City · Pipestone County, Minnesota

Pipestone, Minnesota

Pipestone is a city in Pipestone County, Minnesota. It has 4,129 residents. Pipestone, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 80 out of 100 (very high), ranking #3,090 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #241 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on social associations (high), grocery stores (high) and property crime rate (low). It ranks worst on mental health care shortage (high), gyms and fitness centers (low) and distance to an Amtrak station (high).

80Very high

Quality-of-life score: #3,090 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #241 of 364 in MN
Population: 4,129 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 995.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 2751388

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety98#338/15,637
Economy41#9,279/15,631
Housing65#5,180/14,977
Health40#9,394/15,609
Healthcare54#7,211/15,650
Environment99#121/15,453
Education76#3,823/15,649
Infrastructure55#7,096/15,650
Community89#1,743/15,651
Leisure & amenities59#6,376/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Social associations · high21.6 /10k
99/100Minnesota 12.2 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePipestone County value
Grocery stores · high4.3 /10k
99/100Minnesota 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPipestone County value
Property crime rate · low210 /100k
99/100Minnesota 1,412 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationPipestone County value
Average commute time · low13.1 min
98/100Minnesota 22.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Home price to income ratio · low1.7×
96/100Minnesota 3.7×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · low5.2 µg/m³
95/100Minnesota 6.3 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyPipestone County value

Weaknesses

Mental health care shortage · high19.0
4/100Minnesota 8.0United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationPipestone County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Minnesota 1.4 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsPipestone County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high151 mi
4/100Minnesota 32 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauPipestone County value
New business applications · low7.8 /1k
6/100Minnesota 12.7 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauPipestone County value
Access to exercise opportunities · low50.9%
11/100Minnesota 86.4%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePipestone County value
Mental health providers · low110 /100k
16/100Minnesota 383 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstitutePipestone County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
24.4% (2015-2019) → 53.7% (2020-2024)
+29 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Child poverty rateImproving
27.2% (2015-2019) → 14.0% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Median household incomeImproving
$40,670 (2015-2019) → $67,568 (2020-2024)
+66%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.4% (2015-2019) → 89.0% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
20.4% (2015-2019) → 30.9% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Average commute timeImproving
24.3 min (2015-2019) → 13.1 min (2020-2024)
−46%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, Pipestone, Minnesota improved on 5 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 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.

Improved5

Commute−11.3 min24.3 min → 13.1 min
Household income+66%$40,670 → $67,568
Child poverty−13 points27.2% → 14.0%
Uninsured−5.4 points9.4% → 4.0%
Broadband+11 points78.4% → 89.0%

Declined2

Rent burden+29 points24.4% → 53.7%
Rent / income+11 points20.4% → 30.9%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Pipestone, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.3 min2015-2019	13.1 min2020-2024	−11.3 min	Improved	99%
Bachelor's degree or higher	21.7%2015-2019	25.4%2020-2024	+3.7 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Broadband subscriptions	78.4%2015-2019	89.0%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	62%
Child poverty rate	27.2%2015-2019	14.0%2020-2024	−13 points	Improved	87%
Effective property tax rate	1.18%2015-2019	1.03%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
High school diploma or higher	88.6%2015-2019	92.2%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Home price to income ratio	2.1×2015-2019	1.7×2020-2024	−0.4×	Within the margin of error	91%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4672015-2019	0.4412020-2024	−0.026	Within the margin of error	71%
Median household income	$40,6702015-2019	$67,5682020-2024	+66%	Improved	93%
Poverty rate	17.1%2015-2019	13.1%2020-2024	−3.9 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Rent as share of income	20.4%2015-2019	30.9%2020-2024	+11 points	Declined	9%
Rent-burdened households	24.4%2015-2019	53.7%2020-2024	+29 points	Declined	3%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.4%2015-2019	4.0%2020-2024	−5.4 points	Improved	88%

“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 Pipestone, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Pipestone, 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, Pipestone, Minnesota itself moved −0.6 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

4,129 residents (±18)

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

1,838 households (±126)

Pipestone, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k19%353
$25k–50k17%321
$50k–75k18%338

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,838 households (±126)

Pipestone, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own70%1,289
Rent30%549

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

1,960 workers (±188)

Pipestone, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone81%1,578
Carpool8.8%†172
Public transit0.8%†15

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 Pipestone County, the county holding most of Pipestone's residents.

Pipestone County has 312 employer establishments, 336 for every 10,000 residents (1.35× the US rate of 248; 1.25× Minnesota's), with 3,196 paid employees at an average annual pay of $46,605. The Census Bureau also counts 787 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 312; 787 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 336; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 3,196
Average annual pay: $46,605; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	28	30.1	1.95×More than typical	114	$106,982	74
Truck transportation	23	24.8	4.90×More than typical	91	$62,527	64
Religious organizations	20	21.5	3.88×More than typical	75	$20,400	—
Construction of buildings	16	17.2	2.28×More than typical	34	$48,735	24
Restaurants and other eating places	13	14	0.76×Fewer than typical	268	$15,369	—
Building equipment contractors	12	12.9	2.15×More than typical	38	$53,026	7
Foundation, structure and building exterior contractors	11	11.8	3.76×More than typical	52	$155,769	9
Ambulatory health care services	10	10.8	0.52×Fewer than typical	86	$44,953	17
Automotive repair and maintenance	8	8.6	1.71×Too few to compare	29	$36,552	23
Electrical contractors and wiring installation	7	7.5	3.04×Too few to compare	24	$43,375	—
Full-service restaurants	7	7.5	0.98×Too few to compare	127	$14,181	—
Insurance agencies and brokerages	7	7.5	1.72×Too few to compare	28	$70,107	12

Rank places for an industry Open Pipestone County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 9,289 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 $3,298 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Pipestone, Minnesota: $0.80 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $3,298
Per resident: $0.80; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 9.3%; 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

National Park Service$3,319100%

Top recipients

KB STANDARD LLC$2,99191%
COUNTERTRADE PRODUCTS, INC.$3079.3%
AMG CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INCORPORATED$20.140.6%
JBS USA FOOD COMPANY-$20.450.0%

Spending by fiscal year

-32.4FY2017
374.9FY2018
794.2FY2019
157.4FY2020
9.3KFY2021
145.5FY2022
270.4KFY2023
340.7KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$3,01191%
Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing · 3341$3079.3%

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

Pipestone, Minnesota's figures are part of those of Pipestone County, MN ($167.1K in FY2026), never added to them: 2.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Pipestone 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.

Pipestone, 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.

Pipestone County92100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Pipestone 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/2751388

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends