City · Chippewa County, Minnesota

Clara City, Minnesota

Clara City is a city in Chippewa County, Minnesota. It has 1,466 residents. Clara City, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 79 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,214 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #247 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on mammography screening (high), social associations (high) and firearm deaths (low). It ranks worst on mental health care shortage (high), job growth (low) and distance to an airport (high).

79High

Quality-of-life score: #3,214 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #247 of 364 in MN
Population: 1,466 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 779.8 /mi²
FIPS code: 2711548

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 71 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.

Safety87#1,956/15,637
Economy53#7,299/15,631
Housing75#3,692/14,977
Health46#8,443/15,609
Healthcare48#8,165/15,650
Environment87#2,065/15,453
Education52#7,506/15,649
Infrastructure51#7,595/15,650
Community88#1,802/15,651
Leisure & amenities88#1,850/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Clara City, Minnesota ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Chippewa 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 · high68.0%
100/100Minnesota 54.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChippewa County value
Social associations · high27.1 /10k
100/100Minnesota 12.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteChippewa County value
Firearm deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Minnesota 9.4 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionChippewa County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Minnesota 15.7 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataChippewa County value
Public libraries · high3.2 /10k
97/100Minnesota 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesChippewa County value
Average commute time · low14.8 min
96/100Minnesota 22.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013

Weaknesses

Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Minnesota 8.0United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationChippewa County value
Job growth · low-3.3%
6/100Minnesota -0.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataChippewa County value
Distance to an airport · high108 mi
8/100Minnesota 43 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauChippewa County value
Pharmacies · low0.8 /10k
8/100Minnesota 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsChippewa County value
New business applications · low8.3 /1k
9/100Minnesota 12.7 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauChippewa County value
New homes permitted · low0.0 /1k
13/100Minnesota 3.9 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
0.7 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.6% (2015-2019) → 91.0% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
49.0% (2015-2019) → 38.7% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
High school diploma or higherImproving
84.1% (2015-2019) → 91.4% (2020-2024)
+7.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
29.6% (2015-2019) → 23.3% (2020-2024)
−6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Unemployment rateImproving
7.5% (2015-2019) → 2.2% (2020-2024)
−5.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Clara City, Minnesota improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 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.

Improved1

Broadband+12 points78.6% → 91.0%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Clara City, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.7 min2015-2019	14.8 min2020-2024	−3.9 min	Within the margin of error	85%
Bachelor's degree or higher	17.5%2015-2019	16.5%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	21%
Broadband subscriptions	78.6%2015-2019	91.0%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	70%
Effective property tax rate	1.61%2015-2019	1.53%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
High school diploma or higher	84.1%2015-2019	91.4%2020-2024	+7.3 points	Within the margin of error	90%
Home price to income ratio	2.2×2015-2019	1.8×2020-2024	−0.4×	Within the margin of error	91%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3762015-2019	0.3832020-2024	+0.007	Within the margin of error	44%
Median household income	$54,2862015-2019	$63,6362020-2024	+17%	Within the margin of error	27%
Poverty rate	8.4%2015-2019	7.3%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	29.6%2015-2019	23.3%2020-2024	−6.3 points	Within the margin of error	86%
Rent-burdened households	49.0%2015-2019	38.7%2020-2024	−10 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.0%2015-2019	8.2%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	24%

“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 Clara City, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Clara City, 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, Clara City, Minnesota itself moved +10.4 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

1,466 residents (±160)

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: 20–29 men (−5.4 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 B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

1,466 residents (±160)

Clara City, Minnesota
Minnesota share

White88%1,283
Black0.5%†8
Hispanic or Latino11%†166

Education

958 residents (±104)

Clara City, Minnesota
Minnesota share

No high school diploma8.6%†82
High school or GED44%424
Some college17%163

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

564 households (±74)

Clara City, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k11%†61
$25k–50k24%†136
$50k–75k26%†145
$75k–100k15%†82
$100k–150k15%†82
$150k–200k6.6%†37
$200k or more3.7%†21

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−10.3 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

564 households (±74)

Clara City, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own66%371
Rent34%193

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

Table view

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

Rent paid

181 households (±46)

Clara City, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $75025%†46
$750–1,00010%†19
$1,000–1,50059%†106

Home values

371 homes (±62)

Clara City, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $150k63%234
$150k–250k17%†64
$250k–400k19%†69

Age of homes

632 homes (±77)

Clara City, Minnesota
Minnesota share

2010 or later0.6%†4
2000–20093.3%†21
1980–199913%†79

Size of homes

632 homes (±77)

Clara City, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom12%†75
2 bedrooms20%†124

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

686 workers (±86)

Clara City, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone75%516
Carpool19%†133
Public transit0.0%0
Walk0.1%†1
Bike0.7%†5
Work from home3.9%†27
Other0.6%†4

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Carpool (+17.0 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

659 workers (±89)

Clara City, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under 15 min55%364
15–29 min30%†196
30–44 min12%†81

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

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 Chippewa County, the county holding most of Clara City's residents.

Chippewa County has 372 employer establishments, 302 for every 10,000 residents (1.22× the US rate of 248; 1.13× Minnesota's), with 4,524 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,473. The Census Bureau also counts 842 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 372; 842 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 302; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 4,524
Average annual pay: $48,473; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	26	21.1	1.36×More than typical	107	$67,505	60
Religious organizations	25	20.3	3.66×More than typical	73	$19,260	—
Ambulatory health care services	21	17.1	0.82×About typical	112	$85,813	25
Construction of buildings	19	15.4	2.04×More than typical	61	$56,656	32
Restaurants and other eating places	13	10.6	0.57×Fewer than typical	215	$18,940	4
Truck transportation	13	10.6	2.09×More than typical	22	$73,364	40
Insurance agencies and brokerages	12	9.7	2.22×More than typical	45	$70,489	14
Offices of other health practitioners	12	9.7	1.60×More than typical	49	$32,265	10
Automotive repair and maintenance	11	8.9	1.77×More than typical	102	$41,686	26
Banks and credit unions	10	8.1	2.51×More than typical	144	$68,118	—
Other specialty trade contractors	10	8.1	3.24×More than typical	30	$66,233	20
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	9	7.3	1.80×Too few to compare	35	$45,457	11

Rank places for an industry Open Chippewa County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 12,313 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: Clara City is mostly in Chippewa County.

See federal money in Chippewa 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.

Clara City, 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.

Chippewa County83100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Chippewa 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/2711548