City · St. Louis County, Minnesota

Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, part of the Duluth, MN-WI metro area. It has 87,093 residents. Duluth, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 65 out of 100 (high), ranking #5,470 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #329 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (low), high school diploma or higher (high) and hot days (low). It ranks worst on comfortable days (low), preventable hospital stays (high) and distance to an airport (high).

65High

Quality-of-life score: #5,470 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #329 of 364 in MN
Population: 87,093 (2020-2024)
Land area: 72 mi²
Density: 1,215.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 2717000

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety37#9,905/15,637
Economy32#10,689/15,631
Housing28#10,728/14,977
Health44#8,794/15,609
Healthcare57#6,673/15,650
Environment78#3,359/15,453
Education94#878/15,649
Infrastructure55#6,995/15,650
Community87#1,993/15,651
Leisure & amenities79#3,233/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low3.9 µg/m³
100/100Minnesota 6.3 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySt. Louis County value
High school diploma or higher · high95.8%
99/100Minnesota 93.9%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Hot days · low1 days
96/100Minnesota 5 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSt. Louis County value
Average commute time · low17.3 min
95/100Minnesota 22.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Primary care physicians · high127 /100k
95/100Minnesota 90 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. Louis County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high7.6 /10k
91/100Minnesota 6.8 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSt. Louis County value

Weaknesses

Comfortable days · low21.0%
1/100Minnesota 23.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSt. Louis County value
Preventable hospital stays · high5,344 /100k
1/100Minnesota 2,419 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. Louis County value
Distance to an airport · high159 mi
2/100Minnesota 43 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSt. Louis County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high130 mi
6/100Minnesota 32 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSt. Louis County value
Days with unhealthy air · high6.3%
7/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySt. Louis County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.478
13/100Minnesota 0.452United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Trends

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

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
81.0% (2015-2019) → 90.3% (2020-2024)
+9.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$52,463 (2015-2019) → $68,807 (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
37.9% (2015-2019) → 44.0% (2020-2024)
+6.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.1× (2015-2019) → 3.5× (2020-2024)
+13%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Child poverty rateWorsening
13.4% (2015-2019) → 15.6% (2020-2024)
+2.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedImproving
1.6 /1k (2021) → 1.8 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+11%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k

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, Duluth, Minnesota improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 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

Bachelor's++6.1 points37.9% → 44.0%
Household income+31%$52,463 → $68,807
Broadband+9.3 points81.0% → 90.3%

Declined3

Uninsured+1.2 points4.3% → 5.5%
Transit use−1 points4.3% → 3.3%
Price / income+0.4×3.1× → 3.5×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Duluth, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.9 min2015-2019	17.3 min2020-2024	+0.4 min	Within the margin of error	43%
Bachelor's degree or higher	37.9%2015-2019	44.0%2020-2024	+6.1 points	Improved	75%
Broadband subscriptions	81.0%2015-2019	90.3%2020-2024	+9.3 points	Improved	56%
Child poverty rate	13.4%2015-2019	15.6%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Effective property tax rate	1.21%2015-2019	1.17%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	23%
High school diploma or higher	94.2%2015-2019	95.8%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Home price to income ratio	3.1×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	+0.4×	Declined	54%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4762015-2019	0.4782020-2024	+0.002	Within the margin of error	49%
Median household income	$52,4632015-2019	$68,8072020-2024	+31%	Improved	58%
Poverty rate	18.2%2015-2019	16.8%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Public transit commuters	4.3%2015-2019	3.3%2020-2024	−1 points	Declined	18%
Rent as share of income	31.0%2015-2019	31.8%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Rent-burdened households	52.0%2015-2019	54.0%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Unemployment rate	4.4%2015-2019	4.7%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	4.3%2015-2019	5.5%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Declined	33%

“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 Duluth, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Duluth, 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, Duluth, Minnesota itself moved +0.2 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

87,093 residents (±127)

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

37,447 households (±646)

Duluth, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k17%6,411
$25k–50k21%7,760
$50k–75k16%5,944

Homes

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

Owners and renters

37,447 households (±646)

Duluth, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own59%22,236
Rent41%15,211

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

45,570 workers (±927)

Duluth, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone69%31,503
Carpool7.4%3,387
Public transit3.3%1,499

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 Duluth, 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 St. Louis County, the county holding most of Duluth's residents.

