City · Steele County, Minnesota

Owatonna, Minnesota

Owatonna is a city in Steele County, Minnesota, part of the Owatonna, MN metro area. It has 26,498 residents. Owatonna, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 91 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,486 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #113 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on new business applications (high), hospital quality rating (high) and drought exposure (low). It ranks worst on rent-burdened households (high), broadband subscriptions (low) and rent as share of income (high).

91Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,486 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #113 of 364 in MN
Population: 26,498 (2020-2024)
Land area: 15 mi²
Density: 1,746.4 /mi²
FIPS code: 2749300

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.

Safety90#1,474/15,637
Economy73#4,279/15,631
Housing25#11,273/14,977
Health76#3,764/15,609
Healthcare97#444/15,650
Environment91#1,350/15,453
Education69#4,868/15,649
Infrastructure58#6,632/15,650
Community94#869/15,651
Leisure & amenities84#2,491/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

New business applications · high44.7 /1k
99/100Minnesota 12.7 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauSteele County value
Hospital quality rating · high5.0
98/100Minnesota 3.8United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSteele County value
Drought exposure · low0%
96/100Minnesota 36%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAASteele County value
Mammography screening · high56.0%
94/100Minnesota 54.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSteele County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Minnesota 2.9 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataSteele County value
High school diploma or higher · high94.3%
94/100Minnesota 93.9%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Weaknesses

Rent-burdened households · high64.9%
16/100Minnesota 48.1%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Broadband subscriptions · low87.9%
24/100Minnesota 91.6%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Rent as share of income · high35.6%
24/100Minnesota 29.2%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Distance to an Amtrak station · high48 mi
27/100Minnesota 32 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSteele County value
Comfortable days · low24.2%
31/100Minnesota 23.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSteele County value
Distance to an airport · high56 mi
32/100Minnesota 43 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSteele County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
4.6 /1k (2021) → 1.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−79%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
49.3% (2015-2019) → 64.9% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
29.6% (2015-2019) → 35.6% (2020-2024)
+6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$62,642 (2015-2019) → $80,750 (2020-2024)
+29%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.7× (2015-2019) → 3.0× (2020-2024)
+14%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Average commute timeWorsening
16.3 min (2015-2019) → 17.7 min (2020-2024)
+8.9%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min

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, Owatonna, Minnesota improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 11 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.

Improved1

Household income+29%$62,642 → $80,750

Declined2

Rent burden+16 points49.3% → 64.9%
Rent / income+6 points29.6% → 35.6%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Owatonna, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	16.3 min2015-2019	17.7 min2020-2024	+1.4 min	Within the margin of error	32%
Bachelor's degree or higher	29.3%2015-2019	29.3%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Broadband subscriptions	86.7%2015-2019	87.9%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	12%
Child poverty rate	10.9%2015-2019	10.9%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Effective property tax rate	1.34%2015-2019	1.24%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
High school diploma or higher	93.1%2015-2019	94.3%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Home price to income ratio	2.7×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	56%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4182015-2019	0.4222020-2024	+0.004	Within the margin of error	47%
Median household income	$62,6422015-2019	$80,7502020-2024	+29%	Improved	53%
Poverty rate	9.1%2015-2019	9.2%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Rent as share of income	29.6%2015-2019	35.6%2020-2024	+6 points	Declined	18%
Rent-burdened households	49.3%2015-2019	64.9%2020-2024	+16 points	Declined	14%
Unemployment rate	3.8%2015-2019	3.6%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.5%2015-2019	3.8%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	43%

“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 Owatonna, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Owatonna, 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, Owatonna, Minnesota itself moved −10.9 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

26,498 residents (±62)

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

11,018 households (±215)

Owatonna, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k12%1,305
$25k–50k21%2,316
$50k–75k13%1,458

Homes

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

Owners and renters

11,018 households (±215)

Owatonna, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own76%8,334
Rent24%2,684

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+4.5 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

12,829 workers (±564)

Owatonna, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone82%10,475
Carpool5.8%†746
Public transit1.2%†152

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 Owatonna, 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 Steele County, the county holding most of Owatonna's residents.

Steele County has 1,024 employer establishments, 273 for every 10,000 residents (1.10× the US rate of 248; 1.02× Minnesota's), with 18,853 paid employees at an average annual pay of $62,861. The Census Bureau also counts 2,480 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,024; 2,480 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 273; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 18,853
Average annual pay: $62,861; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	71	19	1.22×About typical	377	$79,894	164
Restaurants and other eating places	57	15.2	0.83×About typical	1,164	$17,367	5
Ambulatory health care services	51	13.6	0.65×Fewer than typical	967	$74,310	64
Truck transportation	39	10.4	2.06×More than typical	337	$71,585	118
Religious organizations	35	9.3	1.68×More than typical	249	$18,843	—
Construction of buildings	32	8.5	1.13×About typical	119	$65,303	71
Services to buildings and dwellings	30	8	1.19×About typical	218	$39,578	127
Automotive repair and maintenance	29	7.7	1.54×More than typical	138	$56,203	37
Insurance agencies and brokerages	28	7.5	1.70×More than typical	70	$53,843	29
Full-service restaurants	26	6.9	0.90×About typical	449	$20,254	—
Limited-service restaurants	25	6.7	0.83×About typical	596	$15,727	—
Lessors of real estate	22	5.9	0.48×Fewer than typical	228	$18,535	303

Rank places for an industry Open Steele County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 37,462 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 $777.4K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Owatonna, Minnesota: $29.34 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $777.4K; −16% vs FY2025
Per resident: $29.34; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.5%; 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

Agricultural Marketing Service$578.6K74%
Department of Veterans Affairs$192.8K25%
Department of Defense Education Activity$2,5900.3%
Agricultural Research Service$1,8860.2%
National Park Service$1,5200.2%

Top recipients

LAKESIDE FOODS INC$578.6K74%
BENEDICTINE LIVING COMMUNITY OWATONNA$192.8K25%
THE PROPHET CORPORATION$2,5900.3%
CULLIGAN ULTRAPURE, INC.$1,8860.2%
WENGER CORP$1,5200.2%

Spending by fiscal year

515.9KFY2017
552.1KFY2018
287.1KFY2019
88.1KFY2020
42.3KFY2021
86KFY2022
519.4KFY2023
1.4M

Top industries (NAICS)

Fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing · 3114$578.6K74%
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) · 6231$192.8K25%
Other miscellaneous manufacturing · 3399$4,1100.5%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$1,8860.2%

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

Owatonna, Minnesota's figures are part of those of Steele County, MN ($10.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 7.3% of that total.

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

See federal money in Steele 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.

Owatonna, 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.

Steele County96100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Owatonna, MN96

Other cities and towns in Steele 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/2749300

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends