{"id":5127,"date":"2023-07-04T20:21:48","date_gmt":"2023-07-04T20:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=5127"},"modified":"2026-08-07T18:59:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T18:59:40","slug":"washington-county-minnesota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/washington-county-minnesota\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington County, Minnesota"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington County is a county in Minnesota, United States, on the eastern edge of the
\nMinneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, its border following the St. Croix River across
\nfrom Wisconsin. It had a population of 267,568 at the 2020 census, an estimated 286,895 by 2025,
\nand covers 384 square miles (990 km2) of land centred near 45°02′N 92°53′W.<\/p>\n

Stillwater is the county seat; its postal code is 55082. The county holds 25 cities, 6 organized
\ntownships and 5 unincorporated communities, and it runs on Central Time. Its FIPS code is 27163.<\/p>\n

Towns & Villages in Washington County<\/h2>\n

Washington County has 30 named places outside its six townships: 25 incorporated cities and 5
\nunincorporated communities with no city government of their own. Two more cities, Hastings and
\nWhite Bear Lake, have small edges that extend into the county but are seated and mostly populated
\nelsewhere, so they are not listed below as county places.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Place<\/th>\nType<\/th>\nPop.<\/th>\nZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Woodbury<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n75,102<\/td>\n55125<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cottage Grove<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n38,839<\/td>\n55016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oakdale<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n28,303<\/td>\n55128<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Forest Lake<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n20,611<\/td>\n55025<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stillwater<\/td>\nCity · seat<\/td>\n19,394<\/td>\n55082<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hugo<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n15,766<\/td>\n55038<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lake Elmo<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n11,335<\/td>\n55042<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mahtomedi<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n8,138<\/td>\n55115<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Saint Paul Park<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n5,544<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oak Park Heights<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n4,849<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bayport<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n4,024<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Scandia<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n3,984<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Grant<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n3,966<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Newport<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n3,797<\/td>\n55055<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Afton<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n2,955<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lakeland<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n1,710<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Marine on St. Croix<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n664<\/td>\n55047<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Birchwood Village<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dellwood<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lake St. Croix Beach<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lakeland Shores<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Landfall<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pine Springs<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Saint Marys Point<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Willernie<\/td>\nCity<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Arcola<\/td>\nUnincorp.<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Basswood Grove<\/td>\nUnincorp.<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Carnelian Junction<\/td>\nUnincorp.<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maple Island<\/td>\nUnincorp.<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Siegel<\/td>\nUnincorp.<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Under Minnesota law a city detaches from any surrounding township once it incorporates, so the
\ncounty’s 25 cities are not administratively part of the six townships listed below — they
\nare separate municipal governments in their own right, which is why this table has no township
\ncolumn. Nine of the smallest cities on the list, all under a few hundred residents, have not
\npublished a 2020 census count broken out separately in the sources checked for this page; their
\nZIP service comes from a larger neighbouring city rather than a code of their own.<\/p>\n

Townships<\/h2>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Township<\/th>\nPop. (2020)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
West Lakeland<\/td>\n3,976<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May<\/td>\n2,670<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Baytown<\/td>\n2,088<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stillwater<\/td>\n1,866<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Denmark<\/td>\n1,801<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Grey Cloud Island<\/td>\n283<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

The six townships sit around the incorporated cities rather than inside them: West Lakeland and
\nStillwater Township ring the city of Stillwater on its west and south sides, May and Baytown
\nTownship cover rural land north and east of Stillwater toward the St. Croix bluffs, Denmark
\nTownship is the county’s rural southeastern corner along the river, and Grey Cloud Island
\nTownship, the smallest, occupies an island and a strip of floodplain in the Mississippi River at
\nthe county’s southwest tip.<\/p>\n

Geography<\/h2>\n

Washington County lies in Minnesota’s east-central Twin Cities metro, bounded by the
\nMississippi River on the southwest and the St. Croix River on the east. Of its total area, 384
\nsquare miles are land and 38 square miles are water, about 9.1 percent — a high share for
\nthe region, driven by the two river corridors and Lake Elmo, White Bear Lake’s southern arm, and
\nForest Lake, the county’s largest inland lake. Afton State Park and William O’Brien State Park
\nboth sit along the St. Croix, preserving bluff and floodplain habitat that has otherwise given way
\nto suburban development closer to Saint Paul.<\/p>\n

Ramsey County lies to the west, Anoka County touches the county’s northwest corner, Chisago
\nCounty lies to the north, and Dakota County lies south across the Mississippi. Across the St.
\nCroix River to the east are St. Croix County and Pierce County, Wisconsin. Ramsey County<\/a>, Anoka County<\/a>, Chisago County<\/a> and Dakota County<\/a> all border Washington County
\ndirectly on the Minnesota side.<\/p>\n

Demographics<\/h2>\n

Washington County had a population of 267,568 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota’s
\nfifth-most populous county, and the latest estimate puts it near 286,895 residents by 2025.
\nWoodbury and Cottage Grove are by far the two largest communities, together holding more than
\n40 percent of the county’s population. Minnesota’s statewide median household income was $85,086
\nin 2023 (ACS), and Washington ranks among the state’s higher-income counties, reflecting its
\nposition as a Twin Cities suburban commuter county. Population density works out to about 697
\npeople per square mile of land, well above the statewide average and typical for a county inside
\nthe Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro ring.<\/p>\n

Economy & Local Life<\/h2>\n

Andersen Corporation, the window and door manufacturer headquartered in Bayport, is the
\ncounty’s largest private employer, with nearly 4,939 workers at its Washington County operations.
\nIndependent School District 833 (South Washington County Schools) is the second-largest employer,
\nand M Health Fairview’s Woodwinds hospital in Woodbury is a major regional health care employer.
\n3M has run a production facility in Cottage Grove since 1947, manufacturing adhesives, industrial
\npolymers and reflective sign materials. Lake Elmo Airport, a general-aviation field, sits near the
\ncounty’s geographic center. Stillwater’s historic downtown, lined with 19th-century brick
\ncommercial buildings above the St. Croix, draws visitors for its shops, riverboat cruises and the
\nLift Bridge, and the city’s Log Jam Days festival runs each July.<\/p>\n

History<\/h2>\n

Washington County was organized on October 27, 1849, one of the nine original counties of
\nMinnesota Territory, and was named for George Washington. Stillwater, settled in 1843 when four
\npartners formed the Stillwater Lumber Company, was incorporated as a city on March 4, 1854, the
\nsame day as Saint Paul. The county’s economy grew first from logging on the St. Croix River, which
\ncarried timber south from Wisconsin and northern Minnesota forests to sawmills at Stillwater and
\nMarine on St. Croix — the latter founded in 1839 as Marine Mills, site of the first
\ncommercial sawmill on the St. Croix.<\/p>\n

On August 26, 1848, delegates met at Stillwater for the Stillwater Convention, which drafted the
\npetition to Congress that led to the creation of Minnesota Territory the following year —
\nthe reason Stillwater is still called the birthplace of Minnesota. As logging declined through the
\nearly 1900s, the county shifted to agriculture, then to suburban growth after the interstate
\nhighway system reached the eastern Twin Cities in the 1960s and 1970s.<\/p>\n

Getting There<\/h2>\n

Interstate 94 crosses the county through Woodbury and Lake Elmo, Interstate 494 and Interstate
\n694 touch its western edge, and Interstate 35 runs along its northwestern corner near Forest Lake.
\nUS Routes 8, 10, 12 and 61 and Minnesota Highways 36, 95, 97, 120 and 244 also cross the county.<\/p>\n