City · Winona County, Minnesota

Lewiston, Minnesota

Lewiston is a city in Winona County, Minnesota, part of the Winona, MN metro area. It has 1,613 residents. Lewiston, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 90 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,579 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #123 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on median Air Quality Index (low), mammography screening (high) and flu vaccinations (high). It ranks worst on new business applications (low), hospital quality rating (low) and distance to an airport (high).

90Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,579 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #123 of 364 in MN
Population: 1,613 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,272.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 2736800

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.

Safety83#2,716/15,637
Economy73#4,277/15,631
Housing54#6,962/14,977
Health75#3,943/15,609
Healthcare41#9,296/15,650
Environment97#386/15,453
Education83#2,695/15,649
Infrastructure72#4,307/15,650
Community96#704/15,651
Leisure & amenities79#3,253/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Median Air Quality Index · low20
98/1002024U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyWinona County value
Mammography screening · high59.0%
98/100Minnesota 54.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWinona County value
Flu vaccinations · high57.0%
97/100Minnesota 50.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWinona County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Minnesota 2.9 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWinona County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,726 /100k
93/100Minnesota 2,419 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWinona County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high7.7 /10k
92/100Minnesota 6.8 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWinona County value

Weaknesses

New business applications · low6.9 /1k
2/100Minnesota 12.7 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauWinona County value
Hospital quality rating · low2.0
9/100Minnesota 3.8United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesWinona County value
Distance to an airport · high95 mi
11/100Minnesota 43 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauWinona County value
Pharmacies · low1.0 /10k
13/100Minnesota 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWinona County value
New homes permitted · low0.0 /1k
13/100Minnesota 3.9 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high16.1%
23/100Minnesota 6.0%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010

Trends

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

PopulationFalling
1,802 (2015-2019) → 1,613 (2020-2024)
−10%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
0.7% (2015-2019) → 16.1% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Child poverty rateImproving
14.7% (2015-2019) → 4.4% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
21.4% (2015-2019) → 31.0% (2020-2024)
+9.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
82.5% (2015-2019) → 91.9% (2020-2024)
+9.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$66,016 (2015-2019) → $91,875 (2020-2024)
+39%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, Lewiston, Minnesota improved on 4 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 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.

Improved4

Bachelor's++9.6 points21.4% → 31.0%
Poverty−5.8 points11.0% → 5.2%
Household income+39%$66,016 → $91,875
Broadband+9.4 points82.5% → 91.9%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Lewiston, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.6 min2015-2019	22.0 min2020-2024	−1.6 min	Within the margin of error	67%
Bachelor's degree or higher	21.4%2015-2019	31.0%2020-2024	+9.6 points	Improved	89%
Broadband subscriptions	82.5%2015-2019	91.9%2020-2024	+9.4 points	Improved	57%
Effective property tax rate	1.20%2015-2019	1.35%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	4%
High school diploma or higher	91.1%2015-2019	85.4%2020-2024	−5.7 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	2.3×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	85%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4082015-2019	0.3732020-2024	−0.035	Within the margin of error	77%
Median household income	$66,0162015-2019	$91,8752020-2024	+39%	Improved	73%
Poverty rate	11.0%2015-2019	5.2%2020-2024	−5.8 points	Improved	83%
Rent as share of income	25.8%2015-2019	29.5%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Rent-burdened households	42.6%2015-2019	48.8%2020-2024	+6.2 points	Within the margin of error	34%

“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 Lewiston, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Lewiston, 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, Lewiston, Minnesota itself moved −1.4 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

1,613 residents (±244)

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

581 households (±82)

Lewiston, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k10.0%†58
$25k–50k15%†89
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

581 households (±82)

Lewiston, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own77%447
Rent23%†134

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

957 workers (±152)

Lewiston, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone84%802
Carpool1.7%†16
Public transit0.2%†2

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 Winona, 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 Winona County, the county holding most of Lewiston's residents.

Winona County has 1,145 employer establishments, 229 for every 10,000 residents (0.92× the US rate of 248; 0.85× Minnesota's), with 23,937 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,167. The Census Bureau also counts 3,248 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,145; 3,248 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 229; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 23,937
Average annual pay: $48,167; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	84	16.8	1.09×About typical	531	$72,190	204
Restaurants and other eating places	78	15.6	0.85×About typical	1,317	$16,877	10
Ambulatory health care services	53	10.6	0.51×Fewer than typical	748	$50,307	89
Building equipment contractors	39	7.8	1.30×More than typical	408	$73,002	21
Full-service restaurants	37	7.4	0.97×About typical	491	$18,358	6
Religious organizations	35	7	1.26×More than typical	337	$22,914	—
Truck transportation	34	6.8	1.35×More than typical	203	$56,783	93
Limited-service restaurants	33	6.6	0.82×About typical	711	$16,319	—
Lessors of real estate	31	6.2	0.50×Fewer than typical	64	$31,828	333
Automotive repair and maintenance	30	6	1.19×About typical	107	$42,364	59
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	27	5.4	4.46×More than typical	311	$10,225	5
Amusement, gambling and recreation industries	26	5.2	1.96×More than typical	276	$14,772	33

Rank places for an industry Open Winona County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 49,904 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: Lewiston is mostly in Winona County.

See federal money in Winona 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.

Lewiston, 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.

Winona County94100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Winona, MN93

Other cities and towns in Winona 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/2736800

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends