Best Places to Buy Rental Property in Minnesota (2026)

There is no honest way to rank Minnesota cities by rental return without rent data, and this page does not have it. What it does have is transaction evidence: the median price homes actually closed at inside each city's limits, and how many closings happened. That answers the two questions that come before any cash flow analysis, what it costs to get in and whether you can get back out.

What this page measures, and what it does not

Every city below cleared at least 100 closings in its reporting window, which filters out markets too thin to read. They are ranked cheapest first by median closed price, from $240,000 to $430,000. You will not find rent estimates, rent-to-price ratios, cap rates, cash-on-cash projections or gross yield rankings here. Resideline does not have verified rent data for these cities, so publishing those numbers would be invention rather than analysis. Entry price and transaction volume are what the data supports. Every figure describes closings inside the city limits, not the wider postal area that shares the city's name. The two can differ a lot: a postal area usually reaches into surrounding townships, which pulls the median toward whatever those townships are worth. Minnesota's statewide median closed price is $367,400 across 44,990 tracked closings.

The rankings

1. Brainerd, $240,000, 209 closings

At $240,000 the entry price is about 65 percent of the Minnesota median. Resideline tracked 209 closings there over the last last 12 months, roughly 17 a month. About 92 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Brainerd market page.

2. Saint Cloud, $268,000, 446 closings

At $268,000 the entry price is about 73 percent of the Minnesota median. Resideline tracked 446 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 74 a month. About 92 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Saint Cloud market page.

3. Owatonna, $274,950, 264 closings

At $274,950 the entry price is about 75 percent of the Minnesota median. Resideline tracked 264 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 44 a month. About 94 percent of those closings are houses, so the figure describes that segment rather than every property type. Full detail is on the Owatonna market page.

4. Saint Paul, $304,835, 1,812 closings

At $304,835 the entry price is about 83 percent of the Minnesota median. Resideline tracked 1,812 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 302 a month. Full detail is on the Saint Paul market page.

5. Maplewood, $340,000, 223 closings

At $340,000 the entry price is about 93 percent of the Minnesota median. Resideline tracked 223 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 37 a month. Full detail is on the Maplewood market page.

6. Rochester, $350,000, 1,098 closings

At $350,000 the entry price is about 95 percent of the Minnesota median. Resideline tracked 1,098 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 183 a month. Full detail is on the Rochester market page.

7. Minneapolis, $355,000, 3,081 closings

At $355,000 the entry price is about 97 percent of the Minnesota median. Resideline tracked 3,081 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 514 a month. Full detail is on the Minneapolis market page.

8. Farmington, $376,000, 241 closings

At $376,000 the entry price is about 102 percent of the Minnesota median. Resideline tracked 241 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 40 a month. Full detail is on the Farmington market page.

9. Apple Valley, $377,000, 359 closings

At $377,000 the entry price is about 103 percent of the Minnesota median. Resideline tracked 359 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 60 a month. Full detail is on the Apple Valley market page.

10. Burnsville, $380,000, 448 closings

At $380,000 the entry price is about 103 percent of the Minnesota median. Resideline tracked 448 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 75 a month. Full detail is on the Burnsville market page.

11. Inver Grove Heights, $382,000, 250 closings

At $382,000 the entry price is about 104 percent of the Minnesota median. Resideline tracked 250 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 42 a month. Full detail is on the Inver Grove Heights market page.

12. Shoreview, $382,000, 229 closings

At $382,000 the entry price is about 104 percent of the Minnesota median. Resideline tracked 229 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 38 a month. Full detail is on the Shoreview market page.

13. Saint Louis Park, $390,000, 451 closings

At $390,000 the entry price is about 106 percent of the Minnesota median. Resideline tracked 451 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 75 a month. Full detail is on the Saint Louis Park market page.

14. Maple Grove, $430,000, 659 closings

At $430,000 the entry price is about 117 percent of the Minnesota median. Resideline tracked 659 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 110 a month. Full detail is on the Maple Grove market page.

15. Stillwater, $430,000, 161 closings

At $430,000 the entry price is about 117 percent of the Minnesota median. Resideline tracked 161 closings there over the last last six months, roughly 27 a month. Full detail is on the Stillwater market page.

How to use this list

Treat it as a shortlist, not an answer. A citywide median cannot price a specific address: property type, size, condition and location move a number far more than the city line does. Run any address on this list through Resideline for the comparable set behind its value.

Figures last updated August 23, 2026 from closings Resideline tracked.