St. Louis County has 5,360 employer establishments, 267 for every 10,000 residents (1.08× the US rate of 248; 0.99× Minnesota's), with 84,223 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,875. The Census Bureau also counts 13,128 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 5,360; 13,128 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 267; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 84,223
Average annual pay: $55,875; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	366	18.2	1.18×About typical	3,224	$87,258	872
Ambulatory health care services	349	17.4	0.83×About typical	6,170	$85,997	593
Restaurants and other eating places	329	16.4	0.89×About typical	6,724	$21,853	36
Lessors of real estate	190	9.5	0.77×Fewer than typical	800	$41,909	1,403
Construction of buildings	177	8.8	1.17×About typical	842	$62,891	393
Full-service restaurants	164	8.2	1.06×About typical	3,909	$23,227	14
Religious organizations	158	7.9	1.42×More than typical	1,063	$21,683	—
Limited-service restaurants	132	6.6	0.82×About typical	2,310	$20,560	9
Building equipment contractors	126	6.3	1.04×About typical	1,837	$95,338	118
Automotive repair and maintenance	109	5.4	1.08×About typical	648	$45,934	139
Banks and credit unions	106	5.3	1.64×More than typical	1,256	$68,154	4
Traveler accommodation	103	5.1	2.84×More than typical	2,167	$29,634	92

Rank places for an industry Open St. Louis County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 200,669 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 $36.9M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Duluth, Minnesota: $424 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $36.9M; +123% vs FY2025
Per resident: $424; US $1,994
Sole-source: 16%; US 30%
Single offer: 38%; 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

Forest Service$19.4M53%
Environmental Protection Agency$5.9M16%
Department of the Army$4.6M12%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$3.6M9.7%
U.S. Coast Guard$1.3M3.5%
Public Buildings Service$1.2M3.3%
Department of Veterans Affairs$863.6K2.3%
Federal Aviation Administration$129.9K0.4%

Top recipients

EQ & CH REMEDIATION$5.3M14%
ROEN SALVAGE CO.$4M11%
SEVEN CORNERS INC$2.3M6.2%
BIG SKY MOBILE CATERING CORP$2.3M6.1%
BLUE MOUNTAIN FIRE SUPPRESSION INCORPORATED$1.4M3.8%

Spending by fiscal year

27.9MFY2017
20.7MFY2018
22.8MFY2019
20.2MFY2020
34.3MFY2021
91.2MFY2022
17.3MFY2023
18.8M

Top industries (NAICS)

Support activities for forestry · 1153$10.6M29%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$5.4M15%
Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$3.7M10%
Special food services · 7223$2.4M6.6%
General medical and surgical hospitals · 6221$2.3M6.2%
Other ambulatory health care services · 6219$2.1M5.6%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Duluth, Minnesota

SPIRIT LAKE PHASE III TASK ORDER UNDER GLNPO-RRS MATOC$35.4M
J. F. BRENNAN COMPANY, INC.· St. Louis County, MN· Facilities & utilities· May 17, 2022 – Aug 26, 2026· 68HE0522F0071
MUNGER LANDING RA TASK ORDER UNDER GLNPO-RRS MATOC$31.8M
J. F. BRENNAN COMPANY, INC.· St. Louis County, MN· Facilities & utilities· May 24, 2022 – Aug 20, 2026· 68HE0522F0072
PONDS BEHIND ERIE PIER RA - UNDER RES CLIN 0002$16.5M
EQ & CH REMEDIATION· St. Louis County, MN· Facilities & utilities· Jun 7, 2021 – Apr 3, 2026· 68HE0521F0071
DULUTH VESSEL YARD REPAIR PH2

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 Duluth, Minnesota, so they do not add up across cities.

Duluth, Minnesota's figures are part of those of St. Louis County, MN ($54M in FY2026), never added to them: 68% of that total.

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

See federal money in St. Louis 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.

Duluth, 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.

St. Louis County81100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Duluth, MN-WI79

Other cities and towns in St. Louis 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/2717000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends