County hub small town Minnesota

Washington County, MN

Aggregated demographic, housing, and geographic context for the 16 ZIP codes inside Washington County, drawn from public Census ACS and SimpleMaps data.

ZIP codes
16
in this county
Total population
247,656
across all listed ZIPs
Cities
13
distinct city/town names
Avg density
478
people / sq mi
Avg median income
household, ACS
Avg home value
owner-occupied

ZIP codes in Washington County

ZIPCityPopulationDensityMedian income
55125 Saint Paul 45,329 1,140
55016 Cottage Grove 38,162 490
55082 Stillwater 36,233 177
55128 Saint Paul 28,766 989
55129 Saint Paul 28,685 567
55038 Hugo 23,143 177
55042 Lake Elmo 11,935 185
55115 Saint Paul 8,889 564
55071 Saint Paul Park 5,739 443
55055 Newport 3,951 421
55073 Scandia 3,824 53
55003 Bayport 3,801 706
55043 Lakeland 3,562 365
55001 Afton 2,960 42
55047 Marine On Saint Croix 2,293 30
55090 Willernie 384 1,304

About Washington County

Counties are the workhorse unit of American local government — they administer property taxes, run the courts and sheriff’s office, manage many road and library systems, and in much of the country they collect public health and zoning data that ZIP codes don’t. Washington County in Minnesota contains roughly 16 ZIP codes spread across 13 distinct cities and unincorporated communities, with an aggregate population of about 247,656. Reading those ZIPs together at the county level smooths over neighborhood-by-neighborhood noise and surfaces the broader economic and demographic shape of the area. For block-level detail, drill into any individual ZIP profile or compare against the wider Minnesota index.

The average density across listed ZIPs sits at roughly 478, which classifies the county overall as a small town environment. That label is a generalization — nearly every county contains both a relatively dense core and quieter outlying ZIPs, and the gap between them is often what determines where you actually want to live or open a business. Average median household income in our enriched ZIPs lands near —, with average owner-occupied home values around —; both numbers move dramatically as you cross from one ZIP to the next, so use the table above as a sorting tool, not a verdict.

If you’re moving into Washington County, the county itself is also where most of your real-life paperwork will land — vehicle registration, voter registration, property recording, and school district enrollment in many states. Knowing the county that contains your prospective ZIP makes it much easier to look up the right tax assessor, election office, or school district website. Our relocation guide walks through the order in which to tackle these handoffs after a move.

For service-area planning, the county is also where most US business licensing and many sales-tax rules are administered. Service businesses scoping Washington County should pair this aggregate view with the individual ZIP profiles to identify the densest, highest-income pockets first, then expand outward along whatever transportation corridor matches their delivery model. For a wider commuter-shed view that crosses county lines, see the Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington metro hub.