Moving to
Alexandria.

All Alexandria data Compare Alexandria

14,735people live here $61,374median household income▼ 24% below US $934median rent per month▼ 34% below US $275,300median home value▼ 17% below US

What it's like to live in Alexandria

Alexandria is a small city in Minnesota with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Alexandria deals with household incomes below the national average, cold, harsh winters, snowy winters, and fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city.

The good

Rent below the national average
Affordable home prices
Low unemployment in the county
Low crime rates
Short commutes
Low student-teacher ratio

The not so good

Below-average household incomes
Cold, harsh winters
Snowy winters — 46" per year
Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
Car-dependent — few commuters use transit

How Alexandria compares

Median household income

Alexandria$61,374

Minnesota avg$89,062

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Alexandria$934

Minnesota avg$1,280

US$1,413

Median home value

Alexandria$275,300

Minnesota avg$329,300

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Alexandria

Based on Alexandria's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$1,868

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $37,360 a year
44% of Alexandria renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$55,060

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $27,530
Homes cost 4.5× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▼ 34% below US

$934/mo median rent

Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $934 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $275,300. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.

Median home value $275,300 · 44% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

3.6% county unemployment

Unemployment in Douglas County is 3.6%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Douglas County (county-wide)

Safety▼ 37% below US

206 violent crimes per 100k

Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.

Property crime 632/100k · Alexandria Police Department · 2025 data

Getting around▼ 33% below US

18 min average commute

Commutes run short here, averaging 17.5 minutes. That's an underrated perk of living in a smaller or well-planned city, where time isn't lost sitting in traffic. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 9% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

78%

Work from home

9.1%

Carpool

6.8%

Walk

3.2%

Other

2.5%

Public transit

0.4%

Climate

Summers are comfortable, with highs around 78°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 6°F.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Healthcare

2 hospitals

There are 2 Medicare-certified hospitals inside city limits. They average 4.0 out of 5 on Medicare's star rating.

Medicare-certified hospitals

Education & workforceNear US average

33% bachelor's degree or higher

Education levels run about average, with 33% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.

Schools

10 public schools inside the boundary

There are 10 public schools inside the boundary and 3 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 15:1, well below the national average of 16:1. Smaller class sizes are generally a positive sign for a district.

Bottom line

Alexandria's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are household incomes below the national average and cold, harsh winters. A year of median rent ($934/mo) equals 18% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, anyone prioritizing low crime, and people who want short commutes. It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive and anyone who dislikes long, cold winters.

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