Mankato is a medium-sized city located in the state of Minnesota. With a population of 45,140 people and 11 associated neighborhoods, Mankato is the 22nd largest community in Minnesota. Much of the housing stock in Mankato was built relatively recently. The construction of new real estate can often be taken as an indication that the local Mankato economy is robust, and that jobs or other amenities are attracting an influx of new residents. This seems to be the case in Mankato, where the median household income is $61,726.00.

Also of interest is that Mankato has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

A relatively large number of people in Mankato telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 7.95% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

In addition, Mankato is a major college town that has a very high percentage of its residents over 18 years old who are college students. Naturally, collegiate life has a major influence on local Mankato culture, lifestyle and entertainment options. Mankato really pulses to the beat of the academic calendar. In Mankato every fall, returning students reinvigorate the community, who you will notice are all over town, buying groceries, out with friends, and getting acquainted or re-acquainted with each other and Mankato. One of the beneficial effects that colleges provide is that they tend to be lasting institutions that deliver direct economic benefits to the local economy in the form of such things as jobs for faculty and staff, and spending by students. Mankato benefits directly from this.

Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Mankato spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 15.69 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.

The education level of Mankato citizens is very high relative to the national average among all cities (21.84%): 37.64% of adults in Mankato have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.

The per capita income in Mankato in 2018 was $31,757, which is lower middle income relative to Minnesota, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $127,028 for a family of four. However, Mankato contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Mankato is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Mankato home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Mankato residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Mankato include German, Norwegian, Irish, Swedish, and English.

The most common language spoken in Mankato is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and African languages.