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Place dossier plate
SheetMN-SANDSTONE-MN · Sandstone, MN 2,538 pop · income 20th 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 Sandstone
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Sandstone on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Belmont · lowest
43,152
Belmont · lowest
43,152 median HH income
35.8% of the leader · rank #1
Bridgeport · near
50,284
Bridgeport · near
50,284 median HH income
41.7% of the leader · rank #2
Sandstone · this city
50,288
Sandstone · this city
50,288 median HH income
41.7% of the leader · rank #3
Fredonia · near
50,294
Fredonia · near
50,294 median HH income
41.7% of the leader · rank #4
Farmington · near
50,294
Farmington · near
50,294 median HH income
41.7% of the leader · rank #5
Roswell · near
50,294
Roswell · near
50,294 median HH income
41.7% of the leader · rank #6
Mayer · highest
120,551
Mayer · highest
120,551 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 Sandstone 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: 2,538.
Sandstone ranks in the 20th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.
20th
percentile, household income
23rd
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: Sandstone, MN
Sandstone is a small town in Minnesota, home to 2,538 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Sandstone report a median income of $50,288 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 21.2%. Home values in Sandstone run a median of $137,500, and the median resident age is 39.6 years. Educational attainment runs 12.2% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 28.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 4 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Low Activity). NOAA climate normals record an annual average temperature of 41.4°F with 33.3 inches of precipitation per year.
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. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,125 per month. Monthly utility costs average around $225 across Minnesota, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 42.4 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Sandstone'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 housing and income to population change to work and mobility to climate and hazard context to comparison shortlist; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Sandstone, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, commute-mode shares, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Housing and income
How far does income reach against housing in Sandstone?
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 2.7 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 21.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Is Sandstone growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +86 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +3.5% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 4 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 journey to work look like in Sandstone?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 75.8%. 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. 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.
Which cities make useful reference points for Sandstone?
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 Lake Crystal (2,530 residents, $77,979 income); Rockville (2,521 residents, $101,447 income); Le Center (2,514 residents, $66,864 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Pine Canyon, CA (2,538 residents); Belmont, MS (2,538 residents); Millersburg, PA (2,538 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.
Climate and hazard context
What physical conditions frame life in Sandstone?
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 41.4°F, with 33.3 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Minnesota is 42.4 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
FEMA risk index (state avg)
42.4
Annual precipitation
33.3 in
Mean temperature
41.4°F
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Minnesota average
F
City profile score · Sandstone, MN
23/100
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.
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.
Household income F
$50,288
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
12.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Poverty rate F
21.2%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Sandstone profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 46/100 (D) · 98.6 index
Household income: 21/100 (F) · $50,288
Bachelor's+ share: 12/100 (F) · 12.2%
Poverty rate: 11/100 (F) · 21.2%
How does Sandstone compare to other US cities?
Sandstone measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income20% higher than other cities
Home value23% 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 Sandstone 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 Sandstone near the bottom of Minnesota's cities
Among the 785 Minnesota cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Sandstone ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Sandstone only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#669 of 775
14th percentile in Minnesota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 785
0th percentile in Minnesota
Median Home Value
#501 of 774
35th percentile in Minnesota
Poverty Rate
#35 of 785
96th percentile in Minnesota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#633 of 784
19th 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
20th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Sandstone's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$137,500Among the most affordablemore affordable than 77% 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
Sandstone's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.7×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#5,220 of 15,516
More affordable than 66% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#4,559 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.7×, Sandstone sits in the affordable band:
national rank #5,220 of 15,516 and #4,559 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$50,288Sandstone, MN median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Sandstone, 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 Sandstone, MN.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)12.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)21.2%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)28.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
2,538
Median Income
$50,288
Median Home Value
$137,500
Median Age
39.6
Poverty Rate
21.2%
Labor force participation
28.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
12.2%
Climate
Avg Temperature
41.4°F
Annual Precipitation
33.3"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Sandstone's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
2,457 residents
2021
2,134 residents
2022
2,477 residents
2023
2,490 residents
2024
2,550 residents
2025
2,543 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
🏗️ Low Activity
Total Permits (2024)
4
housing units authorized
Single-Family
4
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
1.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
2
2
0
$0.2M
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
3
1
2
$0.4M
2024
4
4
0
$0.7M
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
75.8%
Carpool
11.9%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
5.9%
Work from Home
6.4%
Based on 623 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 Sandstone. 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 Sandstone 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 Sandstone sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Sandstone 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, NOAA Climate Normals, 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.