City · Carver County, Minnesota

Cologne, Minnesota

Cologne is a city in Carver County, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area. It has 2,282 residents. Cologne, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 99 out of 100 (very high), ranking #166 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #12 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on high school diploma or higher (high), voter turnout (high) and food environment index (high). It ranks worst on grocery stores (low), comfortable days (low) and public EV charging ports (low).

99Very high

Quality-of-life score: #166 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #12 of 364 in MN
Population: 2,282 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,276.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 2712664

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 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.

Safety99#89/15,637
Economy90#1,516/15,631
Housing47#7,883/14,977
Health92#1,247/15,609
Healthcare91#1,466/15,650
Environment96#543/15,453
Education95#709/15,649
Infrastructure87#2,090/15,650
Community99#80/15,651
Leisure & amenities53#7,368/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

High school diploma or higher · high99.4%
100/100Minnesota 93.9%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Voter turnout · high87.1%
100/100Minnesota 77.0%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionCarver County value
Food environment index · high9.8
99/100Minnesota 9.1United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCarver County value
Math scores · high3.61
99/100Minnesota 3.30United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCarver County value
Premature death · low3,993 /100k
99/100Minnesota 6,407 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCarver County value
Injury deaths · low46 /100k
97/100Minnesota 81 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCarver County value

Weaknesses

Grocery stores · low1.0 /10k
12/100Minnesota 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCarver County value
Comfortable days · low23.6%
16/100Minnesota 23.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCarver County value
Public EV charging ports · low1.8 /10k
19/100Minnesota 5.6 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyCarver County value
Restaurants and bars · low6.5 /10k
25/100Minnesota 8.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCarver County value
Public transit commuters · low0.0%
27/100Minnesota 1.8%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301
Dentists · low50 /100k
32/100Minnesota 78 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCarver County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,981 (2015-2019) → 2,282 (2020-2024)
+15%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
34.7% (2015-2019) → 70.4% (2020-2024)
+36 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
30.2% (2015-2019) → 42.1% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
23.8% (2015-2019) → 34.9% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
89.2% (2015-2019) → 98.1% (2020-2024)
+8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$90,042 (2015-2019) → $129,398 (2020-2024)
+44%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

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, Cologne, Minnesota improved on 3 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 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

Bachelor's++12 points30.2% → 42.1%
Household income+44%$90,042 → $129,398
Broadband+8.9 points89.2% → 98.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Cologne, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.3 min2015-2019	26.7 min2020-2024	−0.6 min	Within the margin of error	55%
Bachelor's degree or higher	30.2%2015-2019	42.1%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	93%
Broadband subscriptions	89.2%2015-2019	98.1%2020-2024	+8.9 points	Improved	54%
Effective property tax rate	1.18%2015-2019	1.17%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	18%
High school diploma or higher	96.9%2015-2019	99.4%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	63%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	63%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3232015-2019	0.3352020-2024	+0.012	Within the margin of error	40%
Median household income	$90,0422015-2019	$129,3982020-2024	+44%	Improved	79%
Rent as share of income	23.8%2015-2019	34.9%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Rent-burdened households	34.7%2015-2019	70.4%2020-2024	+36 points	Within the margin of error	2%
Unemployment rate	1.5%2015-2019	4.0%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	12%

“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 Cologne, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Cologne, 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, Cologne, Minnesota itself moved −10.1 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

2,282 residents (±247)

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

878 households (±119)

Cologne, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k6.5%†57
$25k–50k8.9%†78
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

878 households (±119)

Cologne, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own91%797
Rent9.2%†81

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

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,375 workers (±230)

Cologne, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone62%855
Carpool3.9%†54
Public transit0.0%0

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 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

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 Carver County, the county holding most of Cologne's residents.

Carver County has 2,714 employer establishments, 244 for every 10,000 residents (0.98× the US rate of 248; 0.91× Minnesota's), with 39,280 paid employees at an average annual pay of $62,979. The Census Bureau also counts 9,648 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,714; 9,648 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 244; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 39,280
Average annual pay: $62,979; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	271	24.4	1.58×More than typical	1,564	$85,614	486
Ambulatory health care services	171	15.4	0.74×Fewer than typical	1,743	$92,499	351
Restaurants and other eating places	145	13.1	0.71×Fewer than typical	3,283	$20,602	22
Lessors of real estate	144	13	1.05×About typical	661	$59,589	1,132
Management, scientific and technical consulting	103	9.3	1.38×More than typical	512	$83,182	632
Construction of buildings	99	8.9	1.18×About typical	563	$95,256	230
Services to buildings and dwellings	96	8.6	1.28×More than typical	499	$53,493	370
Building equipment contractors	86	7.7	1.29×More than typical	571	$88,040	59
Real estate agents and brokers	83	7.5	1.54×More than typical	85	$70,271	300
Offices of other health practitioners	78	7	1.16×About typical	348	$64,905	212
Building finishing contractors	74	6.7	1.75×More than typical	476	$70,168	181
Landscaping services	73	6.6	1.88×More than typical	337	$64,561	124

Rank places for an industry Open Carver County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 111,076 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: Cologne is mostly in Carver County.

See federal money in Carver 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.

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

House

Tom EmmerR-MN-6 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 1.3%

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.

Carver County100100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI93

Other cities and towns in Carver 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/2712664

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends