Cost of living in Mankato, Minnesota

Mankato, Minnesota has about 45,473 people. That count is a 2020–2024 Census average, not a headcount from one day.

A typical home is worth about $261,700.

HUD's fair-market rent for a 2-bedroom in Blue Earth County is $1,230 a month. That is the county number, not an apartment listing in Mankato. It runs from October 2026 through September 2027.

In the Mankato, MN metro area, prices sit at 91.0 when the U.S. average is 100. That is a 2024 BEA index.

Minnesota taxes wages. A typical combined sales tax is 8.1% as of January 1, 2026. That mix is statewide, not Mankato's exact store tax.

In July 2026, a typical Minnesota home paid 17.45¢ per kilowatt-hour. That is a state average from EIA, not Mankato's bill.

For the week of October 12, 2026, EIA's all-grades gasoline price in Minnesota was $4.257 a gallon. At 12,000 miles a year and 25 mpg, the index counts that as $2,043.36 a year. Those miles are our standard, not a Census figure, and every town in Minnesota shares this price.

Among 338 places we list in Minnesota with a rent figure, 139 have higher typical rent than Mankato.