Housing data for Watkins, MN
Watkins, MN has an estimated 765 residents and 389 homes (US Census Bureau, 2020–2024 American Community Survey).
It is a city in Meeker County.
32.6% of households rent.
The median gross rent is $808 a month.
Its population shrank measurably since 2015–2019 (−19.0%).
Figures last updated on .
- Residents
- 765 (±131)
- Housing units
- 389 (±65)
- Households that rent
- 32.6%
- Median gross rent
- $808
- Residents since 2015–2019
- −19.0%
What stands out in Watkins
Households that rent: 32.6% (±9.4 points) in Watkins, higher than in Meeker County (20.7%).
Median home value: $149,100 (±$20,152) in Watkins, lower than in Meeker County ($249,000).
Households without a vehicle: 8.5% (±4.1 points) in Watkins, higher than in Meeker County (4.2%).
Median real estate taxes: $1,730 (±$302) in Watkins, lower than in Meeker County ($2,243).
- Renters and owners in Watkins
- Home values in Watkins
- Commute and cars in Watkins
- Property taxes in Watkins
Housing in Watkins at a glance
- Median rent: $808 median gross rent a month (Small sample: wide margin of error)
- Rent by bedrooms: $888 median gross rent, 2 bedrooms (Small sample: wide margin of error)
- Rent burden: 38.6% of renters pay 30% or more of income
- Renters and owners: 32.6% of households rent
- Income and affordability: $64,896 median household income
- Home values: $149,100 median home value
- Homeowner costs: $1,407 median monthly cost with a mortgage
- Property taxes: $1,730 median real estate taxes a year
- Types of homes: 15.5% of homes are in buildings of 5 or more units
- Bedrooms: 56.8% of homes have 3 or more bedrooms
- Age of homes: 59.2% of homes were built before 1980
- Vacancy rate: 8.0% rental vacancy rate (Small sample: wide margin of error)
- Heating fuel: 72.7% heat with utility gas
- Commute and cars: 26.0 minutes average trip to work
- Growth: −19.0% residents since 2015–2019 (Small sample: wide margin of error)
- How long people stay: 23.2% moved in since 2020
- Crowding and facilities: 0.9% of homes have more than 1 person per room (Small sample: wide margin of error)
Watkins against Meeker County, its state and the nation
| Watkins | Meeker County | Minnesota | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 765 (±131) | 23,468 (exact) | 5,739,445 (exact) | 334,922,499 |
| Housing units | 389 (±65) | 10,735 (±62) | 2,545,030 (±1,535) | 143,775,355 |
| Households that rent | 32.6% (±9.4 points) | 20.7% (±1.8 points) | 27.8% (±0.2 points) | 34.8% |
| Median gross rent | $808 (±$469) | $904 (±$63) | $1,280 (±$7) | $1,413 |
| Median household income | $64,896 (±$22,145) | $75,446 (±$2,499) | $89,062 (±$409) | $80,734 |
| Median home value | $149,100 (±$20,152) | $249,000 (±$8,157) | $329,300 (±$903) | $332,700 |
| Median real estate taxes (a year) | $1,730 (±$302) | $2,243 (±$80) | $3,357 (±$10) | $3,119 |
| Built before 1980 | 59.2% (±13.5 points) | 57.8% (±3.0 points) | 52.1% (±0.3 points) | 49.7% |
| Average commute | 26.0 minutes (±3.7) | 25.2 minutes (±1.1) | 22.7 minutes (±0.1) | 26.4 minutes |
| Households with broadband | 89.0% (±4.3 points) | 88.1% (±1.6 points) | 91.6% (±0.1 points) | 91.0% |
| Median age of residents | 42.8 years (±5.0) | 42.2 years (±0.5) | 38.8 years (±0.1) | 38.9 years |
Watkins covers 0.7 square miles of land, about 1,112 residents per square mile (Census Bureau Gazetteer).
How Watkins has changed since 2015–2019
| 2015–2019 | 2020–2024 | Amount of change | Verdict | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 944 (±102) | 765 (±131) | −19.0% | Measurable decrease |
| Housing units | 434 (±44) | 389 (±65) | −10.4% | Not a measurable change |
| Median gross rent | $492 (±$172) | $808 (±$469) | +64.2% | No measurable change after inflation |
| Median home value | $99,700 (±$11,228) | $149,100 (±$20,152) | +49.5% | Up after inflation |
| Median household income | $41,333 (±$6,676) | $64,896 (±$22,145) | +57.0% | No measurable change after inflation |
| Median owner cost with a mortgage | $986 (±$152) | $1,407 (±$181) | +42.7% | No measurable change after inflation |
| Median real estate taxes | $1,587 (±$249) | $1,730 (±$302) | +9.0% | No measurable change after inflation |
| Households that rent | 32.3% (±6.2 points) | 32.6% (±9.4 points) | +0.3 percentage points | Not a measurable change |
| Rental vacancy rate | 0.0% (±12.1 points) | 8.0% (±12.2 points) | +8.0 percentage points | Not a measurable change |
The Census Bureau publishes 2015–2019 dollars in 2019 dollars and 2020–2024 dollars in 2024 dollars.
Prices (the CPI-U, US Bureau of Labor Statistics) rose 22.7% between 2019 and 2024, so a dollar figure’s verdict compares the two after raising the earlier one by that much, using the Census Bureau’s test for a difference.
The two periods do not overlap, as the Census Bureau recommends for 5-year estimates.
Crime reported to police in Meeker County
Watkins has no police department of its own in the FBI’s figures, so this is the figure for Meeker County as a whole.
In 2025, the police departments that report for Meeker County recorded 104 violent and 403 property crimes per 100,000 residents.
A county-wide figure describes the whole county, not this place; crime varies from one community to the next.
Places near Watkins
| Place | Distance | Median gross rent | Median home value | Households that rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Prairie Township | 2.9 mi | $838 | $323,300 | 3.8% |
| Luxemburg Township | 3.9 mi | — | $351,500 | 6.0% |
| Maine Prairie Township | 5.1 mi | $1,625 | $395,300 | 3.9% |
| Kimball | 5.4 mi | $779 | $232,200 | 36.9% |
| Eden Valley | 6.5 mi | $922 | $161,300 | 21.2% |
| Kingston Township | 8.1 mi | $1,425 | $364,300 | 7.8% |
| Manannah Township | 8.2 mi | $1,298 | $242,400 | 12.8% |
| Forest City Township | 8.4 mi | — | $332,300 | 2.7% |
Places in Minnesota most like Watkins
| Place | Median gross rent | Median home value | Median household income | Households that rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashby | $732 | $154,500 | $63,333 | 30.1% |
| Kerkhoven | $745 | $166,000 | $72,813 | 33.3% |
| Preston | $769 | $185,900 | $63,984 | 26.4% |
| St. James | $839 | $122,100 | $60,242 | 33.6% |
| Braham | $788 | $196,800 | $59,375 | 30.9% |
| Evansville | $700 | $133,000 | $64,028 | 30.5% |
Matched on rent, home value, income, the share who rent, the age of the homes, the share in apartment buildings and the commute, each measured against the spread across Minnesota.
HUD Fair Market Rent for Watkins, fiscal year 2027
| Studio | 1 bedroom | 2 bedrooms | 3 bedrooms | 4 bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $758 | $954 | $1,089 | $1,490 | $1,495 |
HUD income limits for Watkins, fiscal year 2026
| Household size | Extremely low (30%) | Very low (50%) | Low (80%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 person | $21,400 | $35,700 | $57,050 |
| 2 people | $24,450 | $40,800 | $65,200 |
| 3 people | $27,500 | $45,900 | $73,350 |
| 4 people | $33,000 | $50,950 | $81,500 |
| 5 people | $38,680 | $55,050 | $88,050 |
| 6 people | $44,360 | $59,150 | $94,550 |
| 7 people | $50,040 | $63,200 | $101,100 |
| 8 people | $55,720 | $67,300 | $107,600 |
These are the limits HUD sets for its housing programs in the Meeker County, MN, where HUD’s median family income for fiscal year 2026 is $101,900.
A program can use its own limits; tax-credit and local programs often do.
Survey years: 2020–2024 (American Community Survey 5-year estimates), compared with 2015–2019.
Margins of error are at the 90% confidence level.
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Questions about Watkins
Are renters in Watkins rent-burdened?
38.6% of renting households in Watkins pay 30% or more of their income in gross rent, the share housing researchers usually call rent-burdened (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
How many renters are there in Watkins?
Watkins has an estimated 104 (±34) renting households, 32.6% of its occupied homes (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
What is the median household income in Watkins?
The median household income in Watkins is $64,896 (±$22,145) a year (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
What is the average home value in Watkins, MN?
The Census Bureau publishes the median: $149,100 (±$20,152) for owner-occupied homes in Watkins (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
What is the average mortgage payment in Watkins?
The Census Bureau publishes total owner costs rather than the mortgage alone: the median for owners with a mortgage in Watkins, MN is $1,407 (±$181) a month, including taxes, insurance and utilities.
How much are property taxes in Watkins?
The median real estate tax paid by homeowners in Watkins, MN is $1,730 (±$302) a year (2020–2024 American Community Survey).
Is Watkins growing?
In Watkins, the number of residents went from 944 in 2015–2019 to 765 in 2020–2024 (−19.0%), a measurable decrease.
Sources
- Demographic and Housing Estimates (DP05), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Watkins city, Minnesota
- Selected Housing Characteristics (DP04), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Watkins city, Minnesota
- Selected Economic Characteristics (DP03), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Watkins city, Minnesota
- Median Real Estate Taxes Paid by Mortgage Status (B25103), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Watkins city, Minnesota
- Selected Social Characteristics (DP02), 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates — Watkins city, Minnesota
- Total Population (B01003), 2015–2019 ACS 5-year estimates — Watkins city, Minnesota
- Median Gross Rent (B25064), 2015–2019 ACS 5-year estimates — Watkins city, Minnesota
- HUD Fair Market Rents, fiscal year 2027: Meeker County, MN
- HUD Income Limits, fiscal year 2026: Meeker County, MN
- Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, all items, US Bureau of Labor Statistics: annual averages 2019 and 2024
- US Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files
To check these figures in the Census Bureau’s own API, request the variables below from the 2024 ACS 5-year data profile (acs/acs5/profile) for Watkins city, Minnesota (place:68620, in state:27).
Each estimate (E or PE) has a margin of error beside it (M or PM).
The 2015–2019 figures are B01003_001E, B01003_001M, B25064_001E, B25064_001M from the 2019 release.
The API needs a free key.
DP05_0001E, DP05_0001M, DP04_0001E, DP04_0001M, DP04_0047PE, DP04_0047PM, DP04_0134E, DP04_0134M, DP03_0062E, DP03_0062M, DP04_0089E, DP04_0089M
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are published by the US Census Bureau, HUD, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the FBI; Seayora reproduces them and does not adjust them, except where a sentence says it compares dollar figures after inflation. They describe the whole place, not any one building or street, and are not an appraisal, a rent determination, a tax bill, a safety rating or legal advice.
Figures last updated on .