Does Minnesota have a state income tax?

Yes — a graduated tax with four brackets, topping out at a 9.85% marginal rate on the highest earners, one of the higher top rates in the country.

When is moving season busiest in Minnesota?

No Minnesota-specific peak-season pattern turned up a crisp, citable source in this research pass — the generic national summer peak (driven by school calendars and warmer moving weather) is the safest assumption. It's plausible winter's snow and cold push demand even more heavily toward summer here than in milder states, but that isn't independently confirmed, so it isn't asserted as fact.

How much does it cost to move within Minnesota, e.g. from Minneapolis to Duluth or Rochester?

There's no separate in-state corridor pricing yet — use the local-move rows in the cost table above as a starting range, or the [moving cost calculator](/moving-calculator) for a number based on your actual home size and distance.

What's rent like in the Twin Cities right now?

HUD's Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro is $1,770/month for FY2026, a useful benchmark for typical mid-market rent in the metro where nearly two-thirds of Minnesota's population lives.

How long do I have to register my car or get a Minnesota driver's license after moving here?

Both run on the same 60-day clock: new residents have 60 days to title and register a vehicle and 60 days to get a Minnesota driver's license (30 days if transferring an existing commercial CDL).

Moving to Minnesota: Costs, Routes & What to Know

Last reviewed 2026-08-25 · Next review due 2026-09-25

A typical 3-bedroom move in or out of Minnesota runs $1,400-$2,450 locally or $4,200-$6,720 long-distance (national planning ranges). New Minnesota residents get a relatively generous 60-day window to title/register a vehicle and get a Minnesota driver's license — longer than several neighboring states.

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Minnesota at a glance

Minnesota is the nation's 22nd most populous state at roughly 5.83 million residents, anchored by the Minneapolis-St. Paul "Twin Cities" metro (about 3.76 million people, nearly two-thirds of the state's population), with smaller regional metros in Rochester (home to the Mayo Clinic), Duluth (a Lake Superior port city) and St. Cloud. Minnesota levies a graduated individual income tax with four brackets topping out at 9.85% — one of the higher top marginal rates in the country — which sits alongside a strong Twin Cities job market (finance, health care, and Fortune 500 headquarters including Target, UnitedHealth Group and 3M) and long, harsh winters as the state's main push-and-pull factors for movers. After several years of modest net domestic out-migration, Minnesota's most recent data shows migration roughly leveling off, with international arrivals and births now driving most of the state's population growth.

Population: 5,830,405; July 1, 2025
State income tax: Yes
Major metros: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MSA (3.76 million, 2024), Rochester (230,700, 2024), Duluth (281,800, 2024), St. Cloud (205,900, 2024) — [USAFacts metro-area population pages](https://usafacts.org/answers/how-many-people-live-in-the-us/metro-area/minneapolis-mn/), cited individually below

graduated individual income tax with four brackets; top marginal rate is 9.85% for 2026 (applies above $203,151 single / $337,931 married filing jointly). Minnesota Department of Revenue — Income Tax Rates and Brackets

Who is moving in and out

Minnesota's migration picture depends on which Census product you check. ACS 2024 state-to-state flow data shows about 105,000 people moved into Minnesota against 111,700 who left — a net domestic loss of about 6,700, ranking Minnesota 38th nationally. Separately, Minnesota's state demographer, citing more recent Population Estimates commentary, described a sharper turnaround: out-migration narrowing to only about 1,000 net residents lost, with roughly 100,000 in-migrants and about 30,000 international arrivals pushing total population up by around 40,000. Wisconsin is by far Minnesota's largest migration partner in both directions, followed by North Dakota, Florida, California and Iowa.

Inbound: 105,000
Outbound: 111,700
Net domestic: −6,700

Top origin states

Wisconsin (20,300)
California (6,900)
North Dakota (6,200)
Florida (6,000)
Iowa (6,000)

Top destination states

Wisconsin (23,500)
Florida (8,500)
North Dakota (7,100)

Data year: 2024 ACS state-to-state migration flows (USAFacts, data refreshed May 14, 2026); Star Tribune/Minnesota State Demographic Center commentary citing more recent Census Population Estimates for domestic and international migration is shown separately since it covers a different period and Census product

two legitimate but distinct Census-derived products give different net-migration figures for Minnesota (-6,700 from ACS state-to-state flows vs. roughly -1,000 from Population Estimates-based demographer commentary) — both are shown with their source and period rather than silently reconciled or picking whichever number is more flattering. The USAFacts destination-state list did not provide counts beyond the top three, which is disclosed rather than estimated.

Typical moving costs

These figures are national moving-industry planning ranges scaled by home size, not Minnesota-specific pricing — no publicly available dataset breaks out mover pricing at the state level with this granularity. They use the same underlying benchmarks as MoverQuoteEngine's own moving cost calculator: an hourly local-move rate and a per-pound long-distance rate, scaled by typical crew time and shipment weight for each home size. A genuinely Minnesota-specific range would need to be derived from this state's own priced move corridors, once enough live route pages exist to support that — not attempted here (see `upgrade_note` below).

