The Richest City in Minnesota Is Only 90 Miles From Rochester

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This city just logged the highest median income in the state of Minnesota, and it's only 90 miles away from Rochester.

While Rochester certainly has its fair share of wealthy neighborhoods, it isn't the richest city in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Of course, Rochester isn't the poorest city in Minnesota, either, so we have that going for us, which is nice.

So which city IS the richest in Minnesota? I would have guessed maybe Edina, Woodbury, Chanhassen or one of the neighborhoods on Lake Minnetonka. But nope!

Here Are the Richest Neighborhoods in Rochester

According to this Moneywise story, the city of North Oaks, Minnesota (just north of St. Paul, about 90 miles north of Rochester) is Minnesota's richest city. Its median income of $178,816 is the highest in the North Star State, Moneywise noted, saying it used data from Forbes magazine and the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey five-year estimate to come up with its results.

Here's what Moneywise said about North Oaks:

North Oaks began as a water source for St. Paul and then as a 5,000-acre research farm for railway tycoon James Jerome Hill. Today, it’s an exclusive suburb that covers 6,000 acres of rolling hills, woods and wetlands, with plenty of trails and lakes and a private golf club to entertain residents. The median home value in the area is over $830,000, says Zillow.

The site Homesnacks also lists North Oaks as the richest city in Minnesota in 2021, along with 9 other cities where the median income is higher than in any other place in North Star State, one of which is in our neck of the woods:

Shout-out to Byron, Minnesota, which Homesnacks says is the 4th richest city in the Bold North in 2021, coming in with an average median income of $94,153. Keep scrolling, though, to take at the most expensive home in one of Rochester's richest neighborhoods!

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This is the Most Expensive Home for Sale in Rochester's Richest Neighborhood

Based on data from Neighborhood Scout, we were able to figure out Rochester's richest neighborhood, which is 40th St SW / Bamber Valley Rd SW. After a search on Zillow, I found plenty of expensive homes for sale in that area. Full disclosure, this home we're going to look at isn't technically the most expensive, it's the third most expensive. However, it's the most expensive home in the neighborhood that's currently standing, the other two haven't even been built yet.