City · Minnesota

Vernon Center, Minnesota

Vernon Center, city, in Blue Earth County, Minnesota. Vernon Center had 315 residents on July 1, 2025 by the Census Bureau's estimate, down 4.3% since 2020; the 2020 Census counted 328 and the ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates put it at 329 (±60). GEOID 2766910.

Residents, July 2025 estimate

315

Census Bureau estimate (no margin published)
2020 Census count: 328 · ACS 2020-2024: 329 ±60

Median household income

$70,000

±$18,348 (90% margin)
Minnesota: $89,062

Median home value

$143,300

±$18,850 (90% margin)
Minnesota: $329,300

Median gross rent

$950

±$368 (90% margin)
Minnesota: $1,280

Where is Vernon Center and what county is it in?

Vernon Center is a city in Blue Earth County, Minnesota. It covers 0.5 square miles of land, 671 residents per square mile in 2020.

Vernon Center is in the Mankato, MN metropolitan statistical area, which takes in 2 counties (Census Bureau delineation, July 2023).

Vernon Center (marked with a dot) in Blue Earth County, Minnesota. Boundaries: Census Bureau 2024.

Source: 2024 Gazetteer and 2020 place-by-county files, U.S. Census Bureau · Census reference files

How many people live in Vernon Center, and is it growing?

The Census Bureau estimates that 315 people lived in Vernon Center on July 1, 2025, down 4.3% since 2020, while Minnesota grew 2.2%. The 2020 Census counted 328 residents. The 2020-2024 American Community Survey, a five-year sample, puts the population at 329 (±60).

  • July 2020→2021 −3 (326)
  • 2021→2022 −4 (322)
  • 2022→2023 −4 (318)
  • 2023→2024 −5 (313)
  • 2024→2025 +2 (315)
ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates (counts) with the change from 2015-2019
Measure Vernon CenterBlue Earth CountyMinnesota Change since 2015-2019
Total population 329 ±60 69,871 5,739,445 no clear change
Households 138 ±24 27,606 2,307,955 no clear change
Average household size 2.38 ±0.31 2.37 2.43 no clear change
Housing units 143 ±25 29,864 2,545,030 no clear change

Vernon Center's population since 2000

From 359 in 2000 to 315 in 2025: down 12.3%. The 2000, 2010 and 2020 figures are census counts, each for Vernon Center as it was drawn that year: a place that annexed land, or a community that has since incorporated, covered a different area then. The 2005 figure is the Census Bureau's intercensal estimate, revised to fit the 2000 and 2010 counts and drawn on 2010 boundaries; 2015 and 2025 are July 1 estimates made from the census before them.

  • 2000 Census 359
  • 2005 (estimate) 344
  • 2010 Census 332
  • 2015 (estimate) 322
  • 2020 Census 328
  • 2025 (estimate) 315

Source: The 2000, 2010 and 2020 Census counts and the Census Bureau's population estimates (intercensal 2000-2010, Vintage 2020, Vintage 2025) · Census population estimates

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); Census PEP Vintage 2025 (SUB-EST2025, CO-EST2025); 2020 Census P.L. 94-171 · Check it at data.census.gov

Who lives in Vernon Center?

The median resident of Vernon Center is 39.1 years old; 21.0% are under 18 and 16.1% are 65 or older. The largest group is non-Hispanic white residents at 97.0%, then Hispanic or Latino residents (of any race) at 1.2%.

