City · Washington County, Minnesota

Hugo, Minnesota

Hugo is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area. It has 16,340 residents. Hugo, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 99 out of 100 (very high), ranking #138 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #9 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on traffic deaths (low), child poverty rate (low) and voter turnout (high). It ranks worst on students per teacher (high), grocery stores (low) and restaurants and bars (low).

99Very high

Quality-of-life score: #138 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #9 of 364 in MN
Population: 16,340 (2020-2024)
Land area: 33 mi²
Density: 488.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 2730392

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.

Safety92#1,292/15,637
Economy93#1,163/15,631
Housing52#7,144/14,977
Health92#1,274/15,609
Healthcare97#409/15,650
Environment99#159/15,453
Education94#897/15,649
Infrastructure87#2,095/15,650
Community96#637/15,651
Leisure & amenities55#6,985/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Traffic deaths · low3.8 /100k
99/100Minnesota 7.7 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataWashington County value
Child poverty rate · low1.8%
99/100Minnesota 9.6%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Voter turnout · high84.0%
99/100Minnesota 77.0%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionWashington County value
Math scores · high3.52
98/100Minnesota 3.30United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWashington County value
High school diploma or higher · high98.3%
98/100Minnesota 93.9%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Loneliness · low29.6%
96/100Minnesota 32.1%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

Students per teacher · high17.2×
20/100Minnesota 14.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsWashington County value
Grocery stores · low1.2 /10k
23/100Minnesota 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWashington County value
Restaurants and bars · low6.6 /10k
26/100Minnesota 8.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWashington County value
Public libraries · low0.3 /10k
27/100Minnesota 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesWashington County value
Comfortable days · low24.1%
27/100Minnesota 23.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationWashington County value
Child care cost burden · high33.7%
28/100Minnesota 29.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWashington County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
14,767 (2015-2019) → 16,340 (2020-2024)
+11%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
46.5% (2015-2019) → 72.7% (2020-2024)
+26 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.7% (2015-2019) → 44.8% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
New homes permittedWorsening
12.4 /1k (2021) → 5.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−54%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
37.5% (2015-2019) → 46.5% (2020-2024)
+8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Median household incomeImproving
$89,969 (2015-2019) → $116,228 (2020-2024)
+29%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, Hugo, Minnesota improved on 2 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 7 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.

Improved2

Bachelor's++8.9 points37.5% → 46.5%
Household income+29%$89,969 → $116,228

Declined2

Rent / income+16 points28.7% → 44.8%
Price / income+0.6×2.9× → 3.5×

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Hugo, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.8 min2015-2019	26.8 min2020-2024	−1.1 min	Within the margin of error	61%
Bachelor's degree or higher	37.5%2015-2019	46.5%2020-2024	+8.9 points	Improved	87%
Broadband subscriptions	92.1%2015-2019	95.1%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	20%
Effective property tax rate	1.07%2015-2019	0.96%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	38%
High school diploma or higher	97.6%2015-2019	98.3%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	3.5×2020-2024	+0.6×	Declined	39%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3672015-2019	0.4002020-2024	+0.033	Within the margin of error	25%
Median household income	$89,9692015-2019	$116,2282020-2024	+29%	Improved	53%
Poverty rate	2.6%2015-2019	2.8%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Rent as share of income	28.7%2015-2019	44.8%2020-2024	+16 points	Declined	4%
Unemployment rate	1.8%2015-2019	1.6%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	52%

“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 Hugo, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hugo, 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, Hugo, Minnesota itself moved −7.5 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

16,340 residents (±30)

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

6,487 households (±294)

Hugo, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k4.6%†301
$25k–50k11%†708
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

6,487 households (±294)

Hugo, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own90%5,809
Rent10%†678

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+5.3 points).

† 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

9,121 workers (±502)

Hugo, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone78%7,151
Carpool3.1%†279
Public transit0.0%†1

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 Washington County, the county holding most of Hugo's residents.

Washington County has 6,542 employer establishments, 235 for every 10,000 residents (0.94× the US rate of 248; 0.87× Minnesota's), with 95,631 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,273. The Census Bureau also counts 22,749 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 6,542; 22,749 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 235; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 95,631
Average annual pay: $56,273; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	538	19.3	0.93×About typical	6,998	$66,636	1,021
Specialty trade contractors	468	16.8	1.08×About typical	2,924	$88,053	1,155
Restaurants and other eating places	380	13.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	9,574	$22,435	88
Lessors of real estate	367	13.2	1.07×About typical	1,089	$47,286	2,392
Management, scientific and technical consulting	236	8.5	1.26×More than typical	665	$97,478	1,401
Construction of buildings	219	7.9	1.04×About typical	1,097	$82,066	462
Services to buildings and dwellings	216	7.7	1.15×About typical	1,500	$45,317	721
Personal care services	211	7.6	1.59×More than typical	1,392	$31,615	668
Real estate agents and brokers	208	7.5	1.53×More than typical	241	$62,465	831
Offices of other health practitioners	202	7.2	1.19×About typical	952	$53,928	569
Insurance agencies and brokerages	188	6.7	1.53×More than typical	1,083	$69,671	433
Computer systems design and related services	183	6.6	1.52×More than typical	991	$104,726	301

Rank places for an industry Open Washington County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 278,890 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 $942.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Hugo, Minnesota: $57.67 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $942.3K; +342% vs FY2025
Per resident: $57.67; US $1,994
Sole-source: 31%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.7%; 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

U.S. Secret Service$456.7K48%
Department of Veterans Affairs$279.5K30%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$186.3K20%
Department of the Army$11.4K1.2%
Defense Logistics Agency$4,2900.5%
National Park Service$4,1750.4%

Top recipients

J.P. ENTERPRISES, INC.$456.7K48%
THIRD IRON LLC$269.7K29%
ECKHARDT OPTICS LLC$186.3K20%
ACADEMY OF NUTRITION & DIETETICS$15.5K1.6%
UP ENTERPRISES LLC$4,2900.5%

Spending by fiscal year

50.3KFY2017
27.5KFY2018
82.2KFY2019
208.4KFY2020
110.9KFY2021
28.8KFY2022
280KFY2023
264.5K

Top industries (NAICS)

Other fabricated metal product manufacturing · 3329$456.7K48%
Web search portals, libraries, archives, and other information services · 5192$279.5K30%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$186.3K20%
Software publishers · 5132$5,6450.6%
Communications equipment manufacturing · 3342$4,1750.4%
Paint, coating, and adhesive manufacturing · 3255

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Hugo, Minnesota

THIS DELIVERY ORDER IS BEING WRITTEN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF IDIQ CONTRACT 70US0926D70092078.$525K
J.P. ENTERPRISES, INC.· Washington County, MN· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· May 5, 2026 – May 5, 2026· 70US0926F3OTH2793
BROWZINE SUBSCRIPTION$303.6K
THIRD IRON LLC· Washington County, MN· Professional services· Feb 12, 2026 – Aug 26, 2026· 36C77626P0017
SBIR PHASE I NEAR-ANGLE SCATTER METROLOGY OF MICROMETEOROID IMPACT SITES ON CORONAGRAPH MIRROR COATINGS FOR THE HABITABLE WORLDS OBSERVATORY$214.2K
ECKHARDT OPTICS LLC· Washington County, MN· Research & development· Sep 25, 2026 – Sep 25, 2026· 80NSSC26C0234

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

Hugo, Minnesota's figures are part of those of Washington County, MN ($9.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 9.6% of that total.

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

See federal money in Washington 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.

Hugo, Minnesota is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

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.

Washington County99100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI93

Other cities and towns in Washington 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/2730392

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends