Lake Elmo is a city in Washington County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, United States. The population was 11,335 at the 2020 census. According to 2022 census estimates, the population is 13,449. Much of the area within the city limits is still

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

, giving the city a rural appearance. After the city lost a lawsuit against the Metropolitan Council, a regional planning authority, the

Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court was first assemb ...

in 2005 ordered that it had to compile a plan in accordance with the Council's regional development guide. Lake Elmo's population is rapidly growing. It is projected to be over 21,000 by 2040.

History

The city took its name from nearby

Lake Elmo Lake Elmo is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 11,335 at the 2020 census. According to 2022 census estimates, the population is 13,449. Much of the area within the city limits is still farmland, givin ...

. Lake Elmo began with one farm in 1852 on the southwest corner of the intersection of what is now Manning Avenue and 30th Street, just southeast of downtown Lake Elmo and across the highway from the

Lake Elmo Airport Lake Elmo Airport is a public airport located just outside the city of Lake Elmo in Washington County, Minnesota, United States, about 12 miles The city also has a park commission and a planning commission. The park commission advises the city council on issues of development, improvement, and maintenance of the city's parks and trails. The planning commission makes recommendations about the Comprehensive Plan and amendments to the plan, site plans, subdivisions, conditional use permits, planning, zoning and sign regulations, open space preservation developments, and other planning-related issues. Council members are Mike Charles Cadenhead (mayor), Jeff Holtz, Katrina Beckstrom, Dale Dorschner, and Lisa McGinn. Planning Commission members are Charles Cadenhead (chair), Jeff Holtz, Jordan Graen, Kyle Risner, Brian Steil, Kathy Weeks, and Brandon Mueller. Park Commission members are John Ames, Jean Olinger, Barry Weeks, John Mayek, Isak Nightingale, and Steve Schumacher.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has an area of ; is land and is water.

Minnesota State Highway 36 Minnesota State Highway 36 (MN 36) is a highway in the U.S. state of Minnesota, which runs from its interchange with Interstate 35W (Minnesota), Interstate 35W (I-35W) in Roseville, Minnesota, Roseville and continues east to its ...

runs east–west along Lake Elmo's northern boundary.

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

runs east–west along Lake Elmo's southern boundary. County State-Aid Highway 14 serves as the main east-west route and County State-Aid Highway 17 as the main north-south route.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 8,069 people, 2,779 households, and 2,252 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 2,877 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.8%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% Native American, 3.3% Asian, 1.3% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.5% of the population. There were 2,779 households, of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 19.0% were non-families. 14.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.21. The median age in the city was 42.4 years. 27.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.9% were from 25 to 44; 34.6% were from 45 to 64; and 11% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.2% male and 49.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 6,863 people, 2,347 households, and 1,924 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 2,389 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.82%

, 0.38%

, 0.29% Native American, 1.75% Asian, 0.54% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.31% of the population. There were 2,347 households, out of which 41.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.4% were

living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.0% were non-families. 13.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.19. The population had 29.2% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $76,876, and the median income for a family was $84,562. Males had a median income of $56,667 versus $32,564 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $33,007. About 4.8% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.6% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Most of Lake Elmo is part of the Stillwater School District (#834). The city is home to Lake Elmo Elementary School and Oak-Land Middle School. Rasmussen College–Lake Elmo / Woodbury campus is in Lake Elmo and serves students in the surrounding areas. Rasmussen College is a career-focused, regionally accredited college that offers bachelor and associate degree programs. It focuses on programs in health sciences, nursing, criminal justice, technology and design, business, and early education.

Baytown Township Groundwater Plume

The primary source area for the Baytown Township Groundwater Plume Contamination

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

site is a property at 11325 Stillwater Boulevard in Lake Elmo. A metal-working facility used the property from 1940 to 1968. It is a Superfund site due to TCE

contamination Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that renders something unsuitable, unfit or harmful for the physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc. Types of contamination Within the scien ...

of a

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

aquifer used for local drinking water.