Farmington is tops in picket-fence suburban families. Hastings leads in cohabitation.

Eagan has the most educated populace. Lakeville is king of McMansions, with lots of cars per family.

These are among the findings, for the larger Dakota County cities, of the latest round of U.S. Census population surveys.

The findings in differing categories underscore the need for multiple vantage points in evaluating where a suburb stands compared to its peers.

Case in point: Farmington, which ranks second from the top in median household income, thanks no doubt to two-income families. But it's second from the bottom in truly affluent families — those earning $200,000 and up, who can afford to live closer in.

The period covered is three years, from 2010 to 2012, and there are margins of error; any figures that are quite close together are effectively the same.

Here are some of the findings:

Married couple, own children under 18 years

Farmington40.5%

Lakeville37.8%

Rosemount35.2%

Eagan25.0%

Apple Valley23.7%

Hastings20.8%

Burnsville18.9%

I.G. Heights18.1%

S.St. Paul15.3%

Younger than 18

Farmington32.5%

Rosemount31.6%

Lakeville30.9%

Eagan25.5%

Apple Valley25.4%

Hastings24.3%

I.G. Heights24.0%

Burnsville23.0%

S.St. Paul22.5%

Four-year degrees

Eagan49.8%

Apple Valley45.5%

Lakeville45.3%

Rosemount39.6%

Burnsville34.5%

Farmington33.6%

I.G. Heights31.2%

Hastings26.1%

S.St. Paul22.6%

Households THAT EARN $200,000+

Eagan12.0%

Lakeville10.7%

Apple Valley8.1%

Rosemount6.8%

I.G. Heights6.4%

Hastings5.8%

Burnsville5.3%

Farmington2.0%

S.St. Paul1.1%

MGMT, business, ARTS AND science occupations

Eagan46.8%

Lakeville45.5%

Rosemount45.0%

Apple Valley43.4%

Farmington43.4%

I.G. Heights37.7%

Burnsville37.3%

Hastings31.7%

S.St. Paul28.3%

Median household income (dollars)

Lakeville$91,827

Farmington86,309

Rosemount83,142

Eagan78,093

Apple Valley74,635

Hastings63,791

I.G. Heights61,729

Burnsville60,806

S.St. Paul55,362

Homes with 9 rooms & up

Lakeville32.1%

Rosemount26.7%

Eagan25.5%

Apple Valley23.3%

Burnsville19.7%

Farmington19.4%

Hastings17.3%

I.G. Heights15.5%

S.St. Paul10.6%

Three cars or more

Lakeville25.0%

Farmington23.0%

Eagan19.5%

Hastings19.4%

Apple Valley18.6%

Burnsville18.3%

I.G. Heights18.1%

Rosemount18.0%

S.St. Paul14.2%

David Peterson • 952-746-3285