Thief River Falls, Minnesota
2026 Edition · 10 cards · data as of Oct 30, 2026
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Population
Steady. Within 1% of 2020, every year since.
8,799
people, the 114th-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
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The workday
6 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.
63.2%
of 9,155 jobs located in Thief River Falls are filled by in-commuters.
Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES
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Rent
Median rent is up 73% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.
$838
a month. Minnesota's median is $1,280.
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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The seam
Cross one tract line and median rent jumps $311.
A $311 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Pennington County.
- $809 Tract 904
- $1,120 Tract 903
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year
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Room to build
Local wages can carry more rent than the median charged today.
$1,285–$1,928
is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.
- $838 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
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Building
Most of the housing here is older than 2000.
- 459 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
- 86% of those were in multifamily buildings
- 80% of all homes were built before 2000
Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year
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Units needed
Closing the gap would add 0.3–2.0% to the 4,601 homes here.
13–92
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
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Home value
A median home costs 47% less than Minnesota's.
$175,400
median home value in Thief River Falls.
- $175,400 Thief River Falls
- $329,300 Minnesota
- $332,700 U.S.
Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year