City profile · Minnesota · Census ACS 2023

Wendell, MN

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

177
Residents
$68,125
Median income
$71,300
Median home
$1,125
Median rent (state)
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See how it ranks

State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Wendell.

Place dossier plate

Sheet MN-WENDELL-MN · Wendell, MN 177 pop · income 47th pct

POP-VILLAGE · INC-MID · COL-PAR · SAFE-UNK · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-LOW · BOOK-UNK

  • POP-VILLAGE 177
  • INC-MID $68,125
  • COL-PAR 98.6
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-MID 47th
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Columbiana
  • HOME-LOW $71,300
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: Columbiana, AL (+ $0 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 Wendell

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Wendell 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 Wendell 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: 177.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $68,125. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Wendell - the verdict

Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Wendell places in the 47th percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.

47th
percentile, household income
2nd
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: Wendell, MN

Minnesota's Wendell is a small town, with 177 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Wendell households earn a median of $68,125 annually, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 26.4%. Home values in Wendell run a median of $71,300, and the median resident age is 41.3 years. About 14.2% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 68.6% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Wendell (No Permits), per Census BPS data.

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. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Minnesota's average monthly utility costs around $225 (state average). FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 42.4 out of 100 (Low).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Wendell'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 comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

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

1. Comparison shortlist

Which cities make useful reference points for Wendell?

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 Zumbro Falls (176 residents, $91,458 income); Lake Bronson (175 residents, $46,250 income); Roosevelt (179 residents, $61,250 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Arctic, AK (177 residents); Fifty-Six, AR (177 residents); Knobel, AR (177 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.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Question 2

What does the journey to work look like in Wendell?

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 81.7%. 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. 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.

Compare commute patterns →

3. Housing and income

How far does income reach against housing in Wendell?

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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.

The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 1.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 26.4%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

Compare the housing trade-off →

Question 4

Is Wendell growing, shrinking, or holding steady?

Census PEP estimates show the population was unchanged by +0 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +0.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.

The recent population line is broadly flat. That makes the composition of change more important than the headline count: housing turnover, household size, and age structure can shift even when the total barely moves.

See the national growth ranking →

Population

177 residents

Micro place (under 10k)

Median Household Income

$68,125 /yr

Below median income · poverty 26.4% (Highest-decile poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

98.6 (US=100)

Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Minnesota average

City profile score · Wendell, MN

31/100

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 D
$68,125

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

Bachelor's+ share F
14.2%

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

Poverty rate F
26.4%

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).

Wendell profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Household income, Cost of living, Bachelor's+ share, Poverty rate. Household incomeCost of livingBachelor's+ sharePoverty rate 31 F
Wendell profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Household income: 47/100 (D) · $68,125
  • Cost of living: 46/100 (D) · 98.6 index
  • Bachelor's+ share: 18/100 (F) · 14.2%
  • Poverty rate: 4/100 (F) · 26.4%

How does Wendell compare to other US cities?

Wendell measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.

Household income 47% higher than other cities
Home value 2% 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 Wendell 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 Wendell near the bottom of Minnesota's cities

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

Median Household Income
#380 of 775
51st percentile in Minnesota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 785
0th percentile in Minnesota
Median Home Value
#734 of 774
5th percentile in Minnesota
Poverty Rate
#21 of 785
97th percentile in Minnesota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#584 of 784
26th 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.

47thIncome percentile
Gauge source note

47th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Wendell's home value compares nationally

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

$71,300 Among the most affordable more affordable than 98% 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%). This entry sits in this band. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Above this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Above this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Above this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Above this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Above this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Above this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Above this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Above this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Above this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $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. Wendell $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

Wendell's home-value-to-income ratio: 1.0×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#50 of 15,516
More affordable than 100% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#50 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)

At 1.0×, Wendell sits in the affordable band: national rank #50 of 15,516 and #50 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

$68,125 Wendell, MN median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Wendell, MN Wendell, MN's median household income ($68,125) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Wendell, MN-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Wendell, MN median $68,125/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%
Wendell, 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 Wendell, MN.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 14.2%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 26.4%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 68.6%

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

Population
177
Median Income
$68,125
Median Home Value
$71,300
Median Age
41.3
Poverty Rate
26.4%
Labor force participation
68.6%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.2%

Population Change

PEP vintage

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

See the fastest-growing cities →
164 residents165 residents166 residents167 residents168 residents 202020212022202320242025 165 residents 165 residents ▲ +0.0%
Wendell's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.
Read the chart as text
Period Population
2020 165 residents
2021 166 residents
2022 166 residents
2023 167 residents
2024 166 residents
2025 165 residents

Housing Supply

BPS source

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

Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos

5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)

Year Total
2019 0
2020 0
2021 0
2022 0
2023 0
2024 0

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
81.7%
Carpool
1.1%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
2.2%
Work from Home
14.0%
Other
1.0%

Based on 93 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 Wendell. 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 Wendell 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 Wendell sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Wendell 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
Wendell (this city) 177 $68,125
Zumbro Falls 176 $91,458
Lake Bronson 175 $46,250
Roosevelt 179 $61,250
Census BPS 2024
Primary sources on this page

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.

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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