City · Martin County, Minnesota

Fairmont, Minnesota

Fairmont is a city in Martin County, Minnesota, part of the Fairmont, MN metro area. It has 10,296 residents. Fairmont, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 74 out of 100 (high), ranking #4,071 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #296 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on average commute time (low), hospital quality rating (high) and social associations (high). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), new business applications (low) and distance to an Amtrak station (high).

74High

Quality-of-life score: #4,071 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #296 of 364 in MN
Population: 10,296 (2020-2024)
Land area: 15 mi²
Density: 686.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 2720330

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.

Safety86#2,178/15,637
Economy29#11,152/15,631
Housing40#8,919/14,977
Health56#6,902/15,609
Healthcare72#4,440/15,650
Environment98#374/15,453
Education63#5,864/15,649
Infrastructure27#11,420/15,650
Community89#1,777/15,651
Leisure & amenities85#2,331/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Average commute time · low13.1 min
99/100Minnesota 22.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Hospital quality rating · high5.0
98/100Minnesota 3.8United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMartin County value
Social associations · high18.8 /10k
97/100Minnesota 12.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMartin County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low99 min
96/100Minnesota 134 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMartin County value
Restaurants and bars · high14.4 /10k
94/100Minnesota 8.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMartin County value
High school diploma or higher · high95.2%
94/100Minnesota 93.9%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Weaknesses

Child care cost burden · high42.0%
5/100Minnesota 29.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMartin County value
New business applications · low8.0 /1k
7/100Minnesota 12.7 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauMartin County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high113 mi
8/100Minnesota 32 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauMartin County value
Distance to an airport · high105 mi
9/100Minnesota 43 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauMartin County value
Mental health care shortage · high18.0
11/100Minnesota 8.0United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationMartin County value
Broadband subscriptions · low85.1%
13/100Minnesota 91.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002

Trends

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

Child poverty rateImproving
27.5% (2015-2019) → 15.0% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
0.5 /1k (2021) → 0.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−59%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
43.2% (2015-2019) → 53.8% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.1% (2015-2019) → 85.1% (2020-2024)
+5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
8.6% (2015-2019) → 3.7% (2020-2024)
−4.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.6× (2015-2019) → 3.2× (2020-2024)
+24%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Fairmont, Minnesota improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 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

Child poverty−13 points27.5% → 15.0%
Uninsured−4.8 points8.6% → 3.7%
Broadband+5 points80.1% → 85.1%

Declined1

Price / income+0.6×2.6× → 3.2×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Fairmont, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.4 min2015-2019	13.1 min2020-2024	−0.3 min	Within the margin of error	51%
Bachelor's degree or higher	23.0%2015-2019	25.7%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Broadband subscriptions	80.1%2015-2019	85.1%2020-2024	+5 points	Improved	32%
Child poverty rate	27.5%2015-2019	15.0%2020-2024	−13 points	Improved	86%
Effective property tax rate	1.05%2015-2019	1.13%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	7%
High school diploma or higher	93.0%2015-2019	95.2%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	61%
Home price to income ratio	2.6×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+0.6×	Declined	41%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4452015-2019	0.4792020-2024	+0.034	Within the margin of error	24%
Median household income	$47,8762015-2019	$53,0842020-2024	+11%	Within the margin of error	18%
Poverty rate	18.4%2015-2019	15.3%2020-2024	−3.2 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Rent as share of income	27.5%2015-2019	31.2%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Rent-burdened households	43.2%2015-2019	53.8%2020-2024	+11 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Unemployment rate	5.4%2015-2019	3.1%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	8.6%2015-2019	3.7%2020-2024	−4.8 points	Improved	86%

“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 Fairmont, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Fairmont, 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, Fairmont, Minnesota itself moved −11.7 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

10,296 residents (±53)

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

4,884 households (±219)

Fairmont, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k19%939
$25k–50k28%1,376
$50k–75k16%764

Homes

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

Owners and renters

4,884 households (±219)

Fairmont, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own61%2,973
Rent39%1,911

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

4,770 workers (±292)

Fairmont, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone80%3,799
Carpool6.2%†295
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 Fairmont, 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 Martin County, the county holding most of Fairmont's residents.

Martin County has 597 employer establishments, 303 for every 10,000 residents (1.22× the US rate of 248; 1.13× Minnesota's), with 7,402 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,813. The Census Bureau also counts 1,539 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 597; 1,539 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 303; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 7,402
Average annual pay: $56,813; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	42	21.3	1.02×About typical	727	$86,534	28
Restaurants and other eating places	28	14.2	0.77×Fewer than typical	509	$16,507	7
Specialty trade contractors	27	13.7	0.88×About typical	176	$77,778	133
Religious organizations	25	12.7	2.28×More than typical	137	$20,051	—
Truck transportation	22	11.2	2.21×More than typical	101	$51,069	88
Offices of other health practitioners	21	10.6	1.75×More than typical	73	$39,959	9
Insurance agencies and brokerages	20	10.1	2.31×More than typical	91	$86,132	33
Automotive repair and maintenance	17	8.6	1.71×More than typical	74	$32,041	28
Banks and credit unions	15	7.6	2.35×More than typical	150	$83,087	—
Full-service restaurants	15	7.6	0.99×About typical	272	$16,371	—
Construction of buildings	14	7.1	0.94×About typical	47	$54,489	44
Services to buildings and dwellings	12	6.1	0.90×About typical	42	$29,667	94

Rank places for an industry Open Martin County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 19,727 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Fairmont, Minnesota: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; 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

Spending by fiscal year

38.4FY2017
40.8FY2018
8.7KFY2020
4.5KFY2021
2.6KFY2022
-200FY2023
-14.4FY2024

What was bought

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

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

See federal money in Martin 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.

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

House

Brad FinstadR-MN-1 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 0.9%

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.

Martin County88100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Fairmont, MN85

Other cities and towns in Martin 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/2720330

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends