Ericsson

Ericsson is a residential neighborhood in south Minneapolis, bounded roughly by East 42nd and 43rd streets to the north, Hiawatha Avenue to the east, Minnehaha Parkway to the south, and Cedar Avenue to the west. It covers a little under a square mile and had about 3,400 residents at the 2020 Census. Lake Hiawatha lies entirely inside the neighborhood, Minnehaha Creek runs east through its southern third, and Lake Nokomis is just across the parkway to the south-southwest.

Ericsson borders Standish to the north, Hiawatha across Hiawatha Avenue to the east, Keewaydin and Minnehaha across the parkway to the south, and Northrop across Cedar to the west. It's part of the Nokomis community, and it shares a neighborhood association with Standish. The old Ericsson school on 31st Avenue South carried the same name; its building now houses Northrop Elementary.

What defines Ericsson is its quietness — not the quietness of a neighborhood that's empty or declining, but the quietness of a place that is simply, steadily residential. There's no commercial district — just a few small clusters of businesses, including a grocery store on Cedar just north of the parkway, a brewery by the 46th Street light rail station, and a bar on 34th Avenue. There is a lake, a park, a golf course, a school, houses, trees, and the daily accumulation of small routines that make a place livable. Ericsson is the Minneapolis neighborhood that doesn't try to be anything other than a good place to live — and for the people who find it, that turns out to be the whole point.

Before European settlement, this land was Dakota homeland — part of the territory stretching across what is now southern Minnesota, including the lakes, creeks, and prairies that defined the region's geography. The Dakota people inhabited this landscape for centuries before a series of treaties, from 1805 to 1858, ceded it to the United States, and before most Dakota were forcibly removed from Minnesota in 1863.

The area that would become Ericsson developed later than the neighborhoods closer to downtown and the Chain of Lakes. While those areas were filling in during the 1900s and 1910s, Ericsson's blocks were built out primarily through the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and into the 1950s. The housing stock reflects this extended timeline: Craftsman bungalows, Cape Cods, ramblers, and early postwar homes sit side by side, giving the neighborhood a mixed but cohesive character. These were modest homes built for modest budgets — working-class and middle-class families who wanted a house with a yard and a school nearby.

Lake Hiawatha was called Rice Lake until the Park Board renamed it in 1925. Dredging of the lake and construction of the golf course began in 1929; the dredging was finished in 1931, and the beach on the east shore opened that year. The first nine holes of Hiawatha Golf Course opened on July 30, 1934, and the full course the next summer. Northrop Elementary has occupied the old Ericsson school building on 31st Avenue since 2005.

For most of its history, Ericsson has been a working- and middle-class neighborhood. Its makeup has shifted over the decades, and today Ericsson is modestly more diverse than it was a generation ago, though it remains predominantly white and homeowning.

Living in Ericsson is an exercise in appreciating the unremarkable. The streets are quiet. The houses are modest — well-maintained bungalows and Cape Cods and ramblers with deep lots, alley garages, and front porches that people actually use. The tree canopy is decent. Kids ride bikes on sidewalks that are cracked in places but functional everywhere. There is nothing here that would make a real estate photographer pause, and nothing here that would make a resident apologize. It's just a neighborhood, doing neighborhood things.

The demographic skews toward long-term homeowners — about five households in six own, by Census estimates — with a mix that's gradually becoming more diverse. The economic profile is comfortably middle-class: Census estimates put the median household income at about $114,000, against about $81,000 citywide. People who do real jobs and own real houses and don't think of themselves as living in a "neighborhood" with a brand — just a place with an address and a block and a park.

Lake Hiawatha Park is the community anchor — a rec center, a playground, ball fields, a beach, and winter ice rinks, with the golf course alongside the lake. The park is where you meet the neighbors and where the kids play after school. Lake Nokomis is just across Minnehaha Parkway — the beaches, the trails, the summertime scene — and having both lakes this close is one of Ericsson's quiet advantages.

Ericsson has very little commercial activity within its boundaries. Most of the neighborhood is residential, and what there is sits in small clusters — on Cedar just north of the parkway, and on the east side, near 46th Street and the light rail station. For most dining, residents head beyond its edges. This is the reality of living in one of south Minneapolis's quieter residential pockets.

Ericsson's outdoor story has two parts: the lake and creek inside the neighborhood, and the bigger lake just across the parkway.

Northrop Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in the former Ericsson school building at 4315 31st Avenue South. Despite the name, it sits in Ericsson, not in the Northrop neighborhood across Cedar — the school moved into the Ericsson building in 2005. It's walkable from most addresses in the neighborhood.

Nearby Minneapolis Public Schools middle and high schools include Sanford Middle School and Roosevelt High School. Assignments depend on the address, so check the MPS school boundary map for a specific block. Roosevelt has undergone investment and renovation in recent years and continues to evolve.

The school community in Ericsson is becoming more diverse — reflecting broader demographic shifts in south Minneapolis.

Ericsson's median sale price was $390,000 in 2025, up from $340,000 in 2024, according to Minneapolis Area REALTORS — above the citywide median of $350,000, but below the Southwest Minneapolis neighborhoods. That price point, combined with Lake Hiawatha, the creek, and Lake Nokomis across the parkway, makes Ericsson a strong value proposition for first-time buyers and families.

The housing stock is predominantly single-family homes from the interwar and early postwar periods. Craftsman bungalows, Cape Cods, ramblers, and the occasional Foursquare make up the majority of the inventory. Lots are reasonable, and most homes have the alley-access garages, deep backyards, and front porches that characterize south Minneapolis residential architecture. The rental stock is minimal — most homes are owner-occupied, giving the neighborhood a settled, invested character.

Homes sell quickly — 18 days on market on average in 2025, against 55 citywide, and sellers received, on average, a little more than their original asking price — reflecting strong demand at the price point. The market is competitive for well-maintained homes.

Ericsson earns a Walk Score of 70, though the neighborhood is primarily residential, with little commercial activity within its boundaries. For groceries and most services, residents head to the stores on Cedar near the parkway, or drive, bike, or take transit out of the neighborhood.

The Bike Score of 85 reflects good cycling infrastructure and the connections to the Lake Nokomis trail and the broader south Minneapolis bike network. Biking is the practical way to take advantage of the lakes and the creek trail connections.

By car, downtown Minneapolis is 15–20 minutes, and MSP airport is closer, straight down Hiawatha Avenue on the neighborhood's east edge. The METRO Blue Line runs along Hiawatha and stops at 46th Street station, inside Ericsson — trains go north to downtown and south to the airport, four stops away. Route 46 comes in along 42nd Street and 34th Avenue to the station, and Route 22 runs on 28th Avenue South. The east side of the neighborhood is light-rail territory; on the blocks out toward Cedar, most residents still rely on a car.

Ericsson is a stable neighborhood, and the changes here are incremental rather than dramatic. But they're worth noting.