Should I Move To
Roughly 308,806 people live in St. Paul, Minnesota. Living here costs moderate relative to the rest of the country, 5% above the national average. Median rent runs about $1,174/mo; the typical household pulls in $69,919. On the UrbRank Score it pulls a 47/100 — a D, putting it at #608 nationally.
UrbRank Score · General
Each dimension scored 0-100 against every other US city.
Based on overall cost of living vs. other US cities.
Inverse of violent + property crime rate per 100,000 residents.
Temperate summers & winters, moderate precipitation.
Walk Score — how feasible daily errands are on foot.
Unemployment rate plus household income vs. national median.
Air quality index (EPA AQS data).
Share of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
By the composite index, St. Paul sits at 105 — moderate when stacked against the rest of the country. Running the rent-to-income math ($1,174/mo against $69,919 median household income), housing eats roughly 20% of a typical paycheck — right inside the standard 30%-of-income guideline. Buying-side, the median home value is $264,900.
Full cost-of-living breakdown →The weather here is cold-winter: roughly 81°F in summer, 12°F in winter. Annual precipitation lands near 32 inches. Very walkable in most central neighborhoods — daily errands rarely require a car. Crime statistics are on the rougher end of the US distribution; the citywide aggregate hides safer pockets but the headline number isn't great. Air quality reads good (AQI 37).
Verdict by lifestyle profile — same data, different priorities.
For families, St. Paul isn't the strongest match. It earns 44/100 (grade D) on the families profile. Strongest on walkability (86/100); weakest on climate (3/100).
For retirees, St. Paul isn't the strongest match. It earns 43/100 (grade D) on the retirees profile. Strongest on walkability (86/100); weakest on climate (3/100).
For remote workers, St. Paul isn't the strongest match. It earns 48/100 (grade D) on the remote workers profile. Strongest on walkability (86/100); weakest on climate (3/100).
For young professionals, St. Paul isn't the strongest match. It earns 48/100 (grade D) on the young professionals profile. Strongest on walkability (86/100); weakest on climate (3/100).
St. Paul, Minnesota pulls a 47/100 overall on the UrbRank Score (grade D), currently ranked #608 nationally. The composite weights seven lifestyle dimensions: affordability, safety, climate, walkability, jobs, environment, and education.
St. Paul's cost-of-living index is 105 (with 100 as the US average), which lands in the moderate band — 5% above the national average. Median rent runs about $1,174/mo.
Cold-winter — summer averages around 81°F, winter averages around 12°F, with about 32 inches of precipitation a year.
Walk Score: 86/100. Very walkable in most central neighborhoods — daily errands rarely require a car.
St. Paul has about 308,806 residents, 43% of adults 25+ holding a bachelor's degree or higher with a median age of 33.
Use UrbRank's comparison tool to put St. Paul head-to-head against any other US city — housing, salaries, demographics, and quality-of-life metrics side by side. The leaderboard pages also show how St. Paul stacks up for families, retirees, remote workers, and young professionals specifically.
Every US city is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions using public data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA Air Quality System, NOAA NCEI, and Walk Score. Each dimension is a percentile rank against every other city — so a score of 80 means the city is in the top 20% nationally on that dimension.
The overall score is a weighted average. Five lifestyle profiles — general, families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals — weight the dimensions differently to reflect what each cares about. Families get more weight on safety and schools; young professionals get more weight on jobs and walkability; retirees get more weight on climate.
Compare St. Paul with other Minnesota cities scored on UrbRank.
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