Wright County, Minnesota: commercial real estate data.
Wright County, Minnesota has a population of 148,269 across 661 square miles, up 9.4 percent since the 2020 census base. County output reached $7.31 bn in 2024, 3,680 establishments operate here, and the SBA record carries 261 7(a) approvals worth $115.6 m.
123 sourced county values · tier FULL · 11 sections · underlined figures are computed by MMCG Analytics, not published by the agency
Wright County
How many people live in Wright County
- Population148,269
- Households54,010
- Average household size2.75
- Median household income$107,209
- Median age37.6
- Median gross rent$1,288 per month
- Median owner-occupied home value$358,900
- Home value to household income3.3 times
- Annual rent as a share of median income14.4 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a bachelor degree or higher34.4 percent
- Adults 25 and over with a graduate degree9.2 percent
- Adults 25 and over97,157
- Population under 1840,305
- Share under 1827.2 percent
- Population 65 and over20,391
- Share 65 and over13.8 percent
- Working age population, 18 to 6487,573
- Civilian labor force82,395
- Unemployment rate2.7 percent
- Labor force participation, adults 18 and over76.3 percent
- Rank by population among Minnesota counties10th of 87
- Rank by population among US county-equivalents460th
Wright County is the 10th largest of 87 Minnesota counties by population. A median home costs 3.3 times median household income, which is an affordable ownership market by national standards. Residents under 18 outnumber those 65 and over, at 27.2 percent against 13.8 percent, a household formation profile rather than a retirement one.
US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
Wright County
Is Wright County's population growing?
- Population change since the 2020 census base9.38 percent
- Census 2020 base population141,335
- Births, 20241,842
- Deaths, 20241,020
- Natural change, 2024822
- Net domestic migration, 20241,945
- Net international migration, 2024386
- Total net migration, 20242,331
- Cumulative net domestic migration, 2021 to 20248,577
- Rank by growth among US county-equivalents168th
The county has grown 9.38 percent since the 2020 census base. Migration contributed more to 2024 change than births over deaths, so demand here follows people arriving rather than families forming.
US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024, Vintage 2024, estimates 2020 to 2024.
Wright County
Where are people moving to Wright County from?
- Tax returns filed by households arriving4,842
- People arriving, from those returns9,097
- Adjusted gross income arriving$386.8 m
- Net adjusted gross income movement$0
- Average income of an arriving household$79,885
- Largest single originWright County Non-migrants (54,404 households)
- Largest single destination (54,404 households)
| Origin | Households | People | Adjusted gross income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wright County Non-migrants | 54,404 | 123,267 | $5.53 bn |
| Hennepin County | 1,775 | 3,446 | $155.7 m |
| Other flows - Different State | 687 | 1,286 | $59.9 m |
| Sherburne County | 477 | 876 | $33.4 m |
| Anoka County | 385 | 771 | $29.1 m |
| Stearns County | 259 | 422 | $17.4 m |
| Other flows - Same State | 256 | 457 | $15.9 m |
| Other flows - Midwest | 253 | 452 | $16.8 m |
The largest single source of arrivals is Wright County Non-migrants, which is the catchment a retail or multifamily study should look at first.
US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.
Wright County
What is the Wright County economy?
- County GDP, 2024$7.31 bn
- County GDP, 2023$6.87 bn
- GDP change, 2023 to 20246.5 percent
- GDP change over five years34.8 percent
- Rank by GDP among Minnesota counties11th
- Rank by GDP among US county-equivalents566th
- GDP per resident$49,330
Output grew 6.5 percent in the latest year and 34.8 percent over five, which is the trend line a lender will read behind any single year figure.
US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional, table CAGDP2, CAGDP2, through 2024.
Wright County
Largest employers in Wright County
- Covered employment, annual average48,758
- Establishments reporting3,984
- Average annual pay$55,999
- Average weekly wage$1,077
- Sector 44-45, employment7,197
- Sector 44-45, average annual pay$33,636
- Sector 31-33, employment6,795
- Sector 31-33, average annual pay$77,443
- Sector 62, employment6,635
- Sector 62, average annual pay$48,754
- Sector 23, employment4,737
- Sector 23, average annual pay$80,443
- Sector 72, employment4,600
- Sector 42, employment1,761
| Sector | Employment | Establishments | Average annual pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sector 44-45 | 7,197 | 378 | $33,636 |
| Sector 31-33 | 6,795 | 215 | $77,443 |
| Sector 62 | 6,635 | 592 | $48,754 |
| Sector 23 | 4,737 | 663 | $80,443 |
| Sector 72 | 4,600 | 240 | $21,758 |
| Sector 42 | 1,761 | 120 | $85,708 |
| Sector 56 | 1,697 | 214 | $56,635 |
| Sector 81 | 1,677 | 482 | $38,188 |
The largest sector is the biggest private employer group at 7,197 jobs, 14.8 percent of covered employment. Average pay per job sits below median household income, so households here typically need more than one earner.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages.
Wright County
How many businesses are in Wright County?
- Establishments, all industries3,680
- Employment at those establishments42,944
- Annual payroll$2.33 bn
- Establishments per 1,000 residents24.8
These are counts of establishments physically operating in the county, not listings, so they are the supply side a feasibility study measures demand against.
US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
Wright County
Building permits in Wright County
- Housing units authorised by permit, 20241,264
- Declared construction value permitted$405.2 m
- Single family units authorised1,032
- Multifamily units authorised232
- Multifamily share of units18.4 percent
- Average declared value per unit$320,546
- Units authorised per 1,000 households23.4
Multifamily is 18.4 percent of units authorised, so the pipeline is predominantly for sale product.
US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
Wright County
SBA loans in Wright County (7(a) and 504)
- 7(a) approvals recorded261
- 7(a) gross approval dollars$115.6 m
- Average 7(a) approval$442,827
- Median 7(a) approval$150,000
- 10th percentile approval$23,800
- 90th percentile approval$935,000
- Largest single approval$5,000,000
- Jobs reported supported, 7(a)2,939
- Jobs per approval11.3
- Distinct 7(a) lenders active60
- Distinct industries receiving approvals118
- Median 7(a) term120 months
- Share of loans on real estate terms, 240 months or longer10.3 percent
- Loans on real estate terms27
- Loans on working capital terms, 120 months or shorter224
- Franchise loans24
- Franchise share of approvals9.2 percent
- Leading industry by approval countLimited-Service Restaurants (11)
- Most active lenderBravera Bank (33)
- 504 approvals recorded180
- 504 gross approval dollars$108.5 m
- Average 504 approval$602,561
- Median 504 approval$347,000
- Distinct CDCs active7
- 504 jobs per approval7.9
- 504 jobs per million dollars approved13.1
- Most active CDCMidwest Business Finance Corporation (86)
- 7(a) share of SBA approvals59.2 percent
- Combined SBA approval dollars$224.0 m
The average approval of $442,827 sits well above the median of $150,000, so a small number of large deals is pulling the mean up. The median is the better guide to what a typical borrower here actually gets. Only 10.3 percent of approvals run on real estate terms, so SBA credit here is mostly working capital and equipment rather than property acquisition.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30. US Small Business Administration, 504 FOIA release, FY2010 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Wright County
SBA loan default and charge-off rates in Wright County
Do SBA loans in Wright County get paid back?
- Loans with a final outcome recorded56
- Paid in full54
- Charged off2
- Charge off rate on resolved loans3.6 percent
- Status: Paid in full54
- Status: Exempt from disclosure171
- Status: Cancelled16
- Status: Charged off2
- Status: Committed, not yet disbursed18
Of the 56 loans that have reached a final outcome, 3.6 percent were charged off. This is computed only over resolved loans, because a loan still running has not yet succeeded or failed and counting it either way would be wrong.
Compare against the national and state SBA charge-off rates, computed the same way over resolved loans only.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Wright County
SBA lending by place in Wright County
- Places in the county with recorded lending19
- Buffalo, approvals50
- Monticello, approvals43
- SAINT MICHAEL, approvals38
- ALBERTVILLE, approvals34
- OTSEGO, approvals15
- DELANO, approvals13
| Place | Approvals | Gross approval dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 50 | $22,288,900 |
| Monticello | 43 | $26,756,000 |
| SAINT MICHAEL | 38 | $9,308,000 |
| ALBERTVILLE | 34 | $20,187,800 |
| OTSEGO | 15 | $2,341,400 |
| DELANO | 13 | $7,620,200 |
| ANNANDALE | 12 | $3,822,100 |
| MAPLE LAKE | 11 | $3,990,200 |
Buffalo accounts for 50 approvals against 43 in Monticello. County level figures average over that gap, which is why a site decision is made at the submarket rather than the county.
US Small Business Administration, 7(a) FOIA release, FY2020 to FY2026 year to date, as of 2026-06-30.
Wright County
How large is Wright County?
- Land area661 sq mi
- Rank by land area among Minnesota counties45th of 87
- Width, east to west36 mi
- Height, north to south30.7 mi
- Geographies sharing a boundary6
- Residents per square mile of land224
- Establishments per square mile5.57
US Census Bureau county boundary geometry, TIGER, adjacency computed from shared boundary vertices, TIGER county boundaries. US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year. US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
Coverage
What this page does not hold.
Every item below could be filled with a plausible figure. None of them is. On a page a lender may read, a number that cannot be traced is worse than an absence, so the absences are named.
- No NFIP communities are listed for this county in the FEMA Community Status Book.
- Flood zone record counts are not held. The flood coverage export has not landed, so no count is shown rather than an estimated one.
