St. Cloud

Stearns & Sherburne & Benton counties70,629 residentsSt. Cloud Public School District
50
D+
Suburbgrade score

60th of 60 Minneapolis suburbs. Strong on cost of living and commute & transport, held back by housing & affordability.

Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for St. Cloud yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 50 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →

What living here is actually like
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What St. Cloud is like to live in, by category

Bars show St. Cloud against Minneapolis. Weights are published in full.

Housing & affordability

18% of the score · 26/100
F
Median home value$225,000
Minneapolis $374,000
Median rent$1,003/mo
Minneapolis $1,440/mo
Cost-burdened households33%
Minneapolis 28%

Schools

18% of the score · 35/100
F
Within-state proficiency27th pct
Minneapolis median 72nd pct
Student–teacher ratio14.7
Minneapolis median 16.1
Graduation rate70%
Minneapolis median 89%
EDFacts SY2021–22 · NCES CCD 2024–25 · EDFacts ACGR SY2018–19Full page →

Cost of living

14% of the score · 84/100
A−
Housing cost index71
Minneapolis 100
Eff. tax rate0.96%
Minneapolis 1.04%
Local sales tax8.14%
Minneapolis median 8.14%
Composed in-house · ACS 2020–24 · ACS 2020–24 · Tax Foundation state average, January 1, 2026Full page →

Commute & transport

14% of the score · 78/100
B+
Mean commute19.8 min
Minneapolis 23.9 min
Under 30 minutes82%
Minneapolis 68%
Transit stops / sq mi12
Minneapolis median 6.5 · within 2 miles

Amenities

12% of the score · 51/100
D+
Restaurants & cafés9
Minneapolis median 35 · within 2 miles
Groceries2
Minneapolis median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks47
Minneapolis median 61 · within 2 miles

Employment & income

12% of the score · 38/100
D−
Median household income$61,374
Minneapolis $99,833
Unemployment6.0%
Minneapolis 4.1%
Professional occupations33%
Minneapolis 49%

Residents

12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.

Ask the people who live here

Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.

0 responses·Residents category: waiting for first responses·Live

Nobody has answered for St. Cloud yet. If you live here, you can be the first.

Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →

Better than St. Cloud on housing & affordability

St. Cloud's weakest grade is F.

Nothing within 25 miles beats St. Cloud on housing & affordability.

Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24

Common questions about living in St. Cloud

Is St. Cloud, MN a good place to live?

St. Cloud scores 50 out of 100, 60th of 60 Minneapolis suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.

Is St. Cloud expensive to live in?

Cost of living grades A−. The median home is $225,000, 40% below the Minneapolis median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.96%. $1,003/mo is the median gross rent.

How good are the schools in St. Cloud?

Schools grade F. The districts serving St. Cloud sit at the 27th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 70% graduation rate and a 14.7 student–teacher ratio. St. Cloud is served by St. Cloud Public School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.

How long is the commute from St. Cloud?

The mean commute is 19.8 min, with 82% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 8.5% working from home. Transit density is 12 stops per square mile.

Can you walk anywhere in St. Cloud?

Within two miles there are 2 groceries, 9 restaurants and cafés and 47 parks, which grades D+ on amenities.

Are the homes in St. Cloud old or new?

The median home in St. Cloud was built in 1981 — close to the Minneapolis median of 1981. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 55% of homes are houses rather than flats.

Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.