What is the cost of living in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington?

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 104.8, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 111.8, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,709/month.

What is the median salary in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington?

The median salary in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington is $80,598 annually (mean: $83,271). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers.

How safe is Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington?

The violent crime rate in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area is 259 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1625 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington?

The state of MN has 2,391 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 15.8:1. Charter schools make up 11.9% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington?

Infant center-based childcare in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area averages $11,722 per year. Preschool averages $9,850/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington a good place to relocate?

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington has a Life Score of 43.8/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a below-average score, several dimensions likely pull the composite down; compare specific dimensions to see which ones.

Where does Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington ranks #332 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

BEA RPP 104.8 ranks #357 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

104.8
Cost index (US=100): $1,709
2BR rent / mo: $80,598
Median salary: 39
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington ranks #332 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (39/100), with its strongest marks in job market and safety.

#332
of 387 US metros · Below median: 5,793,151
metro-area population: 259
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,391
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: cost of living (8/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington ranks #332 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 104.8 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,709/mo, median salary $80,598; LiveAbility Score 39/100, strongest in job market and safety.

Signature: BEA RPP 104.8 ranks #357 of 387 scored metros for higher prices (dearer third).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 104.8 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,709/mo.

LiveAbility 39/100 puts Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington in the bottom third (#332 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area is 1,928,660.

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

39 Top 86% higher than 14% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MSA; housing RPP 111.8 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,709/mo.

Studio

$1,242

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,405

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,709

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,262

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,531

/month

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington wages and employment

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington posts 1,928,660 total employment with median salary $80,598 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$80,598

Mean Salary

$83,271

Total Employment

1,928,660

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$38,860
Retail Salespersons	$36,670
General and Operations Managers	$103,570
Registered Nurses	$103,040
Customer Service Representatives	$49,480

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area from NCES.

Schools

2,391

Enrollment

872,336

Student:Teacher

15.8:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$11,722

per year

Toddler (Center)

$10,737

per year

Preschool (Center)

$9,850

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington's composite Life Score is 43.8/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

8/100

Bottom decile

Wages

94/100

Elite

Rent

20/100

Weak

Crime

66/100

Strong

Schools

54/100

Average

Childcare

34/100

Weak

Environment

18/100

Bottom decile

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington ranks #332 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 39/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (94/100)

Job market

94
Safety

66
Schools

46
Air quality

32
Low hazard

31
Housing

21
Climate

10
Cost of living

8

What this shows Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington's strongest dimensions are job market and safety; its weakest among scored dims is cost of living at 8/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington to

Muncie Muskegon-Norton Shores Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach Napa Naples-Marco Island Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin

Metros near Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington?

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington runs a $80,598 median salary at a 104.8 cost index, ranking #332 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.