National planning ranges by home size for local and long-distance moves
Home size	Local	Long-distance
Studio	$600-$1,050	$1,250-$2,000
1 Bedroom	$800-$1,400	$2,000-$3,200
2 Bedroom	$1,100-$1,925	$3,000-$4,800
3 Bedroom	$1,400-$2,450	$4,200-$6,720
4 Bedroom	$1,800-$3,150	$5,500-$8,800
5+ Bedroom	$2,200-$3,850	$7,000-$11,200

For a number tailored to your actual move, use the moving cost calculator.

Once this state has enough live `/moving-from-{city}-us-to-{city}-us` route pages, replace this national-benchmark table with a state-specific range derived from those priced corridors — the same approach movingcostadvisor.com uses. Not done here because the route inventory wasn't available to this research pass.

New-resident deadlines

Topic	Requirement	Source
Driver's license	New Minnesota residents have 60 days after establishing residency to obtain a Minnesota driver's license; commercial driver's license holders transferring a valid out-of-state CDL have 30 days.	driversed.com — Minnesota New Resident DMV Information, cross-checked against the 60-day window stated on the primary DVS vehicle-registration page below (the primary DVS driver's-license page does not itself state a numeric deadline — see research note)
Vehicle registration	New residents have 60 days to title and register a passenger vehicle, motorcycle, utility trailer or house trailer in Minnesota; registration must happen immediately instead if the vehicle's out-of-state registration is already expired or it's a commercial truck/trailer.	Minnesota Department of Public Safety — Vehicle Registration for New MN Residents
Voter registration	Online or paper registration must be submitted 21 days before Election Day. Minnesota also offers same-day registration — voters who miss the 21-day deadline can still register in person at their polling place (or when voting absentee) through Election Day itself.	Minnesota Secretary of State — Voter Registration FAQs

Housing, season and licensing

Housing snapshot

HUD's Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom unit in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area is $1,770/month for FY2026 (effective August 1, 2025) — a useful proxy for typical mid-market rent across the metro where nearly two-thirds of Minnesota's population lives. HUD Fair Market Rents dataset; figure via fmr.fyi — Minneapolis, MN FY2026 Fair Market Rent, a third-party aggregator of HUD's published FMR data (not independently re-derived from HUD's raw county-level file in this pass).

No distinct Minnesota-specific peak-season driver turned up beyond the national late-spring through summer pattern.

Mover licensing

Yes — Minnesota requires its own intrastate authority. Per MnDOT's own Commercial Vehicle Operations page, any business transporting household goods "may not legally operate as a motor carrier until [it receives its] household goods mover permit," issued by the Minnesota Department of Transportation separately from the federal USDOT number; the state permit application also requires proof of $100,000/$300,000 public liability and $50,000 cargo insurance. This is on top of, not instead of, the federal FMCSA authority required for interstate moves. MnDOT — Household Goods Movers, Office of Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations

Common in-state corridors

Minneapolis → Duluth — ~154 miles via I-35, the Twin Cities to Minnesota's main Lake Superior port city
Minneapolis → Rochester — ~87 miles via US-52, home to the Mayo Clinic and a major draw for health-care relocations
Minneapolis → St. Cloud — ~66 miles via I-94, a common commuter-distance move within the wider Twin Cities exurban corridor

Popular routes

Live city-pair route pages touching Minnesota will appear here as they publish.

Main inbound partners

from Wisconsin
from California
from North Dakota
from Florida
from Iowa

Main outbound partners

Partner-state lists come from Census migration flows. Linked corridors above are live published route pages, not guessed slugs.

Minnesota city guides

No live Minnesota city guide is published yet — more cities coming soon.

Coming soon: Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Duluth, St. Cloud.

Frequently asked questions

Does Minnesota have a state income tax?: Yes — a graduated tax with four brackets, topping out at a 9.85% marginal rate on the highest earners, one of the higher top rates in the country.
Do movers need a special license for in-state moves in Minnesota?: Yes. Minnesota requires household goods movers to hold a state Household Goods Mover Permit from the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Office of Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations, separate from the federal USDOT/FMCSA authority that governs interstate moves. Confirm a mover's state permit before booking an in-state move.
When is moving season busiest in Minnesota?: No Minnesota-specific peak-season pattern turned up a crisp, citable source in this research pass — the generic national summer peak (driven by school calendars and warmer moving weather) is the safest assumption. It's plausible winter's snow and cold push demand even more heavily toward summer here than in milder states, but that isn't independently confirmed, so it isn't asserted as fact.
How much does it cost to move within Minnesota, e.g. from Minneapolis to Duluth or Rochester?: There's no separate in-state corridor pricing yet — use the local-move rows in the cost table above as a starting range, or the moving cost calculator for a number based on your actual home size and distance.
What's rent like in the Twin Cities right now?: HUD's Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro is $1,770/month for FY2026, a useful benchmark for typical mid-market rent in the metro where nearly two-thirds of Minnesota's population lives.
How long do I have to register my car or get a Minnesota driver's license after moving here?: Both run on the same 60-day clock: new residents have 60 days to title and register a vehicle and 60 days to get a Minnesota driver's license (30 days if transferring an existing commercial CDL).