Affordable Storage Units in Austin

Moving and storage go hand in hand. Whether traveling across town or the country, moving is an exciting and fresh start. While Storage Rentals of America is here to help you with all your storage needs, we also want to help you get familiar with the area. That's why we put together this resource guide for Austin, Minnesota.

About Austin, MN

Austin is the county seat of Mower County near the Cedar River. The 2020 U.S. Census counted the population as 26,174. Austin is an affordable small town, voted one of the best small cities in America.

The city started when a trapper, Austin Nichols, first settled in the area by building the first log cabin in 1853. The settlement was named Austin in 1856 as more settlers came by wagon train. The Cedar River was the power source for the mills that were the first industries in the area, making flour and lumber. The town's growth was very slow for the first two decades until the railroad came in the late 1860s to ignite the area's economic development.

In 1891, George A. Hormel opened a small, family-operated butcher store that eventually became the Fortune 500 company Hormel Foods.

Austin is best known now for being the corporate headquarters of the Hormel Foods Corporation. Hormel is the area’s largest employer. For this reason, the town is nicknamed “SPAM® Town USA,” after the famous brand of canned pork meat.

What to do in Austin, MN

Austin is your place if you love a historical town with a modern urban lifestyle. Avoid making jokes about SPAM® if you want to get along well with the locals.

• Shopping: There are some interesting boutiques in the downtown area and two shopping centers, the Austin Town Center and the Sterling Shopping Center.
• Destination: The Jay C. Hormel Nature Center offers more than 10 miles of hiking/biking trails on a nature preserve of 500+ acres. Be sure to go up to the top of the Observation Tour to get a panoramic view of the park.
• Features: St. Augustine’s Catholic Church is an exquisite cathedral with beautiful stained-glass windows. The Hormel Historic Home is a nice place to hold a wedding ceremony. Everybody must visit the SPAM® museum at least once to pay respect to the Hormel family and their legacy.

Working in Austin, MN

Austin's local economy depends on food processing, health care, and tourism. The unemployment rate is 4.2%, lower than the national average of 6%. The median household income is $50,346 per year. Austin's predicted job growth rate over the next ten years is 29.7%. This rate is lower than the expected ten-year job growth of 33.5% for the USA. The average commute time is 15 minutes.

The most popular industries are food processing (17.0%), health care (10.6%), hospitality services (7.1%), education (6.1%), building construction (4.8%), administrative/support/waste management (4.3%), and public administration (3.6%).

Austin, MN Neighborhoods

Austin has a variety of neighborhoods to consider, including well-established areas and newly built contemporary buildings for luxury condos.

Here are the three best areas in the city:

• Austin Acres: The lovely Austin Acres area is on the southwestern side of the town. Most of the houses are owner-occupied. The median price for homes offered for sale is $289,540. This area is more expensive than about half of the other Minnesotan neighborhoods and 49.1% of other towns in America. The average rent is $1,162. Finding a home to rent may be challenging because the vacancy rate is only 2.6%.
• Austin West: This area is adjacent to Austin Acres but closer to the city's center. The homes have more modest prices, with a median sales price of $182,603. They are not quite as big as homes in Austin Acres and built on smaller lots. This area's rent is lower, with an average of $1,047 monthly. The vacancy rate is very low at 0.9%, making it difficult to find a place.
• Mapleview: This neighborhood covers the entire northern side of the town. For those on a tight budget, this area is worth considering. The median real estate price is $168,997. This amount is less expensive than 88.1% of other parts of Minnesota and 76.0% of all U.S. cities. The average rent is $1,102. The vacancy rate is 11.2 %, making finding a place much easier.

Austin, MN School District

There are 15 public schools in the Austin Public School District. The district spends around $14,945 per student each year. The student-to-teacher ratio is around 16 to one.

There are two private schools in the area with a total enrollment of about 420. The top-ranked private school is Pacelli Catholic Schools (PK to 12th grade).

For higher education, there is the two-year Riverland Community College in Austin and 74 colleges and universities within 100 miles of Austin. The nearest ones are in Rochester, MN, about 35 miles from Austin, including Crossroads College and the University of Minnesota.

Moving to Austin, MN

If you are moving to Austin, here is some information to help get your utilities turned on and get to know the community better.

Austin Utilities provides water, sewer, natural gas, and electricity. Use this link for your new service request. Various companies, including Metronet, Charter Communications, Starlink, Centurylink, and others provide TV, telephone, and Internet connections. More information is on the new resident info web page of the Austin city government’s website.

Austin Parks, Recreation, & Forestry maintains the public parks and forests, which are amazing.

The municipal government of Austin includes an elected mayor and a city council with seven council members.

Austin, MN Housing

The median home price in Austin is $169,900, which recently appreciated by 12.5% year-over-year. The moderate home prices are 40% below the national average. Lower housing costs positively influence Austin’s cost of living, which is 19% lower than the cost of living found in other communities in the state and 16% lower than the national average.