Photo: Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota · CC BY-SA 2.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Cold Spring costs more to live in than 77% of U.S. towns
It ranks #245 of 273 in Minnesota for affordability. Up 2.1% in a year, close to the Minnesota typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the St. Cloud, MN metro area ($76K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Cold Spring’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($76K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 21% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 57% of renters.
In dollars
- $362Ktypical home, 4% above the Minnesota typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,360a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 88prices across the St. Cloud metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 65)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 3.7 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$76K, St. Cloud-area income
- 22%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 57%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Minnesota: 48%Census 2020–24
- 21%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What kind of housing town is Cold Spring?
Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.
What’s behind Cold Spring’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Cold Spring is more affordable than 23% of U.S. towns, #245 of 273 in Minnesota. Rent pulls the grade down most; property tax holds it up.
Values have outpaced Minnesota: the typical Cold Spring home is up 22.9% in five years, against 14.1% statewide (Zillow).
Up 22.9% in five years
Faster than Minnesota (14.1%).
Show as a table
| January | Cold Spring | Minnesota |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $207,000 | $216,000 |
| 2018 | $218,000 | $231,000 |
| 2019 | $232,000 | $245,000 |
| 2020 | $244,000 | $257,000 |
| 2021 | $264,000 | $280,000 |
| 2022 | $303,000 | $311,000 |
| 2023 | $322,000 | $322,000 |
| 2024 | $333,000 | $329,000 |
| 2025 | $347,000 | $338,000 |
| 2026 | $359,000 | $346,000 |
| September 2026 | $362,000 | $349,000 |
A typical Cold Spring home worth $203K in October 2016 is worth about $362K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 8 homes sold in September 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A year’s rent takes 22% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Cold Spring’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $69K short of a typical Cold Spring home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,360 a month here, $830 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Cold Spring’s typical property tax (0.97% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,360
Renters already here pay a median of $1,424.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (St. Cloud, MN MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
8 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 8 new homes in Cold Spring in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $2.7 million to build. That's 1.9 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Minnesota (3.8). Over the past 10 years, Cold Spring has permitted 157 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Cold Spring gained 139 residents while 120 new homes were permitted: about 1.2 new residents per new home. Building outpaced population growth, which usually means smaller households or homes used part of the year. Across Minnesota: 2.2 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2025 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $2.7 million |
| 2024 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $5.2 million |
| 2023 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $3.7 million |
| 2022 | 11 | 11 | 0 | $4.1 million |
| 2021 | 16 | 16 | 0 | $4.8 million |
| 2020 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $5 million |
| 2019 | 23 | 23 | 0 | $5.5 million |
| 2018 | 24 | 24 | 0 | $5.7 million |
| 2017 | 24 | 24 | 0 | $5.7 million |
| 2016 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $2.4 million |
| 2015 | 10 | 10 | 0 | $2.4 million |
| 2014 | 11 | 11 | 0 | $2.4 million |
| 2013 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2012 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2011 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $757,000 |
| 2010 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $607,000 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2008 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $939,000 |
| 2007 | 16 | 14 | 2 | $2.8 million |
| 2006 | 24 | 18 | 6 | $3.8 million |
| 2005 | 35 | 33 | 2 | $6 million |
| 2004 | 36 | 34 | 2 | $5.9 million |
| 2003 | 66 | 56 | 10 | $9 million |
| 2002 | 92 | 52 | 40 | $10 million |
| 2001 | 40 | 40 | 0 | $5.6 million |
| 2000 | 40 | 24 | 16 | $4.2 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs below the Minnesota norm
The median bill is $2,723 (Minnesota: $3,357), 0.97% of a home’s value a year, against 1.02% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Cold Spring
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the St. Cloud, MN metro area, or Minnesota. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 88 | MN 99 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 95 | MN 101 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 89 | MN 91 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 92 | MN 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Cold Spring and its neighbors
One source per column.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold Spring | C− | $362K | $280K | 0.97% | $1,360 |
Questions about the cost of living in Cold Spring
Is Cold Spring expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Cold Spring costs more than 77% of U.S. towns: a C− for cost of living, #245 of 273 in Minnesota. The typical home costs 3.7 years of the median household income of the St. Cloud, MN metro area ($76K).
How much does a house cost in Cold Spring?
About $362K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, up 2.1% in a year. The Minnesota typical home is $349K.
What salary do you need to live in Cold Spring?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $94,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $2,190 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $54,000.
How much is rent in Cold Spring?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,360 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,424 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Cold Spring?
The median bill is $2,723 a year, 0.97% of the median home value (Minnesota: $3,357, 1.02%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Cold Spring going up?
Yes: up 2.1% in the past year and 22.9% in five years, against 14.1% across Minnesota (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Cold Spring buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, September 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.