Most Densely Populated Cities in Minnesota: Ranked by People per Square Mile

The densest city in Minnesota in our data is Minneapolis, MN, with about 7,954 people per square mile, followed by Columbia Heights, MN (6,027) and St. Paul, MN (5,926). This list ranks the top 50 places among the 150 Minnesota communities with at least 5,000 residents.

What are the top 50 in Minnesota?

How dense are the cities in Minnesota?

The densest place is about 5 times as dense as the median place in the state, which has about 1,659 people per square mile. At the other end, Hibbing, MN has about 85. Under our scale, 5 places are an urban core (over 5,000 per square mile), 108 are suburban, and the rest are small towns or rural. Hennepin County contributes 17 of the top 50.

Which counties do the top 50 belong to?

The 50 places on this list are spread across 15 counties of Minnesota. Hennepin County has 17 (Minneapolis, Richfield, Robbinsdale, St. Louis Park, Hopkins, New Hope, St. Anthony, Cryst); Ramsey County has 10 (St. Paul, North St. Paul, New Brighton, Mounds View, White Bear Lake, Roseville, Little Ca); Anoka County has 5 (Columbia Heights, Spring Lake Park, Coon Rapids, Fridley, Anoka). Counties with several entries are usually centers of a metropolitan area, where one large city is surrounded by many suburbs that each pass the 5,000-resident threshold.

How does Minnesota compare with the rest of the country?

The median Minnesota place with a page has about 15,561 residents, compared with about 13,459 nationwide, so the state's typical community is larger than the national typical place. Minneapolis, MN ranks 16th among all US places by estimated population in our data. The state has 896 communities in total, of which 150 reach 5,000 residents. See the national ranking of the largest cities for comparison.

Quick answers about Minnesota cities

• Which is the densest city in Minnesota? Minneapolis (7,954 per square mile).
• How many Minnesota cities have more than 100,000 people? 5 in our data.
• How many have 25,000 to 100,000? 41.
• What is the typical size? About 15,561 residents for a place with a page.

How is this ranking made?

The data comes from the SimpleMaps US Cities Database, which gives each place an estimated population and a density in people per square kilometer. We convert density to people per square mile and rank the places with at least 5,000 residents. Boundaries matter: a city that includes large parks or farmland scores lower on density than a compact city of the same size, and population estimates can include areas that share a city's ZIP codes. Read why population figures differ and how density is calculated before you quote a number.

Where to go next

Rankings use dataset estimates, not official counts.