Age, origin, education and moves, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Race groups are non-Hispanic; Hispanic includes any race.
Measure Vernon CenterBlue Earth CountyMinnesota Change since 2015-2019
Median age 39.1 ±6.6 31.6 38.8 no clear change
Under 18 years 21.0% ±4.7 pts 19.7% 22.9% –
65 years and over 16.1% ±4.5 pts 15.3% 17.3% –
Male 52.0% ±5.1 pts 50.8% 50.1% –
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.2% ±1.5 pts 4.8% 6.4% –
White alone, not Hispanic 97.0% ±2.1 pts 84.4% 75.9% no clear change
Black or African American alone, not Hispanic 0.9% ±1.2 pts 4.8% 6.9% –
Asian alone, not Hispanic 0.0% ±6.6 pts 2.3% 5.1% –
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic 0.0% ±6.6 pts 0.2% 0.7% –
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic 0.0% ±6.6 pts 0.0% 0.0% –
Two or more races, not Hispanic 0.9% ±1.3 pts 3.4% 4.5% –
Some other race alone, not Hispanic 0.0% ±6.6 pts 0.2% 0.5% –
Born outside the United States 0.9% ±1.2 pts 5.4% 8.7% –
Speak a language other than English at home (age 5+) 0.0% ±7.2 pts 7.7% 12.4% –
Civilian veterans (age 18+) 3.8% ±3.2 pts 4.5% 5.9% –
With a disability 13.7% ±5.5 pts 11.7% 11.6% –
No health insurance coverage 5.2% ±2.5 pts 4.3% 4.7% no clear change
High school graduate or higher (age 25+) 92.4% ±4.5 pts 94.7% 93.9% –
Bachelor's degree or higher (age 25+) 20.1% ±7.0 pts 34.2% 39.4% no clear change
Graduate or professional degree (age 25+) 6.7% ±3.4 pts 11.0% 13.8% –
Lived in the same house a year earlier 95.4% ±2.1 pts 78.9% 87.8% –
Moved from another state in the past year 0.3% ±0.7 pts 2.0% 1.8% –

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profiles DP02, DP05) · Check it at data.census.gov

What do households in Vernon Center earn?

Half of Vernon Center's 138 households earn less than $70,000 a year (±$18,348), against $74,477 in Blue Earth County and $89,062 in Minnesota. In 2015-2019 it was $79,226 in 2024 dollars; the margins of error cannot tell the two periods apart. 4.3% of residents live below the poverty line.

Income and poverty in 2024 dollars, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates; 2015-2019 dollars adjusted with the R-CPI-U-RS
Measure Vernon CenterBlue Earth CountyMinnesota Change since 2015-2019
Median household income $70,000 ±$18,348 $74,477 $89,062 no clear change
Mean household income $88,648 ±$10,577 $93,438 $118,304 –
Per capita income $34,919 ±$4,928 $37,155 $48,237 no clear change
People below the poverty line 4.3% ±2.5 pts 15.7% 9.3% no clear change
Children under 18 below the poverty line 4.3% ±5.4 pts 11.4% 10.3% –
Households receiving SNAP 14.5% ±6.4 pts 8.8% 7.9% –
Households with a computer 93.5% ±4.8 pts 96.6% 95.8% –
Households with a broadband subscription 96.4% ±3.5 pts 88.9% 91.6% –

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What does housing cost in Vernon Center?

Owners occupy 84.1% of Vernon Center's occupied homes and renters 15.9%. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $143,300 by its owner (±$18,850). The median renter pays $950 a month including utilities.

Housing, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Home values are owners' own estimates.
Measure Vernon CenterBlue Earth CountyMinnesota Change since 2015-2019
Median home value (owner-occupied) $143,300 ±$18,850 $266,700 $329,300 no clear change
Median gross rent $950 ±$368 $1,123 $1,280 no clear change
Renters paying 35% or more of income on rent 15.8% ±15.0 pts 41.8% 38.4% –
Median monthly owner costs, with a mortgage $1,211 ±$116 $1,662 $1,947 –
Owner-occupied homes 84.1% ±5.2 pts 61.4% 72.2% no clear change
Renter-occupied homes 15.9% ±5.2 pts 38.6% 27.8% –
Housing units 143 ±25 29,864 2,545,030 no clear change
Homeowner vacancy rate 0.0% ±17.5 pts 0.7% 0.6% –
Rental vacancy rate 0.0% ±52.6 pts 5.7% 5.3% –
Single-family detached homes 88.8% ±6.2 pts 58.2% 66.0% –
Mobile homes 2.1% ±2.2 pts 4.9% 2.9% –
Built 2020 or later 0.0% ±14.5 pts 2.2% 1.9% –
Built 2010 to 2019 0.0% ±14.5 pts 11.9% 8.5% –
Built 1939 or earlier 60.8% ±9.4 pts 18.4% 15.6% –
Households with no vehicle 4.3% ±4.5 pts 6.6% 6.7% –

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP04) · Check it at data.census.gov

How many new homes is Vernon Center building?

