City · Norman County, Minnesota

Ada, Minnesota

Ada is a city in Norman County, Minnesota. It has 1,833 residents. Ada, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 82 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,789 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #212 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on property crime rate (low), suicide rate (low) and firearm deaths (low). It ranks worst on mental health providers (low), public EV charging ports (low) and gyms and fitness centers (low).

82Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,789 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #212 of 364 in MN
Population: 1,833 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,367.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 2700172

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety94#888/15,637
Economy24#11,806/15,631
Housing71#4,372/14,977
Health58#6,574/15,609
Healthcare30#10,950/15,650
Environment91#1,381/15,453
Education82#2,873/15,649
Infrastructure91#1,454/15,650
Community80#3,111/15,651
Leisure & amenities70#4,689/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Ada, Minnesota ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Norman County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Property crime rate · low48 /100k
100/100Minnesota 1,412 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureNorman County value
Suicide rate · low0.0 /100k
100/100Minnesota 13.8 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionNorman County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Minnesota 9.4 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataNorman County value
Pharmacies · high3.2 /10k
97/100Minnesota 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsNorman County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low99 min
96/100Minnesota 134 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesNorman County value
Social associations · high17.4 /10k
96/100Minnesota 12.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNorman County value

Weaknesses

Mental health providers · low16 /100k
1/100Minnesota 383 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNorman County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.0 /10k
3/100Minnesota 5.6 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyNorman County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Minnesota 1.4 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsNorman County value
Flu vaccinations · low28.0%
5/100Minnesota 50.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNorman County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low40.4%
6/100Minnesota 86.4%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNorman County value
Dental care shortage · high18.0
6/100Minnesota 4.4United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationNorman County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.8% (2015-2019) → 95.0% (2020-2024)
+23 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
New homes permittedWorsening
0.5 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateWorsening
4.3% (2015-2019) → 22.0% (2020-2024)
+18 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
21.8% (2015-2019) → 30.9% (2020-2024)
+9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Poverty rateWorsening
7.8% (2015-2019) → 16.8% (2020-2024)
+9.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
42.0% (2015-2019) → 34.2% (2020-2024)
−7.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Ada, Minnesota improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 9 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Broadband+23 points71.8% → 95.0%
Bachelor's++9.2 points21.8% → 30.9%
Inequality−0.0550.456 → 0.400

Declined1

Poverty+9.1 points7.8% → 16.8%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Ada, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	15.6 min2015-2019	15.8 min2020-2024	+0.3 min	Within the margin of error	44%
Bachelor's degree or higher	21.8%2015-2019	30.9%2020-2024	+9.2 points	Improved	88%
Broadband subscriptions	71.8%2015-2019	95.0%2020-2024	+23 points	Improved	94%
Effective property tax rate	1.16%2015-2019	1.03%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	43%
High school diploma or higher	94.6%2015-2019	94.3%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Home price to income ratio	1.7×2015-2019	2.2×2020-2024	+0.5×	Within the margin of error	49%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4562015-2019	0.4002020-2024	−0.055	Improved	86%
Median household income	$53,4382015-2019	$64,0912020-2024	+20%	Within the margin of error	33%
Poverty rate	7.8%2015-2019	16.8%2020-2024	+9.1 points	Declined	5%
Rent as share of income	25.3%2015-2019	22.3%2020-2024	−3 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Rent-burdened households	42.0%2015-2019	34.2%2020-2024	−7.8 points	Within the margin of error	78%
Unemployment rate	4.0%2015-2019	7.2%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	9%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.1%2015-2019	6.4%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Within the margin of error	31%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Ada, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Ada, Minnesota in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Ada, Minnesota itself moved +11.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

1,833 residents (±146)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

766 households (±69)

Ada, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k18%†137
$25k–50k22%172
$50k–75k16%†125

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

766 households (±69)

Ada, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own66%508
Rent34%258

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

843 workers (±69)

Ada, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone69%583
Carpool16%136
Public transit2.6%†22

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Norman County, the county holding most of Ada's residents.

Norman County has 175 employer establishments, 276 for every 10,000 residents (1.11× the US rate of 248; 1.03× Minnesota's), with 1,206 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,603. The Census Bureau also counts 466 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 175; 466 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 276; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 1,206
Average annual pay: $55,603; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Norman County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Specialty trade contractors	15	23.7	1.53×More than typical	48	$38,667	40
Truck transportation	12	18.9	3.75×More than typical	18	$63,556	31
Religious organizations	11	17.4	3.13×More than typical	29	$15,034	—
Construction of buildings	9	14.2	1.88×Too few to compare	18	$58,167	13
Insurance agencies and brokerages	9	14.2	3.23×Too few to compare	17	$62,588	17
Banks and credit unions	8	12.6	3.91×Too few to compare	51	$55,863	—
Ambulatory health care services	7	11	0.53×Too few to compare	44	$58,568	6
Building equipment contractors	7	11	1.84×Too few to compare	8	$56,375	3
Building material and supplies dealers (hardware, home centers)	4	6.3	3.83×Too few to compare	26	$27,000	—
Electrical contractors and wiring installation	4	6.3	2.55×Too few to compare	5	$52,800	—
Gasoline stations	4	6.3	1.95×Too few to compare	33	$27,030	—
Lessors of real estate	4	6.3	0.51×Too few to compare	7	$39,143	68

Rank places for an industry Open Norman County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 6,335 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Ada is mostly in Norman County.

See federal money in Norman County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Ada, Minnesota is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Michelle FischbachR-MN-7 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.4%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Norman County88100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Norman County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2700172

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends