It's no secret that the cost of living has been increasing over the past few years. While inflation rates have been coming down recently, ever since the pandemic four years ago, prices for everything from groceries to gasoline have been putting a strain on many household budgets across the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Just to back that up, financial firm JP Morgan Chase, said that the September 2024 Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed inflation did fall to 2.4 percent in Minnesota and across the country in September. But that report also stated that core aspects of the CPI actually increased from August to September.

So, it was good news that thousands of Minnesotans are in line for a raise in their monthly income, a cost-of-living increase that should help stretch those dollars as we head into 2025.

That was the word from the Social Security Administration, which just announced that Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for more than 72.5 million Americans will increase 2.5 percent in 2025.

If you're curious about just how many residents of the North Star State will be affected by that increase, according to Social Security records, an estimated over one million Minnesotans received Social Security benefits in 2023. That's a sizeable amount, considering the overall population of the Gopher State is approximately 5.76 million.

When are you eligible for Social Security payments in Minnesota? The agency says you can receive your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. However, you are entitled to full benefits only when you reach your full retirement age of 67 for anyone born after 1960.

While any increase in income is good news, this increase isn't quite as big as last year's. That's because the annual increase is tied to the inflation rate, so the 2025 increase is slightly less than Social Security recipients received this year when the increase was 3.2 percent increase heading into 2024.

Minnesotans collecting Social Security payments in 2025 might also note some other changes. Some adjustments set to take effect in January are based on the increase in average wages. And according to that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) is slated to increase to $176,100 from $168,600, the release said.

If you or someone you know is affected by these changes, the Social Security Administration said it will begin notifying people about their new benefit amount individually by mail starting in early December.

And while any increase in income is welcome news, many property owners in Minnesota will also likely see an increase in their property taxes as well. Keep scrolling to check out the 10 counties here in the Bold North where taxes are the highest!