City · Wadena County, Minnesota

Menahga, Minnesota

Menahga is a city in Wadena County, Minnesota. It has 1,343 residents. Menahga, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 79 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,341 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #256 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on rent-burdened households (low), drug overdose deaths (low) and rent as share of income (low). It ranks worst on flu vaccinations (low), gyms and fitness centers (low) and access to exercise opportunities (low).

79High

Quality-of-life score: #3,341 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #256 of 364 in MN
Population: 1,343 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 362.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 2741660

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.

Safety75#3,872/15,637
Economy37#9,918/15,631
Housing98#315/14,977
Health52#7,425/15,609
Healthcare54#7,213/15,650
Environment97#424/15,453
Education85#2,347/15,649
Infrastructure25#11,713/15,650
Community85#2,405/15,651
Leisure & amenities55#7,005/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Rent-burdened households · low18.1%
100/100Minnesota 48.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Minnesota 15.7 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataWadena County value
Rent as share of income · low22.8%
98/100Minnesota 29.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Social associations · high19.7 /10k
98/100Minnesota 12.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWadena County value
Math scores · high3.48
95/100Minnesota 3.30United States 3.032018University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWadena County value
High school diploma or higher · high96.1%
95/100Minnesota 93.9%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Weaknesses

Flu vaccinations · low22.0%
2/100Minnesota 50.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWadena County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Minnesota 1.4 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWadena County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low40.2%
6/100Minnesota 86.4%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWadena County value
Broadband subscriptions · low83.4%
12/100Minnesota 91.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Distance to an airport · high89 mi
13/100Minnesota 43 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauWadena County value
Unemployment rate · high8.4%
15/100Minnesota 3.9%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,068 (2015-2019) → 1,343 (2020-2024)
+26%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
67.9% (2015-2019) → 18.1% (2020-2024)
−50 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
41.0% (2015-2019) → 22.8% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
10.4% (2015-2019) → 26.1% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Child poverty rateImproving
20.6% (2015-2019) → 6.0% (2020-2024)
−15 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.6% (2015-2019) → 83.4% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

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, Menahga, Minnesota improved on 6 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 6 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.

Improved6

Rent burden−50 points67.9% → 18.1%
Rent / income−18 points41.0% → 22.8%
Bachelor's++16 points10.4% → 26.1%
Poverty−10 points20.5% → 10.1%
Household income+48%$39,097 → $58,036

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Menahga, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	25.6 min2015-2019	18.9 min2020-2024	−6.7 min	Within the margin of error	95%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.4%2015-2019	26.1%2020-2024	+16 points	Improved	98%
Broadband subscriptions	72.6%2015-2019	83.4%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	63%
Effective property tax rate	1.42%2015-2019	1.29%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	42%
High school diploma or higher	86.4%2015-2019	96.1%2020-2024	+9.7 points	Within the margin of error	95%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	82%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4002015-2019	0.3782020-2024	−0.023	Within the margin of error	69%
Median household income	$39,0972015-2019	$58,0362020-2024	+48%	Improved	83%
Poverty rate	20.5%2015-2019	10.1%2020-2024	−10 points	Improved	93%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	41.0%2015-2019	22.8%2020-2024	−18 points	Improved	98%
Rent-burdened households	67.9%2015-2019	18.1%2020-2024	−50 points	Improved	99%

“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 Menahga, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Menahga, 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, Menahga, Minnesota itself moved +33.2 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

1,343 residents (±169)

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

566 households (±70)

Menahga, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k17%97
$25k–50k25%†144
$50k–75k21%†121

Homes

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

Owners and renters

566 households (±70)

Menahga, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own61%344
Rent39%222

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

487 workers (±87)

Menahga, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone73%356
Carpool7.0%†34
Public transit0.0%0

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 Wadena County, the county holding most of Menahga's residents.

Wadena County has 399 employer establishments, 280 for every 10,000 residents (1.13× the US rate of 248; 1.04× Minnesota's), with 3,946 paid employees at an average annual pay of $45,380. The Census Bureau also counts 986 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 399; 986 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 280; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 3,946
Average annual pay: $45,380; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	44	30.9	2.00×More than typical	84	$71,583	90
Restaurants and other eating places	23	16.2	0.88×About typical	312	$19,253	4
Religious organizations	22	15.4	2.79×More than typical	89	$23,843	—
Ambulatory health care services	20	14	0.67×Fewer than typical	214	$77,168	31
Building equipment contractors	19	13.3	2.22×More than typical	39	$47,282	16
Construction of buildings	18	12.6	1.67×More than typical	69	$66,507	57
Truck transportation	16	11.2	2.22×More than typical	47	$49,106	65
Limited-service restaurants	13	9.1	1.14×About typical	218	$18,693	—
Automotive repair and maintenance	12	8.4	1.67×More than typical	57	$45,211	23
Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors	10	7	2.13×More than typical	17	$50,765	8
Building material and supplies dealers (hardware, home centers)	9	6.3	3.83×Too few to compare	89	$43,944	3
Electrical contractors and wiring installation	9	6.3	2.55×Too few to compare	22	$44,591	8

Rank places for an industry Open Wadena County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 14,240 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: Menahga is mostly in Wadena County.

See federal money in Wadena 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.

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

House

Michelle FischbachR-MN-7 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.4%

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.

Wadena County78100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Wadena 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/2741660

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends