City profile · Minnesota · Census ACS 2023

Waconia, MN

Waconia's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

13,223
Residents
$104,929
Median income
$407,600
Median home
$1,125
Median rent (state)
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State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Waconia.

Place dossier plate

Sheet MN-WACONIA-MN · Waconia, MN 13,223 pop · income 80th pct · 25 tracts

POP-TOWN · INC-HIGH · COL-PAR · SAFE-UNK · RANK-TOP · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-HIGH · BOOK-MID

  • POP-TOWN 13,223
  • INC-HIGH $104,929
  • COL-PAR 98.6
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-TOP 80th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Upper Lake
  • HOME-HIGH $407,600
  • BOOK-MID 25 tracts

Nearest income peer: Upper Lake, CA (+ $7 income $)

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 Waconia

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Waconia on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

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.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Waconia 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: 13,223.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $104,929. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Waconia - the verdict

Waconia ranks in the 80th percentile for household income nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS.

80th
percentile, household income
78th
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: Waconia, MN

Census ACS 2023 estimates count 13,223 residents in Waconia, a small town within Minnesota. Median household income here is $104,929 per year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 3.7%. Waconia's housing stock carries a median value of $407,600, and the median resident age is 37.6 years. 49.8% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 71.9% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 125 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 525% from five years earlier.

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. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Minnesota's average monthly utility costs around $225 (state average). 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 Waconia'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 within-city variation to population change to schools and households to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Waconia, city-specific coverage includes within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, local building permits. No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

1. Within-city variation

What can 25 Census tracts reveal inside Waconia?

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.

PlainCities matches 25 Census tracts to this city.

Explore Waconia's tract profiles →

2. Population change

Is Waconia 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 +1,073 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +8.2% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 125 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.

See the national growth ranking →

Question 3

What does the education layer cover for Waconia?

The NCES join finds 8 public schools within the city match. 49.8% 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.

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.

See how the family ranking is built →

Question 4

Which cities make useful reference points for Waconia?

Within Minnesota, the closest population matches are Rogers (13,405 residents, $159,638 income); Mounds View (12,992 residents, $90,148 income); Vadnais Heights (12,789 residents, $91,946 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are California, MD (13,223 residents); Newton, NC (13,223 residents); Accokeek, MD (13,226 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.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Other supported questions

Why these stay compact

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.

Work and mobility

What does the journey to work look like in Waconia?

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.

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 73.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.

Public transit
0.8%
Work from home
20.9%
Drive alone
73.8%

City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 7,181 workers age 16+.

Compare commute patterns →

Housing and income

How far does income reach against housing in Waconia?

The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 3.7%, 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
$104,929
Home value
$407,600
Value / income
3.9×

City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Population

13,223 residents

Small city (10k–49k)

Median Household Income

$104,929 /yr

High income · poverty 3.7% (Below-median poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

98.6 (US=100)

Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Minnesota average

City profile score · Waconia, MN

70/100

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 A-
49.8%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Household income B+
$104,929

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Poverty rate B
3.7%

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).

Waconia profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Bachelor's+ share, Household income, Poverty rate, Cost of living. Bachelor's+ shareHousehold incomePoverty rateCost of living 70 B
Waconia profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Bachelor's+ share: 84/100 (A-) · 49.8%
  • Household income: 79/100 (B+) · $104,929
  • Poverty rate: 74/100 (B) · 3.7%
  • Cost of living: 46/100 (D) · 98.6 index

How does Waconia compare to other US cities?

Here's how Waconia stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.

Household income 80% higher than other cities
Home value 78% pricier than other cities
Median rent 36% 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 Waconia 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 Waconia near the bottom of Minnesota's cities

Among the 785 Minnesota cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Waconia ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Waconia only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#104 of 775
87th percentile in Minnesota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 785
0th percentile in Minnesota
Median Home Value
#57 of 774
93rd percentile in Minnesota
Poverty Rate
#497 of 785
36th percentile in Minnesota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#62 of 784
92nd 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.

80thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

80th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Waconia's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$407,600 22nd percentile more affordable than 22% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). This entry sits in this band. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. Waconia $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

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

Waconia's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.9×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#10,345 of 15,516
More affordable than 33% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,875 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)

At 3.9×, Waconia sits in the moderate band: national rank #10,345 of 15,516 and #1,875 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

$104,929 Waconia, MN median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Waconia, MN Waconia, MN's median household income ($104,929) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Waconia, MN-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Waconia, MN median $104,929/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Waconia, 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 Waconia, MN.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 49.8%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 3.7%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 71.9%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
13,223
Median Income
$104,929
Median Home Value
$407,600
Median Age
37.6
Poverty Rate
3.7%
Labor force participation
71.9%
Bachelor's Degree+
49.8%

Schools

Total Schools
8
Public schools in this city

Population Change

PEP vintage

Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025

See the fastest-growing cities →
12,500 residents13,000 residents13,500 residents14,000 residents14,500 residents 202020212022202320242025 13,040 residents 14,113 residents ▲ +8.2%
Waconia's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.
Read the chart as text
Period Population
2020 13,040 residents
2021 13,116 residents
2022 13,396 residents
2023 13,749 residents
2024 13,817 residents
2025 14,113 residents

Housing Supply

BPS source

Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized

📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
125
housing units authorized
Single-Family
103
detached homes
Multifamily
22
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
9.5
permits per 1,000 residents

5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)

Year Total
2019 20
2020 42
2021 177
2022 225
2023 93
2024 125

Permit volume increased 525% from 2019 to 2024.

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
73.8%
Carpool
3.1%
Public Transit
0.8%
Walk
1.2%
Work from Home
20.9%

Based on 7,181 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 Waconia. 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 Waconia 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 Waconia sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Waconia 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.

City Population Median Household Income
Waconia (this city) 13,223 $104,929
Rogers 13,405 $159,638
Mounds View 12,992 $90,148
Vadnais Heights 12,789 $91,946
NCES CCD Census BPS 2024
Primary sources on this page

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.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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