Overall
104.8
Above avg
Metro cost profile · 2024 BEA RPP
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
Cost-of-living indicators for Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities, overall, goods, services, and rents vs the U.S. average of 100.
- 104.8
- Overall RPP
- #31
- of 387 metros
- 111.8
- Rents RPP
- $95K
- $100K national buys
Minneapolis ranks #31 of 387 U.S. metros by cost, and its overall price index has held steady since 2008.
- stable since 2008
- similar cost to New Haven
The verdict
Minneapolis is more expensive than 92% of U.S. metros, an overall cost index of 104.8, 4.8% above the national average, led by rents at 111.8.
- top 8%
- by overall cost, nationwide
- 103.1
- goods RPP, tradable items
- 93.5
- services RPP, labor-priced
A $100,000 national salary carries the purchasing power of about $95,400 here; matching a $100K lifestyle takes roughly $104,822.
Salary Equivalent
A $100,000 salary at the national average cost of living equals:
$104,822
in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI purchasing power
$50,000 nationally
$52,411
$75,000 nationally
$78,617
$125,000 nationally
$131,027
$150,000 nationally
$157,233
$200,000 nationally
$209,644
Use the salary calculator for custom amounts.
Affordability score
F
16/100
How far the median local paycheck goes here, combining income and housing cost
Purchasing power
Not reported
Housing affordability F
16th percentile
A weighted composite (60% purchasing power, 40% housing affordability) percentile-ranked against every other tracked metro; a missing input redistributes its weight rather than deflating the score. Sources: Census ACS 5-Year 2023 (income) + BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 (cost). Vintages differ by design; see methodology.
RPP History (2008-2024)
The cost of living has remained relatively stable, changing by only 1.9 points over this period. The largest single-year move was in 2010, when the index dropped 2.6 points from the year before, a bigger swing than the full 2008-2024 change.
Minneapolis overall RPP, 2008-2024
Every year on record, national average = 100
| Year | Overall |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 102.9 |
| 2009 | 105.0 |
| 2010 | 102.3 |
| 2011 | 102.5 |
| 2012 | 101.2 |
| 2013 | 102.1 |
| 2014 | 103.6 |
| 2015 | 102.8 |
| 2016 | 102.3 |
| 2017 | 102.3 |
| 2018 | 104.7 |
| 2019 | 102.7 |
| 2020 | 102.4 |
| 2021 | 103.5 |
| 2022 | 102.6 |
| 2023 | 104.3 |
| 2024 | 104.8 |
Latest BEA release change
What changed from 2023 to 2024
Minneapolis's overall RPP rose +0.5 points, from 104.3 in 2023 to 104.8 in 2024. The largest category movement was services, changing from 89.8 to 93.5. This is a relative change against the national benchmark, not a household's dollar bill.
Housing-led cost profile
How Minneapolis's cost structure works
Housing is the defining pressure in Minneapolis: rents index at 111.8, the furthest component above the national benchmark. The overall index of 104.8 places Minneapolis in the upper 25% by overall cost; the rent line explains why a similar headline RPP can still require a different housing budget.
Across all reported metros, the closest component-profile matches are Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA, Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA, Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA. They resemble Minneapolis across goods, services, and rents together, so they are stronger structure peers than a place selected only because its overall RPP happens to be nearby.
Across 2008-2024, Minneapolis's overall index has stayed within 1.9 points. This is a relative price-level history, not a prediction or a personal affordability recommendation; pair it with current local wages and housing options before making a decision.
Minneapolis vs every U.S. metro
Where this metro sits in the national cost distribution
105 Top 8% higher than 92% of 387 US metros
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities · 2024
Minneapolis cost breakdown
BEA RPP by category, 100 = national average
- Rents
Rents
111.8 RPP
- Services
Services
93.5 RPP
- Overall
Overall
104.8 RPP
- Goods
Goods
103.1 RPP
What this shows Minneapolis's cost structure is housing-led: rents at 111.8 depart furthest from 100, while services sits at 93.5. This is a rent-sensitive profile, not a claim that every local expense moves together.
Goods vs. housing, where Minneapolis's cost comes from
Metros near Minneapolis's overall cost, plotted by their goods price (horizontal) and housing price (vertical). Same headline RPP, very different structures.
