Ramsey County, Minnesota

Ramsey County, Minnesota
Seal
Location in the state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
Founded	October 27, 1849
Named for	Alexander Ramsey
Seat	St. Paul
Largest city	St. Paul
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	170.13 sq mi (441 km²) 155.78 sq mi (403 km²) 14.36 sq mi (37 km²), 8.44%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	508,640 3,281/sq mi (1,267/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.ramsey.mn.us

Ramsey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, founded in 1849. As of 2010, the population was 508,640. Its county seat is St. Paul, which is also Minnesota's state capital. The county is named for Alexander Ramsey (W), the first governor of the Minnesota Territory. It is one of the 11 counties in the Minneapolis – Saint Paul Metropolitan Area, and is the smallest and most densely populated county in Minnesota, as well as one of the most densely populated counties in the United States.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 170.13 square miles (440.6 km²), of which 155.78 square miles (403.5 km²) (or 91.57%) is land and 14.36 square miles (37.2 km²) (or 8.44%) is water. It has been considered completely urbanized since the 1990 United States Census.

Major highways

Interstate 35E Interstate 35W Interstate 94 Interstate 694 U.S. Highway 10 U.S. Highway 52 U.S. Highway 61 Minnesota State Highway 5 Minnesota State Highway 13 Minnesota State Highway 36

Minnesota State Highway 51 Minnesota State Highway 96 Minnesota State Highway 120 Minnesota State Highway 149 Minnesota State Highway 156 Minnesota State Highway 280 County 49 (Rice Street/Hodgson Road) County 51 (Snelling Avenue) County 65 (White Bear Avenue)

Adjacent counties

• Anoka County (north)
• Washington County (east)
• Dakota County (south)
• Hennepin County (west)

National protected area

• Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	2,227		—
1860	12,150		445.6%
1870	23,085		90.0%
1880	45,890		98.8%
1890	139,796		204.6%
1900	170,554		22.0%
1910	223,675		31.1%
1920	244,554		9.3%
1930	286,721		17.2%
1940	309,935		8.1%
1950	355,332		14.6%
1960	422,525		18.9%
1970	476,255		12.7%
1980	459,784		−3.5%
1990	485,765		5.7%
2000	511,035		5.2%
2010	508,640		−0.5%
Source:

As of the census of 2000, there were 511,035 people, 201,236 households, and 119,936 families residing in the county. The population density was 3,281 people per square mile (1,267/km²). There were 206,448 housing units at an average density of 1,325 per square mile (512/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 77.37% White, 7.61% Black or African American, 0.83% Native American, 8.77% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 2.45% from other races, and 2.90% from two or more races. 5.28% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race, according to the Census 2000.

Age pyramid of county residents based on 2000 U.S. census data.

In terms of people who specified European ancestry in the 2005-2007 American Community Survey, the county was 31.2% German, 14.3% Irish, 11.3% Norwegian, 9.5% Swedish, 7.2% English, and 5.9% French and/or French Canadian. There is also a visible community of people of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, representing 2.9% of Ramsey County's population.

There were 201,236 households out of which 29.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.00% were married couples living together, 11.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.40% were non-families. 32.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.60% under the age of 18, 11.30% from 18 to 24, 30.70% from 25 to 44, 20.70% from 45 to 64, and 11.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,722, and the median income for a family was $57,747. (These figures had risen to $53,141 and $71,485, respectively, as of 2008.) Males had a median income of $39,806 versus $30,814 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,536. About 7.40% of families and 10.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.70% of those under age 18 and 6.80% of those age 65 or over.

Ramsey County Courthouse

County Commissioners

The county commission elects a chair who presides at meetings. Commissioners as of November 2011

District	Commissioner	In office since	Current term expires in January
1st	Tony Bennett	1997	2013
2nd	Jan Parker	1997	2013
3rd	Janice Rettman	1997	2013
4th	Toni Carter	2005	2013
5th	Rafael Ortega	1995	2013
6th	Jim McDonough	?	2013
7th	Victoria Reinhardt (Chair)	1997	2013

Cities and towns

Cities		Townships
Arden Hills Blaine † Falcon Heights Gem Lake Lauderdale Little Canada Maplewood Mounds View New Brighton	North Oaks North St. Paul Roseville Shoreview St. Anthony † St. Paul Spring Lake Park † Vadnais Heights White Bear Lake ‡	White Bear Township

† Based in another county, but partially extending into Ramsey County.
‡ A small part of this city extends into Washington County.

See also

• Ramsey County Library
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Ramsey County, Minnesota
• Ramsey County Sheriff Matt Bostrom

External links

• Ramsey County government website
• Ramsey County Historical Society