Census-designated place Elbow Lake is a census-designated place in Minnesota, partly in Becker County and Clearwater County. A census-designated place is an unincorporated community that the Census Bureau defines for statistics; it has no city government of its own.
The median owner-occupied home in Elbow Lake had a real-estate tax bill of $1,833 (± $605) a year, compared with $3,184 in Minnesota and $2,969 nationwide. The median home value was $120,800 (± $43,537), compared with $305,500 in Minnesota and $303,400 nationwide.
| Measure | Elbow Lake | Minnesota | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 78 ± 24 | 5,713,716 | 332,387,540 |
| Median annual property tax bill (homeowners) | $1,833 ± $605rough guide only: the margin of error is 33% of the estimate | $3,184 ± $12 | $2,969 ± $3 |
| Median home value | $120,800 ± $43,537rough guide only: the margin of error is 36% of the estimate | $305,500 ± $890 | $303,400 ± $362 |
| Median household income | $30,000 ± $4,464 | $87,556 ± $396 | $78,538 ± $176 |
| Property tax as a share of home value (calculated) | 1.52% ± 0.74 pointsrough guide only: the margin of error is 49% of the estimate | 1.04% ± under 0.01 points | 0.98% ± under 0.01 points |
| Homes lived in by their owners | 60.0% ± 20.4 pointsrough guide only: the margin of error is 34% of the estimate | 72.4% ± 0.3 points | 65.0% ± 0.3 points |
| Owner households headed by someone 65 or older | 100.0% ± 47.1 pointsrough guide only: the margin of error is 47% of the estimate | 28.7% ± 0.1 points | 32.6% ± 0.2 points |
| Owners spending 30% or more of income on housing costs | Too imprecise to report (estimate 16.7%, margin of error ± 124.0 points) | 18.8% ± 0.2 points | 22.2% ± 0.1 points |
How to read these numbers
- These are estimates from a survey, not a count. The American Community Survey asks a sample of households. The ± figure is the Census Bureau’s margin of error: the true value is very likely within that range of the estimate. Small places have large margins.
- “Too imprecise to report” means the margin of error is at least half of the estimate, so printing the number would suggest accuracy that does not exist. A “rough guide only” note means the margin is a quarter to a half of the estimate.
- Property tax bill and home value are medians for owner-occupied homes. Half of the homes are above the figure and half below. A median bill is not the rate set by a city or town; the bill combines taxes levied by every local government that serves the home, such as the school district and county.
- “Calculated” rows are worked out by Untax the Roof from the Census figures above them. They compare two medians, so they describe the place, not a particular household.
- Missing is not zero. Where the Census Bureau publishes no figure, this page says so.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2019–2023: tables B25103 (real estate taxes), B25077 (home value), B19013 (household income), B01003 (population), B25003 (owners and renters), B25007 (age of householder), B25091 (housing costs as a share of income); see the Census ACS data page.
If property taxes go unpaid in Minnesota
How it works. Tax judgment sale to state followed by statutory redemption period and tax forfeiture; county later sells/retains tax-forfeited land under Chapter 282
Excess sale money. Current 282.005 creates a surplus-proceeds process: auction proceeds above minimum bid are available to interested parties; county must notify them within 60 days, claims generally are due within 6 months, and rights to surplus survive forfeiture. Unclaimed/invalid surplus returns to forfeited-tax-sale fund
These rules are set by Minnesota, not by Elbow Lake, so this section is the same for every place in the state. Last verified 2026-09-25. See the full Minnesota entry with statute links.
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