Moving to
Ham Lake.

All Ham Lake data Compare Ham Lake

16,702people live here $120,135median household income▲ 49% above US $1,173median rent per month▼ 17% below US $442,500median home value▲ 33% above US

What it's like to live in Ham Lake

Ham Lake is a small city in Minnesota with rent below the national average, household incomes running above the national average, 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. Ham Lake deals with home prices well above the national average, commute times longer than most cities, a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin, and cold, harsh winters.

The good

Rent below the national average
Higher-than-average incomes
Average class sizes

The not so good

High home prices
Above-average commute times
High rent burden for renters
Cold, harsh winters
Snowy winters — 44" per year
Car-dependent — few commuters use transit

How Ham Lake compares

Median household income

Ham Lake$120,135

Minnesota avg$89,062

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Ham Lake$1,173

Minnesota avg$1,280

US$1,413

Median home value

Ham Lake$442,500

Minnesota avg$329,300

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Ham Lake

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

To rent

$2,346

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

Income to keep rent under 30%: $46,920 a year
52% of Ham Lake renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$88,500

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $44,250
Homes cost 3.7× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▼ 17% below US

$1,173/mo median rent

Cost of living works in this city's favor. Median rent sits around $1,173 a month, nothing that raises eyebrows. Solid value overall. Home prices run above average, with a median around $442,500. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.

Median home value $442,500 · 52% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

3.9% county unemployment

Unemployment in Anoka County is 3.9%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Anoka County (county-wide)

Safety

53 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Ham Lake 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 around▲ 10% above US

29 min average commute

Commutes run about average, at 28.6 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; 17% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

77%

Work from home

17%

Carpool

4.5%

Other

1.2%

Public transit

0.5%

Walk

0.1%

Climate

Summers are comfortable, with highs around 80°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 7°F.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforceNear US average

37% bachelor's degree or higher

Education levels run about average, with 37% 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

2 public schools inside the boundary

There are 2 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16:1, close to the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Mississippi National River & Recreation Area (22 miles away). There are 2 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Ham Lake's strongest points are rent below the national average and household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are home prices well above the national average and commute times longer than most cities. A year of median rent ($1,173/mo) equals 12% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget and remote workers (17% of workers here already work from home). It may be a harder fit for anyone who doesn't drive and anyone who dislikes long, cold winters.

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