Housing in Hermantown, Minnesota

Hermantown's housing stock is the youngest in the Twin Ports by a wide margin, and it is the only local market where "new construction" is a category rather than an exception. The oldest layer is scattered farmhouses and 1950s and 1960s ranches on the section-line roads. The bulk of the city is 1970s through 2000s: split-entries, ramblers, walkout ramblers, and two-stories on large lots. The newest layer, and the one driving the price story, is contemporary two-story and modern-farmhouse construction in active subdivisions off Maple Grove Road and the connecting roads.

Practically, the range runs from older ranches and split-entries in the high $200,000s to new builds well above $500,000, with the typical home value near $435,540 as of May 2026 (Zillow, accessed 2026-08-13). Per square foot, at roughly $275 (Redfin, mid-2026), Hermantown is the second most expensive submarket in the region. What you are buying at that price is insulation, mechanicals, an attached garage, and a level lot, not architectural distinction.

The inspection list is different from the rest of this guide, because the stock is different. Radon testing is standard practice throughout the region given the bedrock, and slab and walkout construction makes it worth doing carefully. On unsewered outlying parcels, confirm the well and septic system, its age, its last pumping, and its compliance status, because not every address in the city is on municipal utilities. Look at drain tile and sump performance on walkout basements, which take runoff differently than a hillside foundation. Check for frost heave and settlement on level clay sites, and look at roof and eave detailing for ice-dam history, which is a Minnesota problem regardless of build year. On 1990s and 2000s houses, expect builder-grade windows, siding, and mechanicals reaching end of life, which is the most common surprise in this market.

Carrying costs: St. Louis County property taxes, plus Hermantown's own city levy and the ISD 700 school levy, which are separate from Duluth's and ISD 709's. Do not compare a Hermantown tax bill to a Duluth tax bill at the same assessed value and expect them to match. File for Minnesota homestead classification as an owner-occupant, which triggers the Homestead Market Value Exclusion and qualifies you for the state Property Tax Refund (Minnesota Department of Revenue, accessed 2026-08-13). Newer construction heats far more cheaply here than a 1915 Duluth bungalow, which is a real and often overlooked monthly offset to the higher purchase price.

One figure cuts against the new-construction picture and is worth knowing: 4.5% of Hermantown's housing units are manufactured or mobile homes, a larger share than in Cloquet, Proctor, or Esko. That is a small slice of an expensive market, but if you encounter one, treat it as a different kind of purchase rather than a cheaper version of the same one. Whether the unit is titled as real property affixed to owned land, or as personal property, determines what financing is available, and appraisal, insurance, and resale all differ from site-built stock.

Dominant styles: contemporary two-story, rambler and ranch, split-entry, walkout rambler, twin home, custom modern farmhouse. Watch for: radon (test given the bedrock and slab construction), well and septic on unsewered parcels, ice dams on low-slope roofs, frost heave on level clay sites, drain tile and sump on walkout basements, builder-grade finishes on 1990s and 2000s stock.

What the housing stock is

Share of housing units by structure type, summing to 99.9%. ACS 5-year 2023 estimates, Hermantown city, Minnesota (FIPS 27-28682), accessed 2026-08-13. This page covers a whole municipality, so the figures are taken at the Census place level, which follows the city limits exactly rather than approximating them with a best-fit tract.

Housing next door

The rest of the guide