Empire, Minnesota

Population

Down 2.1% since 2020.

3,063

people, the 212th-largest of Minnesota's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Minnesota's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

Nearly every job here goes to someone who lives somewhere else.

95.6%

of 338 jobs located in Empire are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is $2,052 a month.

$2,052

a month. Minnesota's median is $1,280.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $1,600 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Dakota County.

• $1,441 Tract 608.37
• $3,041 Tract 608.16

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent is above what local wages can carry.

$1,302–$1,952

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $2,052 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

55% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 55% of all homes were built before 2000

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0–0.3% to the 1,030 homes here.

0–3

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 43% more than Minnesota's.

$469,500

median home value in Empire.

• $469,500 Empire
• $329,300 Minnesota
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year