Counties / Minnesota / McLeod County

McLeod County, MN

FIPS 27085 · population 36,798 · outside every metro area

$303k
Zillow home value · 2026-06
The numbers

What this county costs and earns

Everything here joins on the county FIPS code, so each figure comes from the agency that publishes it with no name matching in between.

Zillow home value
$303k
▲ 3.0% year over year
Zillow ZHVI · direct
ACS median gross rent
$941
occupied-unit survey; not current asking rent
Census ACS · surveyed
Gross yield
n/a
gross yield cannot be computed without measured market rent
requires both measured price and measured rent
HUD 2-bed standard
$999
the Section 8 payment standard
HUD Fair Market Rent · direct
Independent price check

Do two methods point the same way?

Zillow estimates a current home value. FHFA tracks repeat mortgage transactions. Their growth rates should be read side by side, not averaged.

Both annual signals move in the same direction
FHFA five-year cumulative+43.0%not annualized · through 2025
0%ZILLOW ZHVI2026-06+3.0%FHFA HPI2025+0.2%
Annual changes use different methods and may use different periods. The comparison checks direction and magnitude; it does not create a blended estimate. Zillow county ZHVI pulled 2026-07-26; FHFA annual county HPI pulled 2026-07-28.
Owner-reported value$246k
Surveyed gross rent$941
Rent burden 30%+39.7%
Median year built1979
Housing composition

Who occupies the stock—and what it is

ACS 2024 5-year
4.7%vacant
15,972estimated housing units
Occupied tenure22.6% renter
owner 77.4%renter 22.6%
Structure mix77.4% single-family
Single-family 77.4%20+ units 6.8%Mobile home 4.8%Other 11.0%
ACS estimates describe the standing housing stock and occupied tenure. They do not measure current listings, transaction prices or asking rents.

Survey source: Census ACS 5-year — county housing value, tenure and stock · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30. These values describe different housing universes and are not combined into gross yield.

Annual average covered jobs15,834▲ 0.9% from the prior annual release
Covered establishments1,048annual average reporting locations
Average weekly wage$1,153▲ 5.2% from the prior annual release
Largest private supersectorManufacturing31.8% of disclosed private covered jobs
Local labor base

Jobs, pay and private-sector concentration

2025
0%COVERED JOBS+0.9%WEEKLY WAGE+5.2%Manufacturing31.8%
Annual QCEW counts cover jobs located at reporting establishments. The industry share uses disclosed private covered employment; it is not a resident-employment measure or a forecast.

Workplace source: BLS QCEW — county employment and wages · annual county employment and wages 2025 vs 2024 · pulled 2026-07-31. QCEW counts covered jobs located in the county, not employed residents or the metro score’s CES/LAUS series.

County brief

What the local evidence says

01Decision frame

McLeod’s underwriting tension is a positive Zillow value move against an almost-flat FHFA repeat-sales signal while the visible listing market loosens. Buyers relying on resale appreciation should investigate micro-market transactions and avoid treating the measures as one trend: Zillow’s median home value was $302,512 in 2026-06, up 2.96% year over year; the separately timed FHFA repeat-transaction HPI rose 0.17% annually. FHFA is an index, not a home value.

02Housing economics

No county market asking rent is published, so gross yield cannot be computed. HUD’s $999 two-bedroom FMR is a payment standard, not a proxy for market rent. The effective property-tax rate is 1.15%; that known charge needs parcel verification, but without observed market rent, price cannot be translated into income or a tax-to-revenue burden.

03Demand & competition

Realtor.com MLS evidence shows 81 active listings, 55.77% above the prior year, and 17.01% with price reductions; these are visible asking supply and seller concessions, not closed sales or proof of buyer demand. Its pending ratio is 64.2%, an inventory-relative pipeline rather than confirmation of absorption. Annual QCEW covered workplace employment rose 0.87%, and Manufacturing is the largest disclosed private supersector; neither is resident employment nor a forecast. Tax-return inflows and outflows were balanced, but average AGI for inbound movers exceeded that for outbound movers by $3,416. Within the record’s purchase measure, nonoccupants made 21 of 405 purchases, or 5.19%, putting investor participation in context rather than equating it with all buyer competition.