Builders took permits for 0 new housing units in Vernon Center in 2025 (0 in single-family houses), 0.0 per 1,000 residents against 3.6 across Minnesota.

  • 2019 0 units
  • 2020 0 units
  • 2021 0 units
  • 2022 0 units
  • 2023 0 units
  • 2024 1 units
  • 2025 0 units

Counts of units in permits a local office issued; not every permitted unit is built. A year marked with months was reported for part of the year.

Source: Building Permits Survey, annual place files 2019-2025, U.S. Census Bureau · Census Building Permits Survey

How do people in Vernon Center work and get to work?

72.2% of Vernon Center's workers drive alone and 11.1% work from home. The average trip to work takes 27.2 minutes.

Work and commuting, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates (workers 16 and over)
Measure Vernon CenterBlue Earth CountyMinnesota Change since 2015-2019
In the labor force (age 16+) 69.5% ±5.9 pts 69.3% 68.1% –
Unemployment rate 1.1% ±1.7 pts 4.9% 4.1% –
Drove alone to work 72.2% ±7.2 pts 75.5% 68.9% –
Carpooled 4.4% ±3.6 pts 10.6% 7.5% –
Public transportation 0.0% ±11.7 pts 1.3% 1.8% –
Walked 11.1% ±6.3 pts 3.0% 2.5% –
Worked from home 11.1% ±4.8 pts 8.5% 17.6% no clear change
Mean travel time to work 27.2 min ±4.9 16.8 min 22.7 min no clear change

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What census tracts are in Vernon Center?

No census tract lies mostly in Vernon Center; 1 tract reaches into it (2020 census blocks).

Census tracts in Vernon Center, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
TractResidents, 2020-2024Median household incomeMedian home valueShare of tract in Vernon Center
Tract 1715Blue Earth County2,528 $78,839 $188,3005%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); 2020 block assignment files (tract share = share of the tract's census blocks in Vernon Center) · Census block assignment files

How does Vernon Center compare with other places in Minnesota?

By the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimates, Vernon Center is the 14,975th-most populous of the 19,476 U.S. incorporated places that have one and the 583rd-most populous of 855 in Minnesota.

Vernon Center is not ranked by income or the other survey measures: those rankings include places of 1,000 or more residents (2020 Census) with a reliable estimate.

Vernon Center's rank in Minnesota (1 = highest): by population among the state's incorporated places with a 2025 estimate; by the other measures among places of 1,000+ residents with a reliable estimate
MeasureRankOf
Population, July 2025 estimate583rd855

Vernon Center's figures with every place in Minnesota (CSV)

Every place in Minnesota, sortable · Compare Vernon Center with other places

Source: PlainCities ranks computed from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) and PEP Vintage 2025 · How ranks are computed

How reliable are the figures for Vernon Center?

22 of the 57 figures for Vernon Center on this page carry a coefficient of variation over 40% and are marked with a ring: they come from a small sample, so read them as rough.

The American Community Survey samples about one household in eight over five years, so every figure is an estimate with a 90% margin of error (shown under each value). A ring marks an estimate whose coefficient of variation is over 40%. A change is called only when the gap between the two periods is larger than their combined 90% margin (the square root of the sum of the two squared margins), the Census Bureau's test. How to read a margin of error.

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026): margins of error as published · ACS technical documentation

How these figures are made: methodology and release checks · reading a margin of error · every state · corrections

Not on this page: crime, weather and schools for Vernon Center are other agencies' records. Crime: the FBI's Crime Data Explorer · climate: NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals · schools: the National Center for Education Statistics' public schools in Vernon Center.