Read the chart as text
- Minneapolis (Minneapolis, this metro): goods RPP 103.1, rents RPP 111.8
- New Haven: goods RPP 97.3, rents RPP 124.3
- Stockton: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 115.6
- Baltimore: goods RPP 102.4, rents RPP 118.2
- Boulder: goods RPP 96.1, rents RPP 157
- Yuba City: goods RPP 105.2, rents RPP 108.3
- Anchorage: goods RPP 107.3, rents RPP 109.9
Price Index Summary
Goods
103.1
Above avg
Services
93.5
Below avg
Rents
111.8
Expensive
Metros with Similar Cost of Living
These metros have an overall RPP closest to Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI's index of 104.8.
Showing the 6 closest of 387 metro areas tracked nationally.
Decision peers
Metros with a similar cost mix
These metros are closest to Minneapolis's combined goods, services, and rents profile. They may not have the same overall RPP, but their price pressures are shaped in a similar way.
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Goods 100.4 · Services 96.2 · Rents 111.0 Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA
Goods 105.0 · Services 96.0 · Rents 108.2 Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA
Goods 105.0 · Services 91.7 · Rents 116.7 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Goods 102.8 · Services 90.7 · Rents 117.9 Bellingham, WA
Goods 105.0 · Services 99.9 · Rents 112.9 Flagstaff, AZ
Goods 96.2 · Services 93.8 · Rents 109.0
MN-relative analysis
Goods prices places Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI toward the top of MN's metros
Among the 5 MN metros PlainCost tracks with reported goods prices data, Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI ranks #1 - the 80th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide rank above: it compares Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI only against its own state's metros, not the full US field.
Goods prices
#1 of 5
80th percentile in MN
Services prices
#1 of 5
80th percentile in MN
Rent prices
#1 of 5
80th percentile in MN
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "more expensive is worse", see the national comparison above for direction context. This is a comparison within MN only, not a livability score.
Nationwide metros with similar overall cost or rent prices
Two BEA RPP-derived peer sets for Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI: nearest metros by overall regional price parity and by rents RPP. These are cross-state neighborhoods, not the in-state metro list below.
Similar overall RPP
Nearest metros by overall regional price parity (104.8 here).
Similar rents RPP
Nearest metros by rents regional price parity (111.8 here).
Other MN Metros
View all MN metros → Cheapest in MN → Most expensive in MN →
Cost of living guides →, cheapest and most-expensive metro rankings, salary negotiation with RPP data, and step-by-step comparison walkthroughs.
Shareable data card
Take this cost snapshot with you
Download the data card or share this exact metro record. The card uses the same BEA-derived values shown above.
Compare to Other Metros
What this means for Minneapolis
How to read Minneapolis's cost of living before a move, a job offer, or a budget.
- Budget to local prices, not headline pay, a $100K national salary spends like about $95,400 in Minneapolis. Salary calculator
- Start with rents: it indexes at 111.8, the largest departure from the national benchmark in this metro's BEA cost mix. Compare it with the other components before treating the overall RPP as a complete household budget.
- Compare Minneapolis head-to-head against a specific destination before you decide. Compare metros
RPP is BEA's annual price-level benchmark for the data year shown, not a live market quote. Pair it with current local wages and housing costs before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cost of living in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI?
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) index of 104.8, meaning it is 4.8% more expensive than the national average. Goods are indexed at 103.1, services at 93.5, and rents at 111.8. It ranks #31 out of 387 U.S. metro areas by overall cost.
What salary do I need in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI to match $100K nationally?
To maintain the same purchasing power as a $100,000 salary at the national average, you would need approximately $104,822 in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI. Conversely, $100K earned in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI has the purchasing power of $95,400 at the national average.
How expensive is rent in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI?
Rents in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI are indexed at 111.8, which is 11.8% above the national average. This is significantly higher than typical U.S. rents.
Is Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI getting more expensive?
From 2008 to 2024, Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI's overall cost index changed by +1.9 points (from 102.9 to 104.8). The cost of living has remained relatively stable.
What costs the most in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI?
The priciest category in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI is rents at 111.8, 11.8% above the national average. The most affordable category is services at 93.5, 6.5% below average.
What metros have a similar cost of living to Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI?
Metros with the most similar overall cost index include New Haven, Stockton-Lodi, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson. These areas have RPP values within a few points of Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI's 104.8.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.