Minnesota cities

The best places to live in Minnesota

Minnesota's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. Andover leads the list.

We scored Minnesota's cities on the same factors as our state rankings, then ranked them. Below are the 10 largest by population. Two scores per city: value (what you get for the cost) and overall livability (everything combined). Tap any city for its full profile.

#CityMedian homeRentValueOverall
4 Lakeville $342,100 $1,604 84 80
14 Plymouth $387,800 $1,473 64 68
22 Maple Grove $324,500 $1,700 74 65
34 Woodbury $355,200 $1,687 61 53
42 Rochester $236,400 $1,120 57 46
44 Brooklyn Park $248,900 $1,171 37 45
49 Bloomington $279,400 $1,312 24 39
54 Duluth $176,200 $897 36 32
70 Minneapolis $284,400 $1,159 8 17
71 St. Paul $232,400 $1,080 11 13

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Sources: Home prices and rent from Zillow; income and jobs from the U.S. Census; schools from state education data; crime from the FBI; air quality from the EPA. Rankings are within Minnesota. Updated 2026.