In July, the State Demographic Center released their population estimates for cities and townships in Minnesota.
Below is a summary of the growth of all the cities in Blue Earth and Nicollet Counties:
| City | 2011 | 2015 | 2016 | 2011-2016 Growth Rate | 2015-2016 Growth Rate |
| Eagle Lake city | 2,482 | 2,932 | 3,067 | 18.13% | 4.60% |
| Mankato city | 39,628 | 41,727 | 42,803 | 5.30% | 2.58% |
| Madison Lake city | 1,033 | 1,170 | 1,183 | 13.26% | 1.11% |
| Courtland city | 606 | 635 | 641 | 4.79% | 0.94% |
| North Mankato city | 13,426 | 13,689 | 13,813 | 1.96% | 0.91% |
| St. Peter city | 11,459 | 11,784 | 11,807 | 2.84% | 0.20% |
| Nicollet city | 1,091 | 1,120 | 1,117 | 2.66% | -0.27% |
| Le Sueur city | 4,045 | 4,064 | 4,053 | 0.47% | -0.27% |
| Lake Crystal city | 2,540 | 2,554 | 2,542 | 0.55% | -0.47% |
| Mapleton city | 1,761 | 1,756 | 1,743 | -0.28% | -0.74% |
| St. Clair city | 871 | 853 | 846 | -2.07% | -0.82% |
| Amboy city | 533 | 525 | 517 | -1.50% | -1.52% |
| Vernon Center city | 331 | 318 | 312 | -3.93% | -1.89% |
| Good Thunder city | 580 | 551 | 540 | -5.00% | -2.00% |
| Skyline city | 285 | 288 | 282 | 1.05% | -2.08% |
| Pemberton city | 248 | 239 | 233 | -3.63% | -2.51% |
To provide some context of the growth, here is an analysis of how the larger cities within our two counties are growing:
| City | Growth rate | Overall Growth Rank (Out of 857) | Growth Rank – Cities with POP. 500+ (Out of 492) | City Population rank in MN (Out of 857) |
| Eagle Lake city | 4.60% | 13 | 2 | 205 |
| Mankato city | 2.58% | 46 | 25 | 21 |
| Madison Lake city | 1.11% | 147 | 102 | 330 |
| North Mankato city | 0.91% | 178 | 122 | 75 |
| St. Peter city | 0.20% | 326 | 230 | 90 |
| Le Sueur city | -0.27% | 501 | 322 | 172 |
| Lake Crystal city | -0.47% | 568 | 370 | 228 |
Greater Mankato Growth Blog 