City · Stearns County, Minnesota

St. Cloud, Minnesota

St. Cloud is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, part of the St. Cloud, MN metro area. It has 70,629 residents. St. Cloud, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 79 out of 100 (high), ranking #3,298 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #254 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on mammography screening (high), hospital quality rating (high) and drug overdose deaths (low). It ranks worst on child care cost burden (high), days with unhealthy air (high) and poverty rate (high).

79High

Quality-of-life score: #3,298 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #254 of 364 in MN
Population: 70,629 (2020-2024)
Land area: 40 mi²
Density: 1,756.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 2756896

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
Economy18#12,854/15,631
Housing60#6,006/14,977
Health63#5,743/15,609
Healthcare76#3,774/15,650
Environment79#3,211/15,453
Education77#3,602/15,649
Infrastructure64#5,624/15,650
Community90#1,585/15,651
Leisure & amenities75#3,923/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where St. Cloud, 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
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 · low31.7%
88/100Minnesota 32.1%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Average commute time · low19.8 min
88/100Minnesota 22.7 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
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
Days with unhealthy air · high3.1%
12/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyStearns County value
Poverty rate · high20.2%
14/100Minnesota 9.3%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001
Adult obesity · high40.5%
19/100Minnesota 37.1%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
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

Trends

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

Child poverty rateImproving
30.3% (2015-2019) → 20.6% (2020-2024)
−9.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
New homes permittedWorsening
1.9 /1k (2021) → 1.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−42%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
83.9% (2015-2019) → 91.6% (2020-2024)
+7.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$49,135 (2015-2019) → $61,374 (2020-2024)
+25%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.2× (2015-2019) → 3.7× (2020-2024)
+16%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
45.0% (2015-2019) → 47.5% (2020-2024)
+2.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, St. Cloud, Minnesota improved on 3 of 15 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.

Improved3

Child poverty−9.8 points30.3% → 20.6%
Broadband+7.7 points83.9% → 91.6%
Household income+25%$49,135 → $61,374

Declined2

Uninsured+2 points5.0% → 7.0%
Price / income+0.5×3.2× → 3.7×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of St. Cloud, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.4 min2015-2019	19.8 min2020-2024	+1.4 min	Within the margin of error	32%
Bachelor's degree or higher	30.7%2015-2019	30.4%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Broadband subscriptions	83.9%2015-2019	91.6%2020-2024	+7.7 points	Improved	48%
Child poverty rate	30.3%2015-2019	20.6%2020-2024	−9.8 points	Improved	81%
Effective property tax rate	1.10%2015-2019	0.96%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	43%
High school diploma or higher	90.1%2015-2019	91.2%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	3.7×2020-2024	+0.5×	Declined	48%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4622015-2019	0.4402020-2024	−0.021	Within the margin of error	69%
Median household income	$49,1352015-2019	$61,3742020-2024	+25%	Improved	44%
Poverty rate	22.5%2015-2019	20.2%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Public transit commuters	3.0%2015-2019	2.0%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Rent as share of income	28.0%2015-2019	28.8%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	48%
Rent-burdened households	45.0%2015-2019	47.5%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Unemployment rate	7.2%2015-2019	6.0%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.0%2015-2019	7.0%2020-2024	+2 points	Declined	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 St. Cloud, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of St. Cloud, 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, St. Cloud, Minnesota itself moved −1.7 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

70,629 residents (±45)

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

27,807 households (±761)

St. Cloud, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k19%5,216
$25k–50k21%5,939
$50k–75k20%5,693

Homes

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

Owners and renters

27,807 households (±761)

St. Cloud, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own49%13,505
Rent51%14,302

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

35,580 workers (±905)

St. Cloud, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone72%25,568
Carpool11%3,740
Public transit2.0%†724

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 St. Cloud'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 $36M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in St. Cloud, Minnesota: $510 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $36M; +86% vs FY2025
Per resident: $510; US $1,994
Sole-source: 2.7%; US 30%
Single offer: 2.4%; 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

Department of Veterans Affairs$32.2M89%
Federal Acquisition Service$3.5M9.8%
Department of the Army$236.9K0.7%
Department of Energy$56.5K0.2%
Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education$4,5530.0%

Top recipients

DAX SAFETY & STAFFING SOLUTIONS, LLC$9.6M27%
MDM CONSTRUCTION LLC$4.1M11%
NEW FLYER OF AMERICA INC.$3.5M9.8%
M2 FEDERAL INC.$3M8.4%
PREFERRED COMMERCIAL CONTRACTING, INC.$3M8.3%

Spending by fiscal year

11.6MFY2017
17.5MFY2018
14.7MFY2019
16.9MFY2020
55.3MFY2021
42.5MFY2022
34.4MFY2023
30.5M

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$10.6M29%
Building equipment contractors · 2382$6.4M18%
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors · 2381$3.7M10%
Motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing · 3362$3.5M9.8%
Offices of physicians · 6211$1.6M4.5%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in St. Cloud, Minnesota

MN CONSTRUCTION MATOC, RENOVATE BLDG 4 FOR STERILE PROCESSING SERVICE (SPS)$9.7M
HERNANDEZ CONSULTING INC.· Stearns County, MN· Construction & real property· Dec 14, 2020 – Apr 6, 2026· 36C26321N0301
656-400 CONSTRUCT PACT BLDG. 4 1ST FLOOR - ST. CLOUD, MN - MINOR CONSTRUCTION$8.4M
INDUSTRIAL MAINTENANCE SERVICES INC· Stearns County, MN· Construction & real property· Aug 28, 2024 – Feb 23, 2026· 36C77624C0174
MN CONSTRUCTION MATOC PN: 656-18-300 UPGRADE SPS HVAC & ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS IN REMOTE LOCATIONS FOR THE ST. CLOUD VAHCS.$8M
MDM CONSTRUCTION LLC· Stearns County, MN· Construction & real property· Sep 27, 2022 – Oct 31, 2025· 36C26322N1024

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 St. Cloud, Minnesota, so they do not add up across cities.

St. Cloud, Minnesota's figures are part of those of Stearns County, MN, Sherburne County, MN and Benton County, MN ($129.6M in FY2026), never added to them: 28% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: St. Cloud 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.

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

House

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.

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

St. Cloud, MN89

Other cities and towns in Stearns 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/2756896

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends