City · Stearns County, Minnesota

Sauk Centre, Minnesota

Sauk Centre is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, part of the St. Cloud, MN metro area. It has 4,621 residents. Sauk Centre, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 77 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,671 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #272 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on mammography screening (high), hospital quality rating (high) and high school diploma or higher (high). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), income inequality (Gini index) (high) and days with unhealthy air (high).

77High

Quality-of-life score: #3,671 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #272 of 364 in MN
Population: 4,621 (2020-2024)
Land area: 4 mi²
Density: 1,126.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 2758648

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.

Safety68#4,987/15,637
Economy24#11,932/15,631
Housing46#8,100/14,977
Health70#4,672/15,609
Healthcare72#4,337/15,650
Environment79#3,211/15,453
Education69#4,815/15,649
Infrastructure62#5,932/15,650
Community89#1,669/15,651
Leisure & amenities75#3,923/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Mammography screening · high62.0%
99/100Minnesota 54.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStearns County value
Hospital quality rating · high4.5
94/100Minnesota 3.8United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesStearns County value
High school diploma or higher · high92.8%
93/100Minnesota 93.9%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Drug overdose deaths · low8.1 /100k
89/100Minnesota 15.7 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataStearns County value
Loneliness · low31.6%
88/100Minnesota 32.1%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Minnesota 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStearns County value

Weaknesses

Child care cost burden · high54.5%
0/100Minnesota 29.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteStearns County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.493
12/100Minnesota 0.452United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Days with unhealthy air · high3.1%
12/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyStearns County value
Comfortable days · low23.8%
20/100Minnesota 23.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationStearns County value
Distance to an airport · high73 mi
21/100Minnesota 43 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauStearns County value
Pharmacies · low1.2 /10k
21/100Minnesota 1.7 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsStearns County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
20.1% (2015-2019) → 52.7% (2020-2024)
+33 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.3% (2015-2019) → 92.3% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
20.3% (2015-2019) → 32.1% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Poverty rateWorsening
8.6% (2015-2019) → 19.5% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Average commute timeWorsening
18.8 min (2015-2019) → 28.8 min (2020-2024)
+53%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.5× (2015-2019) → 3.6× (2020-2024)
+45%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

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, Sauk Centre, Minnesota improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 9 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+20 points72.3% → 92.3%

Declined3

Rent burden+33 points20.1% → 52.7%
Poverty+11 points8.6% → 19.5%
Uninsured+5.5 points3.7% → 9.3%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Sauk Centre, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.8 min2015-2019	28.8 min2020-2024	+10.0 min	Within the margin of error	2%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.5%2015-2019	20.8%2020-2024	+5.3 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Broadband subscriptions	72.3%2015-2019	92.3%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	90%
Child poverty rate	10.8%2015-2019	19.2%2020-2024	+8.4 points	Within the margin of error	14%
Effective property tax rate	1.21%2015-2019	1.15%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	28%
High school diploma or higher	85.1%2015-2019	92.8%2020-2024	+7.7 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	3.6×2020-2024	+1.1×	Within the margin of error	18%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4432015-2019	0.4942020-2024	+0.051	Within the margin of error	16%
Median household income	$57,8512015-2019	$62,6282020-2024	+8.3%	Within the margin of error	15%
Poverty rate	8.6%2015-2019	19.5%2020-2024	+11 points	Declined	3%
Rent as share of income	20.3%2015-2019	32.1%2020-2024	+12 points	Within the margin of error	7%
Rent-burdened households	20.1%2015-2019	52.7%2020-2024	+33 points	Declined	2%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.7%2015-2019	9.3%2020-2024	+5.5 points	Declined	9%

“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 Sauk Centre, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Sauk Centre, 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, Sauk Centre, Minnesota itself moved −16.8 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

4,621 residents (±22)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29†
10–19†
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 50–59 men (+5.8 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

4,621 residents (±22)

Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Minnesota share

White92%4,250
Black0.4%†20
Hispanic or Latino3.1%†141

Education

3,363 residents (±227)

Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Minnesota share

No high school diploma7.2%†243
High school or GED35%1,183
Some college20%684

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

2,113 households (±169)

Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k24%†510
$25k–50k20%†419
$50k–75k19%†411
$75k–100k7.8%†165
$100k–150k12%†253
$150k–200k4.2%†88
$200k or more13%†267

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $200k or more (+9.9 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,113 households (±169)

Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own56%1,183
Rent44%930

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

863 households (±215)

Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $75033%†281
$750–1,00037%†320
$1,000–1,50020%†169

Home values

1,183 homes (±141)

Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $150k11%†132
$150k–250k45%†532
$250k–400k37%†436

Age of homes

2,232 homes (±178)

Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Minnesota share

2010 or later8.3%†185
2000–200913%†292
1980–199914%†321

Size of homes

2,232 homes (±178)

Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Studio2.8%†62
1 bedroom10%†225
2 bedrooms27%601

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,418 workers (±252)

Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone73%1,758
Carpool5.6%†136
Public transit0.3%†8
Walk8.2%†199
Bike1.4%†34
Work from home10%†251
Other1.3%†32

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (−14.8 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

2,167 workers (±273)

Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under 15 min51%1,113
15–29 min19%†412
30–44 min9.6%†208

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 St. Cloud, 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 Stearns County, the county holding most of Sauk Centre's residents.

Stearns County has 4,474 employer establishments, 277 for every 10,000 residents (1.11× the US rate of 248; 1.03× Minnesota's), with 84,123 paid employees at an average annual pay of $58,174. The Census Bureau also counts 12,609 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 4,474; 12,609 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 277; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 84,123
Average annual pay: $58,174; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	345	21.3	1.38×More than typical	2,347	$86,883	776
Ambulatory health care services	290	17.9	0.86×About typical	4,881	$97,045	385
Restaurants and other eating places	279	17.2	0.94×About typical	5,487	$19,593	39
Lessors of real estate	167	10.3	0.84×About typical	780	$41,101	1,448
Construction of buildings	150	9.3	1.23×About typical	1,028	$77,409	323
Truck transportation	134	8.3	1.64×More than typical	1,968	$63,820	1,446
Limited-service restaurants	129	8	0.99×About typical	2,677	$17,976	13
Building equipment contractors	118	7.3	1.21×About typical	1,158	$84,125	114
Automotive repair and maintenance	117	7.2	1.44×More than typical	732	$53,911	151
Insurance agencies and brokerages	117	7.2	1.65×More than typical	545	$79,163	196
Offices of other health practitioners	113	7	1.15×About typical	611	$51,164	199
Full-service restaurants	112	6.9	0.90×About typical	2,408	$21,445	14

Rank places for an industry Open Stearns County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 161,805 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Sauk Centre, Minnesota: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

1.2KFY2017
517.1FY2018
518.4FY2019
1.8KFY2022
0FY2023
0FY2024
1.8KFY2025

What was bought

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 Sauk Centre, Minnesota, so they do not add up across cities.

Sauk Centre, Minnesota's figures are part of those of Stearns County, MN ($118.7M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Stearns 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.

Sauk Centre, Minnesota is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).