ElginMN
A town of 1,137, settled in 1857.
Is Elgin a good place to live?
Elgin’s best subject grades are an A for cost of living and schools and an A− for walkability; its weakest is a C− for hazard risk. On cost of living, just 31 of Minnesota’s 573 towns do better. Elgin has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Elgin stand out
Where Elgin beats most towns.
Typical home value
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Plainview-Elgin-Millville 4-6 | 4–6 | 315 |
| Plainview-Elgin-Millville Junior | 7–8 | 235 |
1,137 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
How Elgin grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Elgin is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Elgin: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Elgin, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Elgin.
Elgin’s public schools outperform 86% of Minnesota districts
Its public schools are run by the Plainview-Elgin-Millville school district. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plainview-Elgin-Millville 4-6Largest public middle schoolGrades 4–6 | Grades 4–6 | 315 | A− |
| Plainview-Elgin-Millville JuniorTop results in townGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 235 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
A smaller share of adults in Elgin have high blood pressure than in the typical Minnesota or U.S. town
25% of adults have high blood pressure in Elgin, where Minnesota’s towns sit at 31% and U.S. towns at 35%. 8% of adults have diabetes in Elgin. Elgin beats the Minnesota average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Elgin | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 18% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 31% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 71% | 75% | 79% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8% | 10% | 12% |
| What stands out | Elgin | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.6% | 8.9% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.5% | 5.9% |
| More binge drinkers | 22.8% | 17.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Elgin’s workers commute out
Most working residents leave Elgin for work: only 3% work in town. At 26 minutes, Elgin’s average trip to work is above Minnesota’s towns (23 minutes) and close to U.S. towns (25 minutes). The top destinations are Rochester (38%), Lake City (9%) and Plainview (7%).
| Elgin | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 3.1% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $92,000 | $90,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.6% | 7% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
High risk in Elgin, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1986, 3 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Elgin.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in Elgin
Elgin has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Elgin’s July high is 81°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Elgin’s typical home value is about $378K
The typical Elgin home is worth about $378,000, up 5.4% in a year, 8% above the Minnesota typical home. The median rent in Elgin is $727 a month.
| Elgin | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $727 a month | $1,196 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 82% | 75% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Elgin
Colleges nearby
3 within 15 miles of the center of Elgin
About 6 of every 100 Elgin residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Minnesota.
97% of working residents leave Elgin for work
Where Elgin’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Elgin
City in Minnesota, United States
Elgin is a city in Wabasha County, Minnesota, United States on Minnesota State Highway 42. As of the 2020 census, Elgin had a population of 1,115. Its annual festival is Elgin Cheese Days.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.0 sq mi
- Elevation
- 1,060 ft
- ZIP code
- 55932
- Area code
- 507
Questions about Elgin
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Elgin, MN expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.