Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Minnesota

Madison Lake, Minnesota

Madison Lake is a small town of about 1,300 people in Blue Earth County, Minnesota. It has grown about 5% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Minneapolis, is about 59 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,315
up 5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$303,100
Blue Earth County prices up 14% since 2022
Household income
$87,727
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Mankato area
91
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
9 miles
Mankato, MN
To Minneapolis
59 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 9% below the U.S. average in the Mankato metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.5 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Mankato East Senior High, about 8 miles away.
  • A hospital close byMayo Clinic Health System - Mankato in Mankato, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMinneapolis is about 59 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Madison Lake meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$303,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 14%Blue Earth County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$87,727U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$3,560 a yearMinnesota: $3,357
Homes built before 1940
19%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
18%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
13%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
91U.S. average = 100 (the Mankato metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 14% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Mankato metro area, not Madison Lake alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,3152020: 1,252
Median age
40 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
40%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (27%); manufacturing (14%); retail (13%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
13%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
7%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mayo Clinic Health System - Mankato, Mankato, MN, about 9 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

There are no public schools inside Madison Lake itself. The nearest public high school is Mankato East Senior High, about 8 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Minnesota's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
78%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
6°F
July average high
82°F
Days 90°F or hotter
10 a year
Nights at or below freezing
161 a year
Rain and melted snow
33.9 inches a year
Snow
39 inches a year
Elevation
1,050 feet

Weather station: Mankato (11 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Mayo Clinic Health System - Mankato, Lakeville, Minneapolis.

Blue Earth County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Mississippi National River and Recreation Area54 miles

Read about Madison Lake's history on Wikipedia.

Know Madison Lake?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Elysian, MN765 people, 7 miles
  • Cleveland, MN772 people, 8 miles
  • St. Clair, MN707 people, 9 miles
  • Kasota, MN728 people, 9 miles
  • Skyline, MN283 people, 12 miles
  • Pemberton, MN219 people, 14 miles
  • Kilkenny, MN153 people, 14 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.