City · Dakota County, Minnesota

Empire, Minnesota

Empire is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area. It has 3,092 residents. Empire, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 97 out of 100 (very high), ranking #507 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #39 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on child poverty rate (low), traffic deaths (low) and income inequality (Gini index) (low). It ranks worst on public libraries (low), days with unhealthy air (high) and child care cost burden (high).

97Very high

Quality-of-life score: #507 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #39 of 364 in MN
Population: 3,092 (2020-2024)
Land area: 31 mi²
Density: 101.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 2719358

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 66 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.

Safety79#3,266/15,637
Economy97#546/15,631
Housing69#4,711/14,977
Health—
Healthcare93#1,152/15,650
Environment81#2,982/15,453
Education90#1,598/15,649
Infrastructure87#2,002/15,650
Community89#1,720/15,651
Leisure & amenities46#8,441/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Child poverty rate · low0.0%
98/100Minnesota 9.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Traffic deaths · low4.4 /100k
97/100Minnesota 7.7 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataDakota County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.315
97/100Minnesota 0.452United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Voter turnout · high81.0%
97/100Minnesota 77.0%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionDakota County value
Poverty rate · low1.9%
97/100Minnesota 9.3%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Food environment index · high9.4
96/100Minnesota 9.1United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDakota County value

Weaknesses

Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
10/100Minnesota 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesDakota County value
Days with unhealthy air · high2.7%
15/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyDakota County value
Child care cost burden · high37.4%
15/100Minnesota 29.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDakota County value
Restaurants and bars · low6.2 /10k
21/100Minnesota 8.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsDakota County value
Comfortable days · low24.0%
26/100Minnesota 23.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationDakota County value
Job growth · low-0.8%
32/100Minnesota -0.3%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataDakota County value

Trends

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

No large change over the last five years in the published series.

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.

There is not enough history to compare Empire, Minnesota over five years.

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

The places whose measures looked most like those of Empire, 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.

No place that looked like Empire, Minnesota five years ago has more measures that improved than declined, with a higher standing among its peers today.

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

3,092 residents (±28)

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

† 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

3,092 residents (±28)

Empire, Minnesota
Minnesota share

White93%2,884
Black0.2%†6
Hispanic or Latino2.5%†77
Asian0.6%†19
American Indian and Alaska Native0.0%0
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%0
Other or two or more races3.4%†106

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

2,037 residents (±142)

Empire, Minnesota
Minnesota share

No high school diploma2.6%†52
High school or GED22%444
Some college22%455
Associate degree16%324
Bachelor's degree26%539
Graduate degree11%†223

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B15003View 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.

Income

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

Household income

1,014 households (±78)

Empire, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k2.6%†26
$25k–50k2.9%†29
$50k–75k13%†131
$75k–100k10%†103
$100k–150k24%†241
$150k–200k28%†283
$200k or more20%†201

† 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

1,014 households (±78)

Empire, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own94%956
Rent5.7%†58

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

Table view

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

Rent paid

58 households (±30)

Empire, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $7500.0%0
$750–1,0000.0%0
$1,000–1,50028%†16

Home values

956 homes (±79)

Empire, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $150k2.6%†25
$150k–250k2.1%†20
$250k–400k26%248

Age of homes

1,030 homes (±81)

Empire, Minnesota
Minnesota share

2010 or later16%163
2000–200930%304
1980–199919%†196

Size of homes

1,030 homes (±81)

Empire, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom0.6%†6
2 bedrooms6.5%†67

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

1,713 workers (±150)

Empire, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone73%1,251
Carpool5.2%†89
Public transit0.2%†4
Walk1.0%†17
Bike0.0%0
Work from home20%†345
Other0.4%†7

† 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

1,368 workers (±155)

Empire, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under 15 min21%†293
15–29 min30%409
30–44 min30%405

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 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 Dakota County, the county holding most of Empire's residents.

Dakota County has 10,964 employer establishments, 244 for every 10,000 residents (0.98× the US rate of 248; 0.91× Minnesota's), with 185,426 paid employees at an average annual pay of $67,061. The Census Bureau also counts 36,168 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 10,964; 36,168 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 244; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 185,426
Average annual pay: $67,061; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	756	16.9	1.09×About typical	6,811	$88,801	1,978
Ambulatory health care services	739	16.5	0.79×Fewer than typical	9,168	$68,124	1,587
Restaurants and other eating places	630	14	0.76×Fewer than typical	14,092	$23,111	108
Lessors of real estate	594	13.2	1.07×About typical	1,950	$57,001	3,156
Services to buildings and dwellings	394	8.8	1.30×More than typical	2,744	$66,435	1,326
Construction of buildings	345	7.7	1.02×About typical	2,161	$92,659	830
Computer systems design and related services	322	7.2	1.66×More than typical	1,691	$92,920	507
Offices of other health practitioners	312	7	1.14×About typical	1,932	$54,737	828
Management, scientific and technical consulting	301	6.7	1.00×About typical	1,173	$86,667	1,595
Limited-service restaurants	296	6.6	0.82×About typical	5,903	$20,492	43
Insurance agencies and brokerages	288	6.4	1.46×More than typical	7,509	$107,061	513
Real estate agents and brokers	281	6.3	1.29×More than typical	389	$69,344	1,003

Rank places for an industry Open Dakota County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 448,612 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: Empire is mostly in Dakota County.

See federal money in Dakota 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.

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

House

Angie CraigD-MN-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 95%Missed 3.6%

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.

Dakota County97100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI93

Other cities and towns in Dakota 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.

Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
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

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