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Place dossier plate
SheetMN-HAM-LAKE-MN · Ham Lake, MN 16,575 pop · income 86th 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 Ham Lake
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Ham Lake on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Clearlake · lowest
41,580
Clearlake · lowest
41,580 median HH income
35.6% of the leader · rank #1
Ken Caryl · near
116,838
Ken Caryl · near
116,838 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #2
Ham Lake · this city
116,845
Ham Lake · this city
116,845 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #3
Memphis · near
116,852
Memphis · near
116,852 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #4
Southern Shor… · near
116,859
Southern Shor… · near
116,859 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #5
Odessa · highest
116,870
Odessa · highest
116,870 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #6
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 Ham Lake 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: 16,575.
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Ham Lake places in the 86th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.
86th
percentile, household income
80th
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: Ham Lake, MN
Minnesota's Ham Lake is a small town, with 16,575 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Households in Ham Lake report a median income of $116,845 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 2.3%. Ham Lake's housing stock carries a median value of $430,100, and the median resident age is 42.8 years. About 35.9% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 62.7% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 38 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 42% 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. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,125 monthly. 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 Ham Lake'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 work and mobility to comparison shortlist to schools and households to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Ham Lake, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, local building permits, commute-mode shares, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Ham Lake growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
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.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +598 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +3.6% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 38 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What does the journey to work look like in Ham Lake?
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.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 80.2%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Which cities make useful reference points for Ham Lake?
Within Minnesota, the closest population matches are Red Wing (16,660 residents, $65,259 income); Buffalo (16,388 residents, $88,306 income); Hibbing (16,100 residents, $55,463 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Palmetto Estates, FL (16,587 residents); Warsaw, IN (16,592 residents); La Vista, NE (16,594 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.
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 NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 35.9% 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.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
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 Ham Lake?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 2.3%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
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.
Household income
$116,845
Home value
$430,100
Value / income
3.7×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Minnesota average
B
City profile score · Ham Lake, MN
72/100
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.
Household income A-
$116,845
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate A-
2.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share B-
35.9%
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.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Ham Lake profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 84/100 (A-) · $116,845
Poverty rate: 84/100 (A-) · 2.3%
Bachelor's+ share: 68/100 (B-) · 35.9%
Cost of living: 46/100 (D) · 98.6 index
How does Ham Lake compare to other US cities?
Here's how Ham Lake stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income86% higher than other cities
Home value80% 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 Ham Lake 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 Ham Lake near the bottom of Minnesota's cities
Among the 785 Minnesota cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Ham Lake ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Ham Lake only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#73 of 775
91st percentile in Minnesota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 785
0th percentile in Minnesota
Median Home Value
#49 of 774
94th percentile in Minnesota
Poverty Rate
#586 of 785
24th percentile in Minnesota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#147 of 784
81st 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
86th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Ham Lake's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$430,10020th percentilemore affordable than 20% 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
Ham Lake's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#9,652 of 15,516
More affordable than 38% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,666 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 3.7×, Ham Lake sits in the moderate band:
national rank #9,652 of 15,516 and #1,666 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
$116,845Ham Lake, MN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Ham Lake, 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 Ham Lake, MN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)35.9%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)2.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.7%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
16,575
Median Income
$116,845
Median Home Value
$430,100
Median Age
42.8
Poverty Rate
2.3%
Labor force participation
62.7%
Bachelor's Degree+
35.9%
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Ham Lake's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
16,506 residents
2021
16,647 residents
2022
16,640 residents
2023
16,765 residents
2024
16,955 residents
2025
17,104 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
38
housing units authorized
Single-Family
38
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
2.3
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
65
65
0
$16.0M
2020
64
64
0
$18.7M
2021
67
67
0
$18.1M
2022
64
64
0
$18.2M
2023
37
37
0
$10.0M
2024
38
38
0
$10.3M
Permit volume decreased 42% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
80.2%
Carpool
4.6%
Public Transit
0.5%
Walk
0.1%
Work from Home
13.8%
Other
0.8%
Based on 8,239 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 Ham Lake. 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 Ham Lake 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 Ham Lake sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Ham Lake 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, 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.