Washington County, MN

County Profile

276,238 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Washington County, MN.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

73out of 100
Area Score
Top 14% of 1,225 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 48% of 1,255 counties measured56
SchoolsTop 23% of 973 counties measured72
GrowthTop 21% of 1,226 counties measured66
Housing affordability638th of 1,255 counties measured93
Climate1135th of 1,254 counties measured55
Physical resilienceTop 12% of 1,255 counties measured87
AccessTop 26% of 1,255 counties measured91
Economic stabilityTop 2% of 1,255 counties measured97
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.4% and median household income $115,345, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published profiles.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published profiles, placing Washington County in the top 12% for physical resilience.

A major airport is 19 miles away, giving the area unusually direct access to the national air network.

At a glance

Population
276,238
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$115,345
Top 2% nationally
Density
718/sq mi
384.8 sq mi of land
Median age
39.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Washington County
Minnesota
Metro area
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
Nearest major airport
MSP
19 mi · Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain
Median home value
$422,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.4% is lower than 42% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment fell 1.9% over the past year, to 145,795 employed residents.

49% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 97% of measured US locations.

Household income is higher than at least 98% of measured US locations.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$2,183$115,345Top 2%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,151$56,954Top 3%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate5.1%Bottom 2%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute25.7 minTop 50%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher49.1%Top 3%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Employment145,795Top 19%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-0.9%Bottom 34%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.9%Bottom 22%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force152,492Top 19%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force participation68.3%Top 7%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)0.7%Top 18%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate4.4%Top 42%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/064.41.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.4% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
2021202220232024115k102k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $115,345 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides93,560$38,860
Retail Salespersons51,180$36,670
General and Operations Managers44,890$103,570
Registered Nurses43,600$103,040
Customer Service Representatives38,630$49,480
Fast Food and Counter Workers37,920$33,040

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

53% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 57% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.8 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
90
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.8
across all schools here
Math proficiency
53.5%
Top 11% in Minnesota
Reading proficiency
57.2%
Top 17% in Minnesota
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
STILLWATER AREA HIGH SCHOOLStillwater Area Public Schools2,65821.8
EAST RIDGE HIGH SCHOOLSouth Washington County Schools2,07224.4
Park High SchoolSouth Washington County Schools1,99221.2
Woodbury High SchoolSouth Washington County Schools1,94325.6
Forest Lake Area High SchoolForest Lake Public School District1,80524.7
Tartan Senior HighNorth St. Paul-Maplewood Oakdale1,68723.4
MAHTOMEDI SENIOR HIGHMAHTOMEDI PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT1,17520.6
LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOLSouth Washington County Schools1,16523.852%71%
WOODBURY MIDDLE SCHOOLSouth Washington County Schools1,16024.242%57%
Skyview Community MiddleNorth St. Paul-Maplewood Oakdale1,02916.357%62%
COTTAGE GROVE MIDDLE SCHOOLSouth Washington County Schools1,00516.532%52%
OLTMAN MIDDLE SCHOOLSouth Washington County Schools95619.542%47%

26.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Minnesota’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,710 takes 18% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.7 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
17.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.7×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,710
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$422,000
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income3.66Top 27%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate81.3%Top 14%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±100109,307Top 9%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$45$1,710Top 4%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,583$422,000Top 8%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.8%Top 40%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate3.4%Bottom 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
66/ 100
Top 21% of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2020 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 6% since 2020, reaching 283,960 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before.

At 7.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
1,983
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
7.2
Top 16% nationally
Year over year
+15%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
43.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024284k268k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
2020202120222023202420253k1k
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+9%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 83°F and January a low of 9°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 29.2 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 35, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station ST PAUL DOWNTOWN AP, 10.9 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.6"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index44.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation29.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low9°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high83°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10002024 calendar year
Median air quality index35.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing57°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
35
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
44
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

87 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are tornado, strong wind and hail.

Strong windElevated
HailElevated
TornadoModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: lightning, cold wave, inland flooding, winter weather, landslide, ice storm, wildfire, earthquake, drought.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Washington County records 2.2 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 8.2 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 12.5 per 100,000 residents in Washington County.

Homicide
2.2
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
8.2
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
12.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
11.8
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Washington County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Washington County rather than Washington County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes and full cost of living
No public source publishes either with national coverage and a method open enough to check. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 19 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-ChamberlainMSP19 mi11,006 ft
Chippewa Valley RgnlEAU70 mi8,101 ft
Rochester IntlRST80 mi9,034 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
73
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.