# Saint Paul, Minnesota *Agency record: capital city of Minnesota and seat of Ramsey County.* Saint Paul, often written St. Paul, is Minnesota's capital and the seat of Ramsey County.[^1] The 2020 census counted 311,527 residents, which ranks the city second among Minnesota cities and 69th nationally.[^1] Together with [[Minneapolis]] it anchors the Twin Cities metropolitan area, which the Wikipedia article puts at around 3.7 million people.[^1] The [[Minnesota State Capitol]] and the state's government offices stand on a hill beside downtown, above a bend in the [[Mississippi River]].[^1] The legislative assembly of the [[Minnesota Territory]] designated the Town of Saint Paul as its capital in November 1849, and the settlement kept town status until 1854.[^1] The city operates under a mayor–council system; Kaohly Her has held the office of mayor since 2026.[^1] ## History Burial mounds in what is now Indian Mounds Park point to Hopewell habitation roughly 2,000 years ago.[^2] The [[Mdewakanton]] band of the [[Dakota]] lived near those mounds at the village of Kaposia from the early 17th century until 1837.[^2] In 1767 the explorer [[Jonathan Carver]] recorded the Wakan Tipi in the bluff beneath the mounds.[^2] Following the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, Army Lieutenant [[Zebulon Pike]] obtained about 100,000 acres from the Dakota in 1805 for a fort.[^2] [[Fort Snelling]] was constructed in 1819 where the [[Minnesota River]] meets the Mississippi.[^2] Under the 1837 Treaty with the Sioux, tribal lands east of the Mississippi passed to the U.S. government, and Chief [[Little Crow]] III relocated Kaposia across the river onto Dakota land.[^2] The town took its name from a log chapel built by Lucien Galtier.[^1] Its rise came as the headquarters of James J. Hill's railroad holdings, including the transcontinental Great Northern Railway.[^1] Two works listed in the project's link catalogue bear on the city's past: a peer-reviewed article titled *"A citadel of crime": Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the O'Connor System*,[^12] and an AARP feature, *Before the Highway: Saint Paul, Minnesota*, listed with Marvin Anderson.[^13] The pack carries their titles only, not their findings. ## Geography The meeting of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, along with the bluffs on which the city is built, was shaped during the last ice age.[^3] The city lies in east-central Minnesota, with the Mississippi forming part of its boundary and Minneapolis to the west.[^3] Census Bureau figures cited in the article give a total area of 56.18 square miles: 51.98 of land and 4.20 of water.[^3] The Parks and Recreation department oversees 160 parks and 41 recreation centers, and the Trust for Public Land's 2018 ParkScore placed the system second nationally, behind Minneapolis.[^3] The city's [[Planning and Economic Development]] department divides it into 17 Planning Districts, set up in 1979 so neighborhoods could take part in governance and use Community Development Block Grants.[^3] ## Demographics The [[United States Census Bureau]]'s 2020 count recorded 311,527 residents at 5,994.0 per square mile, and 127,392 housing units.[^4] The census recorded the population as 50.5% White, 19.2% Asian, 16.8% Black or African American, 1.0% Native American, 4.8% other races and 7.6% two or more races; 9.7% were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry of any race.[^4] The 2020 count included 291 people held in adult correctional facilities and 5,640 in student housing.[^4] American Community Survey estimates for 2016–2020 put median household income at $59,717, median family income at $74,852 and per capita income at $32,779.[^5] By the same estimates, 17.9% of residents, including 27.0% of those under 18, lived below the poverty line.[^5] The 2010 census had counted 285,068 people in 111,001 households.[^5] ## Economy As of July 2008, the Minneapolis–Saint Paul–Bloomington area had 1,570,700 private-sector jobs.[^6] Ecolab and Securian Financial Group are among the companies headquartered in the city.[^6] 3M arrived in 1910 and built a headquarters in 1940; headquarters functions left for Maplewood in 1962, and the last Saint Paul manufacturing ended in 2009.[^6] Ford's Twin Cities Assembly Plant in Highland Park ran from 1924 until the end of 2011, and its site is being redeveloped as Highland Bridge with 3,800 planned housing units.[^6] The city has used tax increment financing to fund development and had 55 TIF districts in 2018; beneficiaries include the St. Paul Saints stadium and affordable housing along the Metro Green Line.[^7] In November 2021 voters approved a rent control ordinance capping annual increases at 3% and barring larger increases after a tenant moved out; the Wikipedia article describes Saint Paul as the only Midwestern city regulating rent increases.[^7] ## Government and politics The city uses a variant of the strong mayor–council form. The mayor, elected citywide, is chief executive and chief administrative officer; the seven council members are elected from seven wards of roughly equal population.[^8] Mayor and council serve four-year terms, and municipal elections use ranked choice voting.[^8] Kaohly Her, the current mayor, is a member of the DFL.[^8] Apart from Norm Coleman, who became a Republican during his second term, the city has not elected a Republican mayor since 1952.[^8] Ramsey County, for which Saint Paul is the seat, is named for [[Alexander Ramsey]], the state's first [[governor]], and is the only home rule county in Minnesota.[^9] Its seven-member Board of Commissioners appoints a county manager, and the nearby Law Enforcement Center houses the [[Ramsey County Sheriff's Office]].[^9] The capitol building was designed by Saint Paul resident Cass Gilbert.[^9] ## Education According to the Wikipedia article, only Boston exceeds Saint Paul nationally in higher education institutions per capita.[^10] Institutions in the city include the [[University of Minnesota]] St. Paul campus, [[Mitchell Hamline School of Law]], and members of the [[Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system]] such as Metropolitan State University and Saint Paul College.[^10] [[Saint Paul Public Schools]], the state's largest district, serves about 39,000 students in 82 schools and employs more than 6,500 teachers and staff.[^10] ## Transportation Interstate 35E carries north–south traffic and [[Interstate 94]] east–west traffic through the city.[^11] Downtown has a five-mile enclosed skyway network spanning 25 blocks.[^11] [[Metro Transit]] runs the METRO Green Line, an 11-mile light rail line between the two downtowns with 14 stations in Saint Paul.[^11] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Saint Paul, Minnesota* (revid 1380366210, retrieved 2026-10-26) — lead section: capital status, 2020 population and rank, metro size, capitol site, 1849 founding, Galtier chapel, James J. Hill, mayor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Paul,_Minnesota [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *Saint Paul, Minnesota*, "History" (revid 1380366210, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Hopewell mounds, Kaposia, Carver 1767, Pike 1805, Fort Snelling 1819, 1837 treaty. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Paul,_Minnesota [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *Saint Paul, Minnesota*, "Geography" (revid 1380366210, retrieved 2026-10-26) — confluence, boundaries, Census Bureau area, parks, ParkScore 2018, planning districts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Paul,_Minnesota [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *Saint Paul, Minnesota*, "Demographics — 2020 census" (revid 1380366210, retrieved 2026-10-26) — population, density, housing units, census race and ethnicity shares, group quarters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Paul,_Minnesota [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *Saint Paul, Minnesota*, "Demographics" (revid 1380366210, retrieved 2026-10-26) — ACS 2016–2020 income and poverty estimates; 2010 census counts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Paul,_Minnesota [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *Saint Paul, Minnesota*, "Economy" (revid 1380366210, retrieved 2026-10-26) — 2008 employment, headquartered firms, 3M dates, Ford plant and Highland Bridge. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Paul,_Minnesota [^7]: Wikipedia contributors, *Saint Paul, Minnesota*, "Economy — Housing" (revid 1380366210, retrieved 2026-10-26) — TIF districts in 2018 and 2021 rent control ordinance terms. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Paul,_Minnesota [^8]: Wikipedia contributors, *Saint Paul, Minnesota*, "Government and politics" (revid 1380366210, retrieved 2026-10-26) — form of government, terms, ranked choice voting, mayor's party, mayoral party history since 1952. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Paul,_Minnesota [^9]: Wikipedia contributors, *Saint Paul, Minnesota*, "Government and politics" (revid 1380366210, retrieved 2026-10-26) — Ramsey County naming, home rule status, county board, sheriff's office, capitol architect. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Paul,_Minnesota [^10]: Wikipedia contributors, *Saint Paul, Minnesota*, "Education" (revid 1380366210, retrieved 2026-10-26) — higher education per capita, institutions, Saint Paul Public Schools enrollment and staff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Paul,_Minnesota [^11]: Wikipedia contributors, *Saint Paul, Minnesota*, "Transportation" (revid 1380366210, retrieved 2026-10-26) — interstates, skyway, Metro Transit Green Line. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Paul,_Minnesota [^12]: ResearchGate, *"A citadel of crime": Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the O'Connor System* (peer-reviewed; date not in pack) — title as listed in the project's link catalogue (row S-285). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323522592_'A_citadel_of_crime'_Saint_Paul_Minnesota_and_the_O'Connor_System [^13]: AARP, *Before the Highway: Saint Paul, Minnesota* (date not in pack) — title and association with Marvin Anderson as listed in the project's link catalogue (row S-11305). https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/getting-around/info-2023/before-the-highway-rondo-saint-paul-minnesota-marvin-anderson.html