City · Roseau County, Minnesota

Roseau, Minnesota

Roseau is a city in Roseau County, Minnesota. It has 2,736 residents. Roseau, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 84 out of 100 (very high), ranking #2,468 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #188 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on drug overdose deaths (low), preventable hospital stays (low) and property crime rate (low). It ranks worst on distance to an airport (high), gyms and fitness centers (low) and mental health providers (low).

84Very high

Quality-of-life score: #2,468 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #188 of 364 in MN
Population: 2,736 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 1,018.7 /mi²
FIPS code: 2755546

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.

Safety91#1,327/15,637
Economy41#9,292/15,631
Housing73#4,063/14,977
Health65#5,541/15,609
Healthcare53#7,420/15,650
Environment73#4,146/15,453
Education81#2,899/15,649
Infrastructure57#6,713/15,650
Community92#1,315/15,651
Leisure & amenities84#2,547/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Minnesota 15.7 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataRoseau County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,292 /100k
98/100Minnesota 2,419 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRoseau County value
Property crime rate · low232 /100k
98/100Minnesota 1,412 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureRoseau County value
Mammography screening · high59.0%
98/100Minnesota 54.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRoseau County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high10.5 /10k
96/100Minnesota 6.8 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRoseau County value
Violent crime rate · low59 /100k
95/100Minnesota 224 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureRoseau County value

Weaknesses

Distance to an airport · high143 mi
3/100Minnesota 43 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauRoseau County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.0 /10k
4/100Minnesota 1.4 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsRoseau County value
Mental health providers · low46 /100k
5/100Minnesota 383 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteRoseau County value
New business applications · low8.5 /1k
10/100Minnesota 12.7 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauRoseau County value
Distance to an emergency room · high12.9 mi
10/100Minnesota 6.2 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesRoseau County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · high92 mi
11/100Minnesota 32 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauRoseau County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
1.1 /1k (2021) → 3.7 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+232%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Child poverty rateWorsening
2.4% (2015-2019) → 29.1% (2020-2024)
+27 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
71.9% (2015-2019) → 90.9% (2020-2024)
+19 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Poverty rateWorsening
7.2% (2015-2019) → 17.8% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
30.1% (2015-2019) → 21.1% (2020-2024)
−9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
28.4% (2015-2019) → 23.1% (2020-2024)
−5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Roseau, Minnesota improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 10 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

Broadband+19 points71.9% → 90.9%

Declined2

Poverty+11 points7.2% → 17.8%
Bachelor's+−9 points30.1% → 21.1%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Roseau, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.6 min2015-2019	14.1 min2020-2024	+0.5 min	Within the margin of error	42%
Bachelor's degree or higher	30.1%2015-2019	21.1%2020-2024	−9 points	Declined	2%
Broadband subscriptions	71.9%2015-2019	90.9%2020-2024	+19 points	Improved	89%
Effective property tax rate	1.35%2015-2019	1.18%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	52%
High school diploma or higher	91.6%2015-2019	89.9%2020-2024	−1.7 points	Within the margin of error	17%
Home price to income ratio	2.6×2015-2019	2.7×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	73%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4762015-2019	0.4172020-2024	−0.058	Within the margin of error	87%
Median household income	$52,7942015-2019	$60,2172020-2024	+14%	Within the margin of error	22%
Poverty rate	7.2%2015-2019	17.8%2020-2024	+11 points	Declined	4%
Rent as share of income	28.4%2015-2019	23.1%2020-2024	−5.3 points	Within the margin of error	83%
Rent-burdened households	45.6%2015-2019	42.0%2020-2024	−3.5 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Unemployment rate	2.1%2015-2019	3.8%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	2.4%2015-2019	4.4%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	26%

“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 Roseau, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Roseau, 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, Roseau, Minnesota itself moved +5.9 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

2,736 residents (±31)

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

1,234 households (±89)

Roseau, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k23%†285
$25k–50k22%†272
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,234 households (±89)

Roseau, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own62%763
Rent38%471

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

1,291 workers (±143)

Roseau, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone65%842
Carpool3.9%†50
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 Roseau County, the county holding most of Roseau's residents.

Roseau County has 429 employer establishments, 281 for every 10,000 residents (1.13× the US rate of 248; 1.05× Minnesota's), with 7,162 paid employees at an average annual pay of $55,220. The Census Bureau also counts 1,170 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 429; 1,170 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 281; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 7,162
Average annual pay: $55,220; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	29	19	1.23×About typical	52	$45,096	131
Truck transportation	24	15.7	3.11×More than typical	277	$78,729	66
Restaurants and other eating places	20	13.1	0.71×Fewer than typical	151	$21,689	6
Construction of buildings	19	12.4	1.64×More than typical	35	$46,743	43
Ambulatory health care services	18	11.8	0.57×Fewer than typical	93	$55,183	28
Religious organizations	17	11.1	2.01×More than typical	57	$21,018	—
Gasoline stations	15	9.8	3.03×More than typical	177	$27,249	—
Building equipment contractors	13	8.5	1.41×More than typical	30	$32,833	23
Full-service restaurants	13	8.5	1.11×About typical	74	$23,486	3
Lessors of real estate	13	8.5	0.69×Fewer than typical	22	$30,864	99
Accounting, tax preparation and payroll services	11	7.2	1.77×More than typical	40	$33,250	10
Automotive repair and maintenance	11	7.2	1.43×More than typical	36	$48,556	30

Rank places for an industry Open Roseau County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 15,280 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: Roseau is mostly in Roseau County.

See federal money in Roseau 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.

Roseau, 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.

Roseau County94100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Roseau 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/2755546

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends