Scores by category

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

Safety71#4,475/15,637
Economy24#11,864/15,631
Housing88#1,856/14,977
Health47#8,302/15,609
Healthcare79#3,348/15,650
Environment66#5,298/15,453
Education78#3,377/15,649
Infrastructure36#9,970/15,650
Community97#488/15,651
Leisure & amenities88#1,940/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Brainerd, Minnesota ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Crow Wing 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

Mammography screening · high58.0%
97/100Minnesota 54.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCrow Wing County value
Restaurants and bars · high15.9 /10k
96/100Minnesota 8.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCrow Wing County value
Voter turnout · high79.6%
95/100Minnesota 77.0%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionCrow Wing County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.4 µg/m³
94/100Minnesota 6.3 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCrow Wing County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low107 min
94/100Minnesota 134 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCrow Wing County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Minnesota 2.9 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCrow Wing County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high116 mi
6/100Minnesota 43 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauCrow Wing County value
Suicide rate · high26.4 /100k
7/100Minnesota 13.8 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCrow Wing County value
Days with unhealthy air · high3.8%
10/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyCrow Wing County value
Comfortable days · low23.3%
10/100Minnesota 23.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCrow Wing County value
Unemployment rate · high9.0%
12/100Minnesota 3.9%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Drought exposure · high76%
16/100Minnesota 36%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAACrow Wing County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
13,373 (2015-2019) → 14,468 (2020-2024)
+8.2%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
2.4 /1k (2021) → 11.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+360%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
55.2% (2015-2019) → 39.0% (2020-2024)
−16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$34,371 (2015-2019) → $56,111 (2020-2024)
+63%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
32.5% (2015-2019) → 21.3% (2020-2024)
−11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
77.5% (2015-2019) → 87.3% (2020-2024)
+9.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Brainerd, Minnesota improved on 8 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 5 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.

Improved8

Household income+63%$34,371 → $56,111
Rent burden−16 points55.2% → 39.0%
Inequality−0.0690.472 → 0.403
Poverty−7.2 points22.2% → 15.0%
Child poverty−11 points32.5% → 21.3%

Declined1

Unemployment+5.7 points3.2% → 9.0%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Brainerd, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.8 min2015-2019	19.8 min2020-2024	+2.0 min	Within the margin of error	28%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.4%2015-2019	20.3%2020-2024	+5 points	Improved	68%
Broadband subscriptions	77.5%2015-2019	87.3%2020-2024	+9.9 points	Improved	59%
Child poverty rate	32.5%2015-2019	21.3%2020-2024	−11 points	Improved	84%
Effective property tax rate	1.00%2015-2019	1.02%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	13%
High school diploma or higher	91.6%2015-2019	92.4%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Home price to income ratio	3.4×2015-2019	3.4×2020-2024	+0.0×	Within the margin of error	79%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4722015-2019	0.4032020-2024	−0.069	Improved	90%
Median household income	$34,3712015-2019	$56,1112020-2024	+63%	Improved	92%
Poverty rate	22.2%2015-2019	15.0%2020-2024	−7.2 points	Improved	87%
Rent as share of income	31.9%2015-2019	26.3%2020-2024	−5.6 points	Improved	84%
Rent-burdened households	55.2%2015-2019	39.0%2020-2024	−16 points	Improved	90%
Unemployment rate	3.2%2015-2019	9.0%2020-2024	+5.7 points	Declined	3%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.9%2015-2019	6.9%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	45%

“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 Brainerd, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Brainerd, 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, Brainerd, Minnesota itself moved +15 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

14,468 residents (±25)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 70–79 women (+1.5 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

14,468 residents (±25)

Brainerd, Minnesota
Minnesota share

White91%13,236
Black0.8%†113
Hispanic or Latino3.1%†446

Education

9,674 residents (±381)

Brainerd, Minnesota
Minnesota share

No high school diploma7.6%†733
High school or GED35%3,351
Some college24%2,297

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

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

Household income

6,348 households (±295)

Brainerd, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k20%1,290
$25k–50k23%1,456
$50k–75k20%1,268
$75k–100k16%1,028
$100k–150k13%844
$150k–200k3.6%†228
$200k or more3.7%†234

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−14.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

6,348 households (±295)

Brainerd, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own57%3,588
Rent43%2,760

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+6.3 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

2,680 households (±338)

Brainerd, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $75039%1,051
$750–1,00028%†745
$1,000–1,50021%573

Home values

3,588 homes (±307)

Brainerd, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $150k30%1,074
$150k–250k40%1,425
$250k–400k18%637

Age of homes

6,760 homes (±281)

Brainerd, Minnesota
Minnesota share

2010 or later7.2%†490
2000–20098.3%564
1980–199924%1,609

Size of homes

6,760 homes (±281)

Brainerd, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Studio4.6%†312
1 bedroom15%1,043
2 bedrooms32%2,191

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

6,700 workers (±499)

Brainerd, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone72%4,855
Carpool13%878
Public transit1.0%†68
Walk2.7%†179
Bike1.1%†76
Work from home7.5%†505
Other2.1%†139

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (−8.1 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

6,195 workers (±491)

Brainerd, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under 15 min55%3,381
15–29 min23%1,423
30–44 min11%661

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Brainerd, MN

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 Crow Wing County, the county holding most of Brainerd's residents.

Crow Wing County has 2,283 employer establishments, 334 for every 10,000 residents (1.35× the US rate of 248; 1.24× Minnesota's), with 28,209 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,722. The Census Bureau also counts 5,779 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,283; 5,779 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 334; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 28,209
Average annual pay: $47,722; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	198	29	1.87×More than typical	1,157	$68,105	573
Ambulatory health care services	150	21.9	1.05×About typical	2,256	$75,039	183
Restaurants and other eating places	143	20.9	1.14×About typical	2,476	$23,824	10
Lessors of real estate	112	16.4	1.33×More than typical	277	$43,094	726
Construction of buildings	92	13.5	1.78×More than typical	388	$63,144	314
Full-service restaurants	75	11	1.43×More than typical	1,336	$25,740	6
Services to buildings and dwellings	71	10.4	1.54×More than typical	301	$55,349	408
Real estate agents and brokers	65	9.5	1.95×More than typical	119	$47,588	184
Building equipment contractors	63	9.2	1.53×More than typical	541	$71,059	75
Other specialty trade contractors	57	8.3	3.32×More than typical	147	$89,633	182
Religious organizations	53	7.8	1.40×More than typical	365	$21,822	—
Offices of other health practitioners	52	7.6	1.25×More than typical	279	$43,082	108

Rank places for an industry Open Crow Wing County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 68,339 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

In FY2026, an estimated -$6,043 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Brainerd, Minnesota: -$0.42 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$6,043; −106% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$0.42; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

KNOWLEDGEWORKS GLOBAL LTD$47.4K0.0%
AXISNORTH SOLUTIONS, INC.$11.2K0.0%
MCC INDUSTRIES INC$10.8K0.0%
AMERICAN PLAYGROUND CO$8,9550.0%
TELECOM CONSTRUCTION & FACILITIES MAINTENANCE INC$6360.0%

Spending by fiscal year

-13.7KFY2017
61.4KFY2018
54.2KFY2019
9KFY2020
59KFY2021
123.5KFY2022
206.8KFY2023
116.9KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers · 5131$47.4K0.0%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$11.3K0.0%
Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$11.2K0.0%
Other specialty trade contractors · 2389$8,9550.0%
Waste collection · 5621$1,0480.0%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Brainerd, Minnesota, so they do not add up across cities.

Brainerd, Minnesota's figures are part of those of Crow Wing County, MN ($2.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Crow Wing 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.

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

House

Pete StauberR-MN-8 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 1.6%

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.

Crow Wing County92100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Brainerd, MN87

Other cities and towns in Crow Wing 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/2707300

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends