Groundwork

Real estate · Metro area · Minnesota

Real estate businesses in the St. Cloud, MN metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for real estate businesses in the St. Cloud, MN metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 36 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #322 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota

Listings
275
22 chain locations (8%)
Official establishments
152
+3.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.1B
On rent and homeowner costs · $14,030 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
92
8% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
35.2
9% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
205,854
+3.0% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in the St. Cloud metro area

The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the St. Cloud metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

For real estate businesses, the St. Cloud metro area has a Groundwork market score of 36 (lower middle): #322 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

At $14,030 per household (16% below the U.S. average), households in the St. Cloud metro area spend about $1.1B a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 8% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.

There are 275 real estate businesses on map listings in the St. Cloud metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 8% of them, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 35.2 for every 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

In 2023, official counts showed 152 businesses with payroll in the St. Cloud metro area classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors, up 3.4% from 2019. That is one for every 514 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $133K have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the St. Cloud metro area. Population estimates show the St. Cloud metro area grew 3.0% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the St. Cloud metro area compares

The same measures for Minnesota and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in St. Cloud, MN metro area compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureSt. Cloud metro areaMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households35.236.438.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)9296100
Households per official establishment514402414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+3.4%+11.5%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.0%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$14,030$15,162$16,661
Median household income$76,497$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score3636

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
152+3.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
693
Annual payroll, 2023
$29.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
585Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
27522 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
253The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$133K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the St. Cloud metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the St. Cloud metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
205,854+3.0% since 2020
Households
78,122
Median age
37.2
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
1,751 sq. mi.
People per square mile
116
Median household income
$76,497+23.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$97,113
Median home value
$272,800
Jobs located here
101,570
Daytime population
207,575Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the St. Cloud metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the St. Cloud metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Real estate across Minnesota

Every Minnesota market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Minnesota for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Minnesota (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the St. Cloud metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Minnesota

Metro areas in Minnesota ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Duluth, MN-WI5129324.3130+0.2%#173 of 387
Grand Forks, ND-MN5010624.3130+0.8%#177 of 387
2Rochester, MN5030132.4110+2.0%#183 of 387
Fargo, ND-MN4136933.498+7.7%#269 of 387
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN3822531.2103+0.4%#298 of 387
Sioux Falls, SD-MN3854844.775+9.5%#306 of 387
3St. Cloud, MN3627535.292+3.0%#322 of 387
4Mankato, MN3614636.090+1.2%#325 of 387
5Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI336,26042.487+2.6%#352 of 387

Other business types in the St. Cloud metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in the St. Cloud, MN metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 275 real estate businesses in the St. Cloud metro area. 22 of them (8%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 152 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 3.4% from 2019. Official counts also show 585 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the St. Cloud, MN metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $1.1B a year, or $14,030 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 275 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 8% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 78,122 households in the St. Cloud metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the St. Cloud, MN metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

The St. Cloud metro area has 35.2 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 92, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the St. Cloud metro area would have about 253, against 275 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 514 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.

How fast is the St. Cloud, MN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the St. Cloud metro area at 205,854 people in 2025, up 3.0% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 78,122 households. Median household income in the St. Cloud metro area is $76,497, 5% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.4%, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The St. Cloud metro area scores 36 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #322 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the St. Cloud metro area. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in the St. Cloud metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the St. Cloud metro area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the St. Cloud metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.