What it's like to live in Andover
Andover is a small city in Minnesota with unemployment below the national average, household incomes running above the national average, a highly educated workforce, and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Andover deals with rent well above the national average, cold, harsh winters, and snowy winters.
The good
- Low unemployment
- Higher-than-average incomes
- Highly educated workforce
- Average class sizes
The not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- Cold, harsh winters
- Snowy winters — 44" per year
How Andover compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Andover
Based on Andover's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$4,074
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $81,480 a year
- 50% of Andover renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$82,040
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $41,020
- Homes cost 3.0× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 44% above US
$2,037/mo median rent
Rent is expensive here, at $2,037 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices run above average, with a median around $410,200. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.
Median home value $410,200 · 50% of renters cost-burdened
Job market▼ 21% below US
3.4% unemployment
Unemployment here is 3.4%, a little below the national average of 4.3%.
City-level (BLS)
Safety
53 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Andover doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Anoka County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.
Property crime 446/100k · Policed by Anoka County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting aroundNear US average
25 min average commute
Commutes run about average, at 25.4 minutes. Fine day to day, but it adds up over a year, and where someone lives relative to where they work starts to matter. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 21% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are comfortable, with highs around 80°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 7°F.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforceNear US average
38% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 38% 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
6 public schools inside the boundary
There are 6 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1, close to the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Mississippi National River & Recreation Area (24 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Andover's strongest points are unemployment below the national average and household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and cold, harsh winters. A year of median rent ($2,037/mo) equals 18% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit job seekers and remote workers (21% of workers here already work from home). It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget and anyone who dislikes long, cold winters.
Other places near Andover
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