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Place dossier plate
SheetMN-ELK-RIVER-MN · Elk River, MN 26,367 pop · income 77th pct · 19 tracts
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Elk River
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Elk River on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Elmira · lowest
43,089
Elmira · lowest
43,089 median HH income
31.2% of the leader · rank #1
Pine Level · near
99,444
Pine Level · near
99,444 median HH income
72.0% of the leader · rank #2
Elk River · this city
99,457
Elk River · this city
99,457 median HH income
72.1% of the leader · rank #3
Slinger · near
99,457
Slinger · near
99,457 median HH income
72.1% of the leader · rank #4
Goshen · near
99,464
Goshen · near
99,464 median HH income
72.1% of the leader · rank #5
Perkasie · near
99,474
Perkasie · near
99,474 median HH income
72.1% of the leader · rank #6
Chanhassen · highest
138,034
Chanhassen · highest
138,034 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Elk River on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 26,367.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Elk River - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Elk River lands in the 77th percentile for household income and the 60th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
77th
percentile, household income
70th
percentile, home value
36th
percentile, median rent
60th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
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.
Data Snapshot: Elk River, MN
Minnesota's Elk River is a small city, with 26,367 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Elk River households earn a median of $99,457 annually, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 2.4%. Home values in Elk River run a median of $338,300, and the median resident age is 37.3 years. About 30.8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 68.8% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 98 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Slowing), down 22% from five years earlier. Elk River reports a comparatively low crime rate: per-100,000 total crime stands at 1096.1 in FBI UCR data, below the national average (a voluntary reporting program, read this as reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Minnesota tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: the state registers 98.6 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Near Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,125 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Minnesota run around $225, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Workers in Elk River report an average commute of 24.3 minutes, with 76.9% driving alone and 14.1% working from home. Natural-hazard exposure scores 42.4 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Elk River's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to schools and households to housing and income to reported crime to work and mobility to within-city variation to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Elk River, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, commute-mode shares, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count.
All six city-specific enrichment layers used by this profile are present.
Question 1
Is Elk River growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +1,958 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +7.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 98 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
What does the education layer cover for Elk River?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 21 public schools within the city match. 30.8% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
What can 19 Census tracts reveal inside Elk River?
PlainCities matches 19 Census tracts to this city.
That layer breaks the citywide income, rent, and home-value medians into smaller Census geographies, which can reveal differences that one municipal median necessarily hides. A tract is a statistical area, not a locally defined neighborhood or a promise about conditions on a particular block. Start with the city profile for the broad comparison, then use the tract layer to test whether the same housing and income pattern is consistent across the city. Large within-city spreads are a reason to avoid treating any citywide median as a universal resident experience.
Which cities make useful reference points for Elk River?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Minnesota, the closest population matches are Owatonna (26,462 residents, $81,276 income); Rosemount (26,509 residents, $127,247 income); Austin (26,167 residents, $66,488 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Carolina Forest, SC (26,373 residents); Elmira, NY (26,349 residents); Forest Grove, OR (26,406 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Elk River?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 2.4%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Value / income
3.4×
Home value
$338,300
Household income
$99,457
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Elk River?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 1096.1 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 52% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
1096.1
Violent rate
89.8
Property rate
1006.3
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the journey to work look like in Elk River?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 76.9%. The reported mean trip to work is 24.3 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Drive alone
76.9%
Work from home
14.1%
Public transit
1.4%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 13,808 workers age 16+.
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Minnesota average
B-
City profile score · Elk River, MN
69/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate A-
2.4%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income B+
$99,457
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime B
90 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share C
30.8%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living D
98.6 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Elk River profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 83/100 (A-) · 2.4%
Household income: 77/100 (B+) · $99,457
Violent crime: 73/100 (B) · 90 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 59/100 (C) · 30.8%
Cost of living: 46/100 (D) · 98.6 index
Where Elk River sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Elk River's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Elk River highlighted among 10 peers.Read the chart values
Elk River, MN (this city): home $338,300, crime 1,096/100k
Elmira, NY : home $88,200, crime 4,684/100k
Forest Grove, OR : home $464,300, crime 1,704/100k
Woodstock, IL : home $231,100, crime 637/100k
Leland, NC : home $358,800, crime 1,080/100k
Eureka, CA : home $375,800, crime 4,187/100k
Owatonna, MN : home $234,600, crime 971/100k
Rosemount, MN : home $406,100, crime 556/100k
Austin, MN : home $155,100, crime 1,793/100k
Winona, MN : home $193,500, crime 2,484/100k
How does Elk River compare to other US cities?
Here's how Elk River stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income77% higher than other cities
Home value70% pricier than other cities
Median rent36% pricier than other cities
Safety60% safer than other cities
"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, Elk River ranks #129 of 229 Minnesota cities by lowest crime rate - a narrower, more locally useful cut than the national comparison above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Elk River against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Minnesota only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Minnesota-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Elk River near the bottom of Minnesota's cities
Among the 785 Minnesota cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Elk River ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Elk River only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#126 of 775
84th percentile in Minnesota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 785
0th percentile in Minnesota
Median Home Value
#108 of 774
86th percentile in Minnesota
Poverty Rate
#580 of 785
25th percentile in Minnesota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#197 of 784
75th percentile in Minnesota
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Minnesota only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
77th percentile nationally for median household income · 60th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Elk River's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Elk River's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Elk River's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$338,30030th percentilemore affordable than 30% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
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
Elk River's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#8,580 of 15,516
More affordable than 45% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,397 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.4×, Elk River sits in the moderate band:
national rank #8,580 of 15,516 and #1,397 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$99,457Elk River, MN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Elk River, MN median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Elk River, MN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)30.8%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)2.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)68.8%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
26,367
Median Income
$99,457
Median Home Value
$338,300
Median Age
37.3
Poverty Rate
2.4%
Labor force participation
68.8%
Bachelor's Degree+
30.8%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1096.1
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
89.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1006.3
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
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.
Schools
Total Schools
21
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Elk River's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
25,938 residents
2021
26,268 residents
2022
26,749 residents
2023
27,371 residents
2024
27,622 residents
2025
27,896 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Slowing
Total Permits (2024)
98
housing units authorized
Single-Family
98
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.7
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
125
117
8
$27.6M
2020
120
112
8
$25.4M
2021
199
139
60
$41.3M
2022
268
84
184
$41.3M
2023
141
89
52
$30.2M
2024
98
98
0
$23.2M
Permit volume decreased 22% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
24.3 minutes
Drive Alone
76.9%
Carpool
5.3%
Public Transit
1.4%
Walk
0.6%
Work from Home
14.1%
Other
1.7%
Based on 13,808 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Minnesota statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $225
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Minnesota at $225 (electricity about $95 , water and sewer about $45 ).
These are Minnesota statewide averages, not a meter reading for Elk River. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Minnesota's BEA cost-of-living index is 98.6 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Elk River is $1,125/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Minnesota statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 42.4 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Minnesota statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Elk River sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Elk River compares to similar-size Minnesota cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
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.