- Traffic counts resolve in the platform, not in this dataset, so no AADT figure is printed here.
- Zoning is in build. Parcel level zoning is not published on this page.
Feasibility studies
When a Wright County site needs a document a lender will accept.
The same data layer behind this page is the one the studies are written from. A study for a Wright County site starts with the figures you are reading, carrying the same source and period into the credit file.
- Population148,269
- Households54,010
- Average household size2.75
- Median household income$107,209
- Median age37.6
Common questions
Wright County questions, answered from the record.
How many people live in Wright County, Minnesota?
148,269, in 54,010 households, ranking 10th of 87 Minnesota counties. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
Is Wright County's population growing?
The population has grown 9.38 percent since the 2020 census base. In 2024 there were 1,842 births against 1,020 deaths, with net migration of 2,331. Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2024, Vintage 2024, estimates 2020 to 2024.
What is the median household income in Wright County?
$107,209. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $358,900, which is 3.3 times income, and median gross rent is $1,288 per month. Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024 5-year.
How many businesses are in Wright County?
3,680 establishments, employing 42,944 people with an annual payroll of $2.33 bn. These are establishments physically operating in the county, not listings. Source: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023.
What is the average wage in Wright County?
Average annual pay is $55,999, or $1,077 a week, across 48,758 covered jobs. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024 annual averages.
How much SBA lending happens in Wright County?
261 7(a) approvals totalling $115.6 m since FY2020, across 60 lenders, with a median approval of $150,000, plus 180 504 approvals worth $108.5 m. These are approvals recorded in the release, not loans disbursed.
Do SBA loans in Wright County get paid back?
Of the 56 loans that have reached a final outcome, 54 were paid in full and 2 charged off, a charge off rate of 3.6 percent. Loans still running are excluded, because they have not yet succeeded or failed.
How many building permits were issued in Wright County?
1,264 housing units were authorised by permit in 2024, with a declared construction value of $405.2 m. Multifamily was 18.4 percent of units. Source: US Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey, 2024 annual.
What is the radon zone for Wright County?
Zone 1, a predicted average indoor radon screening level greater than 4 pCi/L. Source: US EPA, Map of Radon Zones, county spreadsheet, 2024-05 publication, EPA 402/A-16/001.
Where do people moving to Wright County come from?
The largest single origin is Wright County Non-migrants, with 54,404 households. Arriving households report an average income of $79,885 against null for those leaving. Source: US Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income county migration flows, 2021 to 2022 filing years.
Are traffic counts available for Wright County on this page?
No. Annual average daily traffic resolves in the platform rather than in this dataset, so no AADT figure is printed here. It is a gap we know about rather than a figure we estimated.
Is zoning published for Wright County?
Not yet. The zoning layer is in build. Nothing on this page presents parcel level zoning, and where a statutory framework applies it is marked as the statewide frame with confirm locally attached.
Wright County
Cities and places in Wright.
17 Census places lie wholly or partly in Wright County. 17 carry enough published place level data for a page of their own and are linked. The rest are named here and not linked, because the American Community Survey and the SBA record between them do not carry enough about them to write an honest page. A place existing is itself worth knowing, so nothing in the county is left out.
| Place | Type | Population | SBA approvals | Lies in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otsego | city | 22,245 | 20 | Wholly in this county |
| St. Michael | city | 20,010 | 38 | Wholly in this county |
| Buffalo | city | 16,499 | 50 | Wholly in this county |
| Monticello | city | 14,858 | 43 | Wholly in this county |
| Albertville | city | 8,207 | 35 | Wholly in this county |
| Delano | city | 6,942 | 13 | Wholly in this county |
| Rockford | city | 4,597 | 6 | 88.7 percent here, 11.3 percent Hennepin County |
| Montrose | city | 3,888 | 7 | Wholly in this county |
| Hanover | city | 3,626 | 6 | 62.4 percent here, 37.6 percent Hennepin County |
| Annandale | city | 3,399 | 12 | Wholly in this county |
| Cokato | city | 2,782 | 4 | Wholly in this county |
| Waverly | city | 2,285 | 3 | Wholly in this county |
| Maple Lake | city | 2,042 | 11 | Wholly in this county |
| Clearwater | city | 1,970 | 8 | 96.0 percent here, 4.0 percent Stearns County |
| Howard Lake | city | 1,832 | 5 | Wholly in this county |
| South Haven | city | 214 | 4 | Wholly in this county |
| Silver Creek | CDP | 167 | None recorded | Wholly in this county |
A further 3 SBA approvals in Wright County are recorded against borrower cities that match no Census place, the largest being Buffalo Township, Chicago, Saint Michael/Mn. Those are postal cities and unincorporated areas rather than incorporated places, so no page claims them, and their lending is counted in this county's totals above rather than under any city.