A typical Darwin home is worth roughly $175,000
Home prices around Darwin have risen about 78% over the past 5 years. No new homes were permitted in 2025.
What kind of housing town is Darwin?
Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.
Home prices up 78% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Darwin rose 78% over the past 5 years, faster than across Minnesota (37%). Last year prices rose 20%.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Darwin, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
What it takes to buy in Darwin
Try your own numbers below.
That covers a typical Darwin home, with $166K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $990 a month here, $80 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, the Minnesota typical property tax (1.02% 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 $990
Renters already here pay a median of $791, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Meeker County, MN): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
No new homes permitted in 2025
No permits for new homes were issued in Darwin in 2025. The last year with any was 2017 (3 new homes).
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Darwin's population fell by 2 even though 9 new homes were permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are 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) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $732,000 |
| 2016 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $488,000 |
| 2015 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $200,000 |
| 2013 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $450,000 |
| 2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $85,000 |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2009 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $196,000 |
| 2008 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $233,000 |
| 2007 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $233,000 |
| 2006 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $349,000 |
| 2005 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $349,000 |
| 2004 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $465,000 |
| 2003 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $465,000 |
| 2002 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $349,000 |
| 2001 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $895,000 |
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
81% of Darwin households own their home
Half of Darwin’s homes were built before 1975.
Minnesota: 72% own.
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 · figures for a place this size carry wide margins of error.
Neighbors talk housing
What Darwin buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Listings link to their publishers. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer.