It is often said that Rochester has a pretty solid economy. With Mayo Clinic and IBM, along with dozens of other strong businesses located in the area, unemployment is generally low and there are some good wages to be had.

Certainly, this doesn’t include everybody in town. But with the number of doctors and other medical personnel and highly-qualified, highly-intelligent technology people, there are certainly those in Rochester who make a great living.

But where does Rochester rank in terms of Minnesota’s richest towns? The answer might surprise you. According to information that can be found from the U.S. Census Bureau, Rochester ranks in at #96 in per capita income, according to the 2010 census, out of 867 Minnesota towns.

Per capita income refers to the amount of income, on average, per person, in a given area. In this case, Rochester’s per capita income is listed at $24,811. That puts us just below St. Bonifacius, Minnesota and just above St. Michael.

So, just what town boasts the highest per capita income in the state? You’ve probably never heard of it, but when you hear where it’s located you probably won’t be surprised. It’s the town of Woodland, Minnesota, located on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. Per capita income there, among its 430+ residents is more than $95,000.

On the flipside, the bottom-ranked town is Ponemah, Minnesota located in Beltrami county, in North Central Minnesota. Per capita income there is just $4,000. In other words, the per capita income in Woodland is nearly 25 times greater than that of Ponemah. That’s an amazing income disparity!

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