Rochester, MN
Rochester, MN Metro Area
Figures are medians for the whole Rochester, MN Metro Area, not the city proper.
Among the 300 U.S. metros CityLedger tracks, Rochester ranks 17th for affordability — how far a typical paycheck stretches after local prices — and 52nd for income. A household earns $90,584 a year while median rent runs $1,378/mo, making it comfortably affordable for what residents earn. Affordability and price level are different lenses: the raw cost of living here runs 9% below the U.S. average.
Its strongest card is health (7th of 300), while hazard safety is the soft spot (205th). Housing usually decides a move: rent ranks 180th and home prices 163rd among the 300 metros CityLedger tracks.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you in Rochester, your take-home is worth about $63,534 once local prices are factored in — local prices stretch it further than the U.S. average.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
The numbers
Income & cost
- Median income
- 52nd of 300↑19.3%$90,584
- Cost of living?The local price level vs. the U.S. average of 100 (BEA). Lower means cheaper. This is raw prices, not adjusted for income.
- 65th of 30091 (US=100)
- Cost-adj. income?Median household income divided by the local price level — what the typical paycheck is really worth here.
- $99,739
- Per-capita income
- $52,551
- Full-time pay
- $51,855
Housing
- Median rent
- 180th of 300↑45.2%$1,378/mo
- Home value
- 163rd of 300↑41.4%$320,600
- Property tax
- $3,437/yr · 1.1%
- Sales tax
- 8.13%
Jobs & education
- Unemployment
- 11th of 3002.3%
- Bachelor's+
- 33rd of 30044.5%
- Avg commute
- 18th of 30019.7 min
People
- Population
- 230,742
- Population change
- +4%
- Median age
- 39.3 yrs
- Foreign-born
- 6.8%
- Broadband
- 92.9%
Environment & risk
- Air quality (AQI)
- 116th of 30044
- Natural-hazard loss
- 205th of 300$16/$10k
Health
- Fair/poor health
- 7th of 30013.9%
- Uninsured (18–64)
- 7%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau (ACS), U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. EPA, FEMA, CDC, NOAA — every figure's source is listed on our methodology page. Data built 2026-06-14. ↑↓ mark the change since 2019.
How CityLedger scores it
Transparent weights — see our methodology.
Strengths
- + Affordability
- + Cost of living
- + Household income
- + Job market
- + Education
- + Commute
- + Health
Watch-outs
- – Hazard safety
Climate
30-year normals (1991–2020) from the nearest station — rochester intl ap.
What jobs pay in Rochester
Median annual wage by occupation (BLS OEWS 2025) — half of workers in each role earn more, half less.
- Family medicine physicians
- $356,770
- IT managers
- $177,620
- Pharmacists
- $164,250
- Financial managers
- $158,570
- Software developers
- $134,450
- Lawyers
- $129,270
- Registered nurses
- $101,660
- Civil engineers
- $101,200
- General & operations managers
- $85,650
- Plumbers
- $84,880
- Accountants & auditors
- $83,960
- Electricians
- $79,650
- Police officers
- $77,230
- Elementary school teachers
- $75,770
- Secondary school teachers
- $72,790
- Carpenters
- $63,610
- Truck drivers (heavy)
- $62,180
- Construction laborers
- $59,390
- Maintenance & repair workers
- $54,060
- Customer service reps
- $47,050
- Janitors
- $44,030
- Retail salespersons
- $36,000
- Cashiers
- $34,960
- Waiters & waitresses
- $24,060
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS 2025 — annual median wage. Cross-industry, all experience levels.
Where new residents move from
The states sending the most people to the Rochester metro, by estimated movers (U.S. Census 2022 migration flows, 5-year). Moves from elsewhere in Minnesota are excluded to show where out-of-state arrivals originate.
- Wisconsin1,019
- Iowa603
- Florida447
- Texas443
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2022 Migration Flows (5-year).
Cities like Rochester
Closest matches across cost, income, size, education, and age — tap to compare.
Rochester metro — frequently asked
- What is the median rent in the Rochester metro?
- Median gross rent across the Rochester, MN Metro Area is $1,378 a month (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024). That figure covers the whole metro area, not just the city of Rochester.
- What is the median household income in the Rochester metro?
- A typical household in the Rochester, MN Metro Area earns $90,584 a year (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- Is Rochester expensive to live in?
- The overall cost of living in the Rochester, MN Metro Area runs about 9% below the U.S. average (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024) — prices are lower than average, before accounting for local pay.
- Does a paycheck go far in the Rochester metro?
- After adjusting for local prices, the median household income is worth about $99,739 (versus its face value of $90,584). CityLedger rates the Rochester, MN Metro Area comfortably affordable for what residents earn.
- What is the typical home value in the Rochester metro?
- The median home value across the Rochester, MN Metro Area is $320,600 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).
- What is the unemployment rate in the Rochester metro?
- The unemployment rate in the Rochester, MN Metro Area is 2.3% (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024).