County outline
Where Dakota County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 95.9% of Dakota County’s measured area and water for 4.1%. Its combined area converts to 1,520 square kilometers or approximately 375,603 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 562.563 | 1,457.031 | 360,040.3 |
| Water | 24.317 | 62.981 | 15,562.9 |
| Total | 586.88 | 1,520.012 | 375,603.2 |
How Dakota County compares
By original Census land area, Dakota County ranks #58 of 87 in Minnesota and #1838 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 0.834 times the Minnesota county-equivalent median of 674.6 square miles. It accounts for 0.7% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Minnesota ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Dakota County
The Census Bureau estimates that 457,710 people lived in Dakota County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #162 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #3 of 87 in Minnesota. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 439,886, the population has grown by 17,824 (+4.1%), compared with +2.2% for Minnesota as a whole.
With 562.6 square miles of land, that is 814 people per square mile (314 per km²), placing Dakota County #224 nationally for density and #4 in Minnesota. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Minnesota median is 27. Put another way, there are about 0.787 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 440,419 | 442,829 | 444,023 | 448,612 | 453,755 | 457,710 |
| Change | — | +2,410 | +1,194 | +4,589 | +5,143 | +3,955 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Dakota County
Dakota County is divided into 34 municipalities and townships. In Minnesota, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.
The most populous is Lakeville city, with 79,270 residents (17.3% of the county), and it is also the largest by land at 37 mi². The county seat, Hastings city, has 22,561 residents. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Rosemount city grew fastest since then (+24.3%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeville city | 79,270 | +14.1% | 37 | 6.6% |
| Eagan city | 67,109 | −2.5% | 31.2 | 5.5% |
| Burnsville city | 65,244 | +1.4% | 24.9 | 4.4% |
| Apple Valley city | 55,248 | −2% | 16.9 | 3% |
| Inver Grove Heights city | 36,873 | +3% | 27.9 | 5% |
| Rosemount city | 31,881 | +24.3% | 33.3 | 5.9% |
| Farmington city | 25,425 | +7.4% | 15.8 | 2.8% |
| Hastings cityCounty seat | 22,561 | +1.8% | 10.2 | 1.8% |
| West St. Paul city | 21,950 | +6.5% | 4.908 | 0.9% |
| South St. Paul city | 20,532 | −1.1% | 5.625 | 1% |
| Mendota Heights city | 11,475 | −1.7% | 9.075 | 1.6% |
| Empire city | 3,063 | −2.3% | 30.5 | 5.4% |
| Ravenna township | 2,282 | −2.9% | 20 | 3.6% |
| Eureka township | 1,358 | −1.2% | 34.1 | 6.1% |
| Castle Rock township | 1,346 | −0.5% | 35 | 6.2% |
Show the other 19 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vermillion township | 1,257 | −2.5% | 34 |
| Northfield city | 1,248 | −0.9% | 1.526 |
| Marshan township | 1,112 | −3.3% | 34.3 |
| Lilydale city | 845 | −3.5% | 0.553 |
| Nininger township | 831 | −3.3% | 13.3 |
| Hampton township | 819 | −1.8% | 34.5 |
| Greenvale township | 774 | −3% | 27.1 |
| Randolph township | 752 | −1.3% | 8.945 |
| Douglas township | 738 | −1.5% | 34 |
| Hampton city | 714 | −3.6% | 1.231 |
| Sunfish Lake city | 522 | −0.2% | 1.499 |
| Waterford township | 515 | −3.7% | 14.6 |
| Sciota township | 463 | +1.5% | 14.6 |
| Randolph city | 460 | −1.1% | 0.953 |
| Vermillion city | 428 | −3.8% | 0.985 |
| Mendota city | 269 | +44.6% | 0.265 |
| Coates city | 137 | −4.9% | 1.498 |
| Miesville city | 128 | −5.2% | 1.747 |
| New Trier city | 81 | −3.6% | 0.188 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Dakota County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Dakota County is a central county of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its 15 county equivalents have 3,790,295 residents on 7,047.6 square miles of land; Dakota County accounts for 8% of the land and 12.1% of the residents. By combined land it ranks #26 of 393 metropolitan areas, and #16 by population. It belongs to the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI Combined Statistical Area.
