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Place dossier plate
SheetMN-FIFTY-LAKES-MN · Fifty Lakes, MN 463 pop · income 61st pct
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 Fifty Lakes
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Fifty Lakes on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Hope · lowest
48,750
Hope · lowest
48,750 median HH income
38.0% of the leader · rank #1
Kennesaw · near
79,759
Kennesaw · near
79,759 median HH income
62.1% of the leader · rank #2
Evansville · near
79,760
Evansville · near
79,760 median HH income
62.1% of the leader · rank #3
Millington · near
79,767
Millington · near
79,767 median HH income
62.1% of the leader · rank #4
Fifty Lakes · this city
79,773
Fifty Lakes · this city
79,773 median HH income
62.1% of the leader · rank #5
Faunsdale · near
79,773
Faunsdale · near
79,773 median HH income
62.1% of the leader · rank #6
Stanford · highest
128,356
Stanford · highest
128,356 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
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Fifty Lakes on ACS population and median household income
. 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: 463.
Nationally, Fifty Lakes sits in the 61st percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
61st
percentile, household income
77th
percentile, home value
36th
percentile, median rent
📝 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: Fifty Lakes, MN
463 people live in Fifty Lakes, Minnesota - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Median household income here is $79,773 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 6.4%. Home values in Fifty Lakes run a median of $401,000, and the median resident age is 65.1 years. 37.4% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 31.1% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 8 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Rapid Growth), up 33% from five years earlier.
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. A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,125 per month statewide. Monthly utility costs average around $225 across Minnesota, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. 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 Fifty Lakes'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 work and mobility to housing and income to population change to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Fifty Lakes, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the journey to work look like in Fifty Lakes?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 73.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.
How far does income reach against housing in Fifty Lakes?
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. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 6.4%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Is Fifty Lakes growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +16 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +3.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 8 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Fifty Lakes?
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.
Within Minnesota, the closest population matches are Brandon (462 residents, $64,625 income); Carlos (465 residents, $65,625 income); Randolph (465 residents, $101,786 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Stanford, IN (463 residents); Hope, KS (463 residents); Naples, ME (463 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.
Above median income · poverty 6.4% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
98.6 (US=100)
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Minnesota average
C
City profile score · Fifty Lakes, MN
57/100
4 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.
Bachelor's+ share B
37.4%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income C
$79,773
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate C
6.4%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
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.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Fifty Lakes profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 71/100 (B) · 37.4%
Household income: 59/100 (C) · $79,773
Poverty rate: 56/100 (C) · 6.4%
Cost of living: 46/100 (D) · 98.6 index
How does Fifty Lakes compare to other US cities?
Where Fifty Lakes sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income61% higher than other cities
Home value77% pricier than other cities
Median rent36% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Fifty Lakes 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 Fifty Lakes near the bottom of Minnesota's cities
Among the 785 Minnesota cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Fifty Lakes ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Fifty Lakes only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#263 of 775
66th percentile in Minnesota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 785
0th percentile in Minnesota
Median Home Value
#60 of 774
92nd percentile in Minnesota
Poverty Rate
#339 of 785
57th percentile in Minnesota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#132 of 784
83rd 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
61st percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Fifty Lakes's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$401,00023rd percentilemore affordable than 23% 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
Fifty Lakes's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#12,933 of 15,516
More affordable than 17% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#9,785 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 5.0×, Fifty Lakes sits in the pressured band:
national rank #12,933 of 15,516 and #9,785 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
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
$79,773Fifty Lakes, MN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Fifty Lakes, 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 Fifty Lakes, MN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)37.4%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)6.4%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)31.1%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
463
Median Income
$79,773
Median Home Value
$401,000
Median Age
65.1
Poverty Rate
6.4%
Labor force participation
31.1%
Bachelor's Degree+
37.4%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Fifty Lakes's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
446 residents
2021
453 residents
2022
454 residents
2023
458 residents
2024
457 residents
2025
462 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Rapid Growth
Total Permits (2024)
8
housing units authorized
Single-Family
8
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
17.3
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
6
6
0
$1.4M
2020
5
5
0
$1.2M
2021
4
4
0
$1.0M
2022
9
9
0
$2.5M
2023
6
6
0
$1.8M
2024
8
8
0
$2.5M
Permit volume increased 33% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
73.7%
Carpool
7.3%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
16.1%
Other
2.9%
Based on 137 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 Fifty Lakes. 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 Fifty Lakes 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 Fifty Lakes sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Fifty Lakes 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, 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.