Is Minnesota a Great Place to Live?

What it costs to live here, and how good a place it is to live, in plain numbers.

Best place to live rank

#4

4th out of 50 states overall.

Among the best in the country for overall quality of life.

How we rank states ›

Cost to live here

#29

29th cheapest state, about average.

To live the way $75,000 affords in an average state, you would need about $74,800 here.

How we measure cost ›

Minnesota ranks 4th of 50 states for overall quality of life and 29th for affordability. It does best on healthcare, education, and safety, and struggles most with air quality, cost, and climate. A typical household earns about $90,700 a year, and the cost of living runs about average.

Why Minnesota ranks #4 for living

Our Best Life Rank scores every state on the things that shape daily life, from cost and climate to schools and safety. Here is how Minnesota scores on each, best to worst.

Healthcare
#5 of 50
Education
#7 of 50
Safety
#11 of 50
Dog friendly
#11 of 50
Economy
#13 of 50
Walkability
#14 of 50
Green space
#15 of 50
Air quality
#18 of 50
Cost of living
#29 of 50
Climate
#45 of 50

Each factor is ranked 1 (best) to 50 (worst) across all states. Green is strong, yellow is middling, red is weak.

Minnesota at a glance

Typical household income

$90,700

10th highest

Typical home price

$333,000

25th highest

Overall cost of living

average

29th cheapest

Total taxes on a typical household

About 12%

6th highest income tax

Typical commute

About 24 min

one way

Taxes in Minnesota

See your real Minnesota take-home pay

Enter your salary and get your actual paycheck after Minnesota taxes.

Calculate my take-home pay ›
Sources: Cost and income from the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tax rates from the Tax Foundation. Best Life Rank factors from the Commonwealth Fund, NAEP, FBI, EPA, and NOAA. Cost measured by the BLISS Score, v1.3 method. Updated 2026.