04Risk & next checks

Inland flood is the dominant hazard, and the modeled expected annual building-value loss ratio is 0.11%. That county-level model does not identify a parcel’s flood exposure, building condition, coverage terms, or insurance premium. Next checks should obtain lease comparables, closed-sale comparables, a parcel tax bill, flood-zone and loss-history records, and an insurance quote. Missing market rent prevents yield underwriting; missing closed-sale and property-condition evidence prevents an entry-price conclusion; missing parcel-level hazard and insurance evidence prevents a credible carrying-cost assessment.

Cities & communities

Where people live within McLeod County

Census-recognized incorporated places and CDPs that intersect this county. The list does not pretend to include every neighborhood or informal community.

Population scale

Largest Census places

ACS 2024 5-year
Hutchinson city14.7KGlencoe city5.7KWinsted city2.2KLester Prairie city1.9KSilver Lake city815Stewart city644Brownton city546Plato city242
Bars use total place population, not a county-share estimate. An asterisk marks a place that crosses a county line.
Official directory

9 Census places

Population
  1. 01
    Hutchinson cityIncorporated place
    14,680
  2. 02
    Glencoe cityIncorporated place
    5,695
  3. 03
    Winsted cityIncorporated place
    2,181
  4. 04
    Lester Prairie cityIncorporated place
    1,898
  5. 05
    Silver Lake cityIncorporated place
    815
  6. 06
    Stewart cityIncorporated place
    644
  7. 07
    Brownton cityIncorporated place
    546
  8. 08
    Plato cityIncorporated place
    242
  9. 09
    Biscay cityIncorporated place
    138

Population is the total place-wide ACS estimate, not an allocated county share. A place crossing a county line is labelled explicitly. Source: Census ACS 5-year — cities and communities · ACS 2024 5-year · pulled 2026-07-30.

Risk, demand and competition

The three things a price does not tell you

01
Risk & carrying costFEMA NRI + Census ACS
Dominant hazardinland flooding

0.112% of building value expected lost per year

Effective property tax1.15%

$2,840 median annual bill

02
DemandIRS SOI household flows
Net migration+0

977 in · 977 out

Arriving vs leaving income+$3,416

$60,232 arriving · $56,816 leaving

03
CompetitionHMDA financed purchases
Purchases by investors5.2%

21 of 405 mortgages

investorother financed
Current listing pressure

What sellers and visible supply are doing

Realtor.com® Economic Research · county inventory 2026-06 · pulled 2026-07-28
Active listings81▲ 55.8% year over year
Median days on market49▲ 10.8% year over year
Listings price-reduced17.0%seller-concession signal
Median listing pricen/a▲ 0.1% year over year

Listing price is an asking price, not a closed sale. Quality-flagged county rows are withheld instead of displayed.

No rent index is published for this county.Zillow’s county rent series does not cover every county, and estimating one from a neighbouring county would be a guess wearing a number’s clothes. Everything above is measured here; no wider market is mapped for it either.
Bear case

What can break the county thesis

  1. The differing Zillow and FHFA readings may not describe the specific property or submarket’s realized sale-price direction.
  2. Absent market rent, property-level taxes, insurance, and operating costs could materially alter housing economics.
  3. County-level flood-loss modeling may not match a parcel’s actual flood exposure or insurance availability.
Underwriting questions

Before pricing a property

Can gross yield be calculated from this record?

No. County market asking rent is not published, and HUD FMR cannot substitute for market rent.

Are investors dominant in the recorded purchase activity?

No. Nonoccupant purchases are a minority of the recorded purchase measure.

Which hazard requires parcel-level verification?

Inland flood; the county-level model does not establish a specific property’s exposure or insurance cost.