Official Federal Data
Dakota County, Minnesota
FIPS 27037 · Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI · Population 445,771
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$106,318 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.6% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$37.1B ▲
GDP
45% ▲
Bachelor's+
35.7% national
Demographics & Population
Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates
Household Income
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$106,318 ▲
Per Capita
$52,084 ▲
Mean Household
$131,262 ▲
Poverty Rate
5.8% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Dakota County$106,318
Minnesota$89,062
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 24%
18-34 · 20.4%
35-54 · 26.6%
55-64 · 13.1%
65+ · 15.9%
Race & Ethnicity
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.
Educational Attainment
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
95.2%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +5.6 pts
45%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +9.3 pts
14.9%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +0.8 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
445,771
Population
249,334
Labor Force
Employed
239,967
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.6% ▲ +0.7 pts YoY
Mean Commute 3 min below national avg
23.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
21.3%
Key Takeaways
- Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
- Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 9.3 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 26,633 workers (19.1% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $57,694.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $37.1B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $121,062 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $27,352, a 4.4x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration
Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Health Care & Social Assistance Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
8,607
Cluster Employment
2.07x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
3.09x 3,362
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
2.91x 1,992
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
2.59x 3,134
Truck Transportation
2.47x 4,435
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
2.14x 853
Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
2.07x 8,607
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
1.96x 6,186
Printing and Related Support Activities
1.93x 809
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
1.87x 756
Pipeline Transportation
1.72x 117
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.19x
Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
89 employed
0.20x
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
414 employed
0.25x
Warehousing and Storage
570 employed
0.33x
Electrical Equipment, Appliance Manufacturing
175 employed
0.41x
Computing Infrastructure Providers and Data Processing
242 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Publishing Industries and Telecommunications concentrates at 3.09x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$381,000 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,548 ▲
Rent/Mo
74.9% ▲
Owner-Occ
2.5% ▼
Vacancy
3.6x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,242/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,405/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,709/mo
3 Bedroom
$2,262/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,531/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,658/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.6x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
- High home ownership: 74.9% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
- Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,658/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.
Workforce Pipeline
Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition
Labor Market Overview
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
268,161 ▲
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 3 min below national avg
23.6 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
21.3%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
88.5%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
45% ▲
HS Diploma+
95.2% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
49,702/yr
14,847/yr
13,676/yr
12,870/yr
3,728/yr
2,468/yr
2,113/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
21.7%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.
Workforce by Occupation
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
47.7%
Service
14.1%
Sales & Office
20.3%
Construction / Maint.
6.3%
Production / Transport
11.5%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 239,967 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 41,393 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.
AI Insights
AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources
Sample AI Insight
Dakota County shows meaningful potential for publishing industries and telecommunications attraction, with a 3.09x concentration and 3,362 jobs in this sub-sector.
The interconnected base across publishing industries and telecommunications, transit and ground passenger transportation, and computer and electronic product manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.
Industry Shift Analysis
Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100
Prospect Match Scores
Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources
Updated from official federal government data.
Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23
Frequently Asked Questions
Key economic and demographic figures for Dakota County, Minnesota, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Dakota County, Minnesota?
445,771 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Dakota County, Minnesota?
$106,318 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Dakota County, Minnesota?
3.6% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Dakota County, Minnesota?
$37.1B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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