| County equivalent | Population 2025 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|
| Hennepin County | 1,284,784 | 554 |
| Ramsey County | 541,623 | 152.3 |
| Dakota County | 457,710 | 562.6 |
| Anoka County | 381,605 | 422 |
| Washington County | 286,895 | 384.8 |
| Scott County | 159,017 | 356.1 |
| Wright County | 157,559 | 661.2 |
| Carver County | 114,379 | 353.9 |
| Sherburne County | 104,194 | 432.9 |
| St. Croix CountyWisconsin | 98,276 | 722.2 |
| Chisago County | 59,142 | 414.9 |
| Isanti County | 44,386 | 435.8 |
| Pierce CountyWisconsin | 43,519 | 574 |
| Le Sueur County | 29,453 | 448.8 |
| Mille Lacs County | 27,753 | 572.3 |
ZIP codes
22 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Dakota County; 19 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
55009550245503155033550445505755065550685507555076550775508555089551185512055121551225512355124551505530655337
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Dakota County
Dakota County shares a land border with 7 county equivalents, including 1 in Wisconsin. It has more land than 5 of them. The largest neighbor is Goodhue County (756.7 mi²) and the smallest is Ramsey County (152.3 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Dakota County forms a block of 3,836.2 mi² of land, of which it holds 14.7%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Dakota | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goodhue County | 756.7 | 1.3× larger | Compare |
| Pierce CountyWisconsin | 574 | about the same | Compare |
| Hennepin County | 554 | about the same | Compare |
| Rice County | 495.8 | 1.1× smaller | Compare |
| Washington County | 384.8 | 1.5× smaller | Compare |
| Scott County | 356.1 | 1.6× smaller | Compare |
| Ramsey County | 152.3 | 3.7× smaller | Compare |
How big is Dakota County compared with U.S. states?
Dakota County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 1.8 times as much. Minnesota’s county land could hold about 142 areas the size of Dakota County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 23.7 miles (38.2 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Dakota County?
Dakota County has more land than 1,384 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Dakota County at #1,791 nationally by total area, 47 places closer to the top than its land rank. The water assigned to this geography moves it ahead of some county equivalents with more land.
Its water share is 4.1%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 3 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Dakota County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1837 | Washington County, Illinois | 562.6 | Compare |
| #1838 | Dakota County, Minnesota | 562.6 | This county |
| #1839 | Kalamazoo County, Michigan | 562 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 44.670893, -93.062481. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 1,457,031,073 m²; AWATER: 62,980,948 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Dakota County?
Dakota County, Minnesota has 562.6 square miles (1,457 km²) of land and 24.3 square miles of water, for a total area of 586.9 square miles. It ranks #1838 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Dakota County the largest county in Minnesota?
No. Dakota County ranks #58 of 87 in Minnesota by land area. The largest is St. Louis County, with 6,248.1 square miles of land.
What counties border Dakota County?
Dakota County shares a land border with Goodhue County, Washington County, Scott County, Rice County, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, and Pierce County, Wisconsin.
What is the population of Dakota County?
The Census Bureau estimates Dakota County had 457,710 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #162 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 814 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Dakota County?
The county seat of Dakota County is Hastings.
What cities and towns are in Dakota County?
Dakota County has 34 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Lakeville city, Eagan city, Burnsville city, Apple Valley city, and Inver Grove Heights city.
Is Dakota County part of a metropolitan area?
Yes. It is a central county of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has 15 county equivalents and 3,790,295 residents.
How many ZIP codes are in Dakota County?
22 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Dakota County, and 19 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Dakota County compare with U.S. states?
It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 1.8 times as much land.
How many acres of land are in Dakota County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 360,040 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 375,603 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.