Albert Lea | 18,379 | $62,522 |
| Hopkins | 18,696 | $71,170 |
| Red Wing | 16,660 | $65,259 |
Anoka, MN has a population of 17,941 according to U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates.
In Anoka, the typical household earns $75,262 per year, based on Census ACS 2023 data.
BEA does not publish a city-level cost-of-living figure for Anoka; the closest available measure is the Minnesota state average, a cost of living index of 98.6 (U.S. average = 100), rated "Near Average" based on BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 data. Costs within Minnesota vary by metro area.
Anoka has a total crime rate of 1431.5 per 100,000 residents, which is below the national average. This reflects incidents reported to the FBI UCR program, not a definitive safety score -- agency reporting is voluntary and completeness varies by jurisdiction.
Homes in Anoka carry a median value of $292,900, according to Census ACS 2023 estimates.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES.
Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.