Scott County is a county in Minnesota, United States, in the southern part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. It had a population of 150,928 at the 2020 census and covers 368 square miles (953 km2) centred near 44°39′N 93°32′W.
Shakopee is the county seat, and its postal code is 55379. The county has eight incorporated cities, ten organized townships, and roughly a dozen smaller unincorporated communities, several of them former farm hamlets or mobile-home parks recorded in federal place-name records. Scott County keeps Central time along with the rest of Minnesota.
Towns & Villages in Scott County
Scott County has eight cities — Belle Plaine, Credit River, Elko New Market, Jordan, New Prague, Prior Lake, Savage and Shakopee — plus ten organized townships and a scatter of unincorporated hamlets that never grew large enough to incorporate. New Prague straddles the Scott/Le Sueur county line, so only part of its population falls inside Scott County. Credit River converted from a township to a city in the 2010s and no longer functions as a township.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shakopee | City · seat | — | 43,698 | 55379 |
| Prior Lake | City | — | 27,617 | 55372 |
| Savage | City | — | — | 55378 |
| Belle Plaine | City | — | — | 56011 |
| Jordan | City | — | — | 55352 |
| New Prague | City | — | — | 56071 |
| Elko New Market | City | — | — | 55020 / 55054 |
| Credit River | City | — | — | — |
| Blakeley | Unincorp. | Blakeley | — | — |
| Cedar Lake | Unincorp. | Cedar Lake | — | — |
| Helena | Unincorp. | Helena | — | — |
| Lydia | Unincorp. | Helena | — | — |
| Marystown | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Mudbaden | Unincorp. | Sand Creek | — | — |
| Spring Lake | Unincorp. | Spring Lake | — | — |
| St. Benedict | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| St. Patrick | Unincorp. | — | — | — |
| Union Hill | Unincorp. | Sand Creek | — | — |
A number of smaller localities from older federal place-name records also lie within the county but are too small or obscure to map to a current township with confidence: Baden, Barden, Eidswold, Glendale, Grainwood, Lawrence, Merriam and Port Cargill, along with several named mobile-home parks (Bonnevista Terrace, East Gate Estates, Jackson Heights, Mobile Manor, Valley Green, Valley Haven and Valley View Terrace). These are historic or informal names rather than incorporated places, and none carries a distinct ZIP code or reliable current population figure.
Townships
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Belle Plaine | — | — |
| Blakeley | — | Blakeley |
| Cedar Lake | — | Cedar Lake |
| Helena | — | Lydia |
| Jackson | — | — |
| Louisville | — | Port Cargill |
| New Market | — | — |
| Sand Creek | — | Union Hill, Mudbaden |
| Spring Lake | — | Spring Lake |
| St. Lawrence | — | Lawrence |
ZIP Codes
- 55379 — Shakopee
- 55372 — Prior Lake
- 55378 — Savage
- 56071 — New Prague
- 55352 — Jordan
- 56011 — Belle Plaine
- 55020 — Elko New Market
- 55054 — Elko New Market (also serves nearby rural New Market Township addresses)
Credit River, along with most of the county’s small unincorporated hamlets and mobile-home parks, has no dedicated ZIP code and is served by the postal address of the nearest city.
Geography
Scott County sits on the south side of the Minnesota River, which forms most of its northern boundary and separates it from Hennepin County. The terrain is a mix of river-bluff woodland along the Minnesota, rolling farmland in the southern townships, and a chain of glacial lakes — Prior Lake, Spring Lake and Cedar Lake among them — that shaped early settlement and now anchor much of the county’s recreation and suburban growth. Of the county’s 368 square miles, about 356 square miles (922 km2) are land and 12 square miles (31 km2) are water.
Scott County borders Hennepin County to the north, Dakota County to the east, Rice County to the southeast, Le Sueur County to the southwest, Sibley County to the west, and Carver County to the northwest.
Demographics
Scott County’s population was 150,928 at the 2020 census, spread across roughly 356 square miles of land for a density of about 424 people per square mile. Shakopee, the county seat, is the largest city at 43,698 residents; Prior Lake is the second-largest at 27,617. This profile has not independently verified a county-level median household income figure; for comparison, the 2023 American Community Survey put the Minnesota median at $85,086, and Scott County’s largely suburban, commuter-driven population places it among the state’s higher-income counties.
Economy & Local Life
Scott County’s economy is anchored by its position inside the Twin Cities commuter belt, with retail, logistics and healthcare employers concentrated around Shakopee, Savage and Prior Lake, alongside continued row-crop farming (corn and soybeans) in the county’s southern townships. Shakopee is home to Valleyfair amusement park and Canterbury Park, a Thoroughbred racetrack and card casino. Prior Lake hosts Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, operated by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, one of the region’s largest private employers.
History
Scott County was organized on March 5, 1853, and named for General Winfield Scott, a career U.S. Army officer. The land had been home to bands of the Mdewakanton Dakota (Santee Sioux) before an 1851 treaty opened the area to settlement; Shakopee, the future county seat, took its name from a Dakota chief, Shakʻpi. The county’s early economy centered on river trade along the Minnesota, with milling and farming towns like Belle Plaine and Jordan growing up along the rail lines that followed.
Getting There
Interstate 35 crosses the eastern part of the county and U.S. Highway 169 runs north–south through Shakopee and Jordan, connecting to a network of Minnesota state highways (13, 19, 21, 25, 41 and 282).
- Minneapolis — about 25 miles north
- Saint Paul — about 30 miles northeast
- Mankato — about 40 miles southwest
The nearest commercial airport is Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP), about 20 miles north of Shakopee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Scott County, Minnesota?
It is in the southern Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, south of the Minnesota River, between Hennepin and Le Sueur counties.
What is the population of Scott County?
150,928 at the 2020 census.
How big is Scott County?
368 square miles (953 km2) total, of which about 356 square miles (922 km2) is land.
What is the county seat of Scott County?
Shakopee is the county seat.
How many towns and cities are in Scott County?
Eight incorporated cities — Belle Plaine, Credit River, Elko New Market, Jordan, New Prague, Prior Lake, Savage and Shakopee — plus ten townships and several small unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Scott County?
55379 (Shakopee), 55372 (Prior Lake), 55378 (Savage), 56071 (New Prague), 55352 (Jordan), 56011 (Belle Plaine), and 55020 / 55054 (Elko New Market).
What is Scott County known for?
Valleyfair amusement park and Canterbury Park in Shakopee, and Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, are the county’s best-known destinations.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Minnesota.