Ramsey County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 552,352, making it the state's second-most populous county, and was estimated to be 541,623 in 2025. Its county seat and largest city is Saint Paul, the state capital and the twin city of Minneapolis. The county was founded in 1849 and is named for Alexander Ramsey, the first governor of the Minnesota Territory. Ramsey County is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul–Bloomington, MN–WI Metropolitan statistical area. It is Minnesota's smallest and most densely populated county, as well as the 38th-most densely populated county in the United States in 2010.
History With the establishment of the Minnesota Territory in 1849, nine counties, including Ramsey County, were created. In 1849, Ramsey County included all of what later became the present-day counties of Ramsey, Anoka, Isanti, and Kanabec, as well as parts of Washington, Pine, Carlton, Aitkin, Mille Lacs, and Hennepin. One of Ramsey County's early settlers was Heman Gibbs, whose farm is now the Gibbs Museum of Pioneer and Dakotah Life (Gibbs Farm) in Falcon Heights. Ramsey County remained largely farmland until small villages began to appear in the late 19th century, with the incorporation of North St. Paul in 1887, New Brighton in 1891, and White Bear Lake in 1921.
Government and politics Ramsey County is overwhelmingly Democratic in presidential elections, not having voted for a Republican presidential nominee since 1924. In 2020, Democratic nominee Joe Biden received the largest share of the vote for any candidate in the county's history, with over 71%.
County sheriff The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office was established in the old Minnesota Territory in 1849. The current sheriff is Bob Fletcher, who was elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022. The Ramsey County sheriff is elected to a four-year term in an election concurrent with the federal midterm elections.
The sheriff's office provides patrol and investigation for communities without local police forces and is available as backup for all communities. In addition to enforcing the law, the office provides town police services under contract to Arden Hills, Falcon Heights, Little Canada, North Oaks, Shoreview, Vadnais Heights, and White Bear Township.
The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office provides a number of unique services as mandated by law. This includes detention for court and other court services, safety, rescue, and law enforcement on the waterways. The office provides safety classes and coordinates community volunteer efforts. It is responsible for the county jail, more officially the Adult Detention Center, which can hold 500 prisoners and has a staff of about 150.
Community Law enforcement Fire protection AmbulanceArden Hills Ramsey County Sheriff Lake Johanna Fire Allina Medical TransportFalcon Heights Ramsey County Sheriff Saint Paul Fire Saint Paul FireGem Lake White Bear Lake Police White Bear Lake Fire White Bear Lake FireLauderdale Saint Anthony Police Saint Paul Fire Saint Paul FireLittle Canada Ramsey County Sheriff Little Canada Fire & Rescue Allina Medical TransportMaplewood Maplewood Police Maplewood Fire Maplewood FireMinnesota State Fairgrounds Minnesota State Fair Police Saint Paul Fire Saint Paul FireMounds View Mounds View Police SBM Fire Allina Medical TransportNew Brighton New Brighton Police Division New Brighton Fire Division Allina Medical TransportNorth Oaks Ramsey County Sheriff Lake Johanna Fire Allina Medical TransportNorth Saint Paul North Saint Paul Police North Saint Paul Fire Lakeview Emergency MedicalRoseville Roseville Police Roseville Fire Allina Medical TransportSaint Anthony Saint Anthony Police Saint Anthony Fire Hennepin EMSSaint Paul Saint Paul Police Saint Paul Fire Saint Paul FireShoreview Ramsey County Sheriff Lake Johanna Fire Allina Medical TransportUniversity of Minnesota-St. Paul University Police Saint Paul Fire Saint Paul FireVadnais Heights Ramsey County Sheriff Vadnais Heights Fire Allina Medical TransportWhite Bear Lake White Bear Lake Police White Bear Lake Fire White Bear Lake FireWhite Bear Township Ramsey County Sheriff White Bear Lake Fire White Bear Lake Fire
County attorney The Ramsey County attorney prosecutes felony crimes committed within the jurisdiction of Ramsey County. The current county attorney is John Choi, who was elected in 2010 and reelected in 2014, 2018, and 2022.
County commissioners The county commission elects a chair who presides at meetings. Commissioners as of February 24, 2025, are:
District Commissioner Assumed office Current term ends 1st Tara Jebens-Singh January 6, 2025 January 1, 2029 2nd Mary Jo McGuire (vice chair) January 6, 2013 January 1, 2029 3rd Garrison McMurtrey February 24, 2025 January 4, 2027 4th Rena Moran January 2, 2023 January 4, 2027 5th Rafael E. Ortega (board chair) 2014 January 4, 2027 6th Mai Chong Xiong January 2, 2023 January 4, 2027 7th Kelly Miller January 6, 2025 January 1, 2029
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (10.44%) is water. It is Minnesota's smallest county by area, and has been considered completely urbanized since the 1990 census.
Adjacent counties Anoka County (north) Washington County (east) Dakota County (south) Hennepin County (west)
National protected area Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (part)
Transportation Rail Ramsey County is a major freight hub along BNSF's Northern Transcon route and is also served by Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific.
Amtrak offers daily intercity passenger rail service on the Empire Builder from Union Depot in Saint Paul. Light rail service is provided by Metro, a light rail and bus rapid transit system operated by Metro Transit that connects several communities in Ramsey and Hennepin Counties. The Metro Green Line connects Union Depot to Target Field station in Minneapolis, in neighboring Hennepin County.
Road Ramsey County is served by several interstate highways, including Interstate 35 and Interstate 94. I-35 has two routes through Ramsey County. I-35E enters the county from Dakota County to the south and proceeds north through Saint Paul, where it intersects I-94, then continues north to Little Canada, where it briefly joins with I-694 before continuing north through Vadnais Heights to Washington County. I-35W crosses from Minneapolis to the west through Saint Anthony before turning north through New Brighton, where it intersects I-694, and then to Anoka County, where it goes on to rejoin I-35E in Washington County.
Near the western edge of the county, I-94 enters from Minneapolis where it runs almost parallel to University Avenue until it meets I-35E in Saint Paul and continues east to Washington County. I-494 passes through the southeast corner of the county between Dakota and Washington Counties. From Anoka County in the west, I-694 takes a path through New Brighton, where it meets I-35W, to the junction with I-35E in Little Canada and finally to Washington County in the east.
Ramsey County is also accessible by several U.S. Highways, in particular US 10, US 52, and US 61. US 10 enters from Washington County in the south and continues north to meet I-94 just east of Saint Paul where it turns west to run concurrently with I-94, I-35E, I-694, and finally I-35W before continuing northwest to Anoka County. US 52 runs from South Saint Paul in Dakota County north to downtown Saint Paul where it meets I-94 and turns west to run concurrently with it all the way to the North Dakota border. From the south, US 61 runs concurrently with US 10 and then I-94 until it continues northeast on surface streets through the East Side of Saint Paul. From Saint Paul, US 61 continues north through Maplewood and White Bear Lake before crossing the border into Washington County.
In addition to these federal highways, Ramsey County is served by several Minnesota State Highways, including MN 36 and MN 51, which are divided highways for much of their length.
The county also has jurisdiction over 264.108 miles of County State Aid Highways as well as 21,031 miles of county roads and 59 bridges maintained and monitored by the county's Public Works Department.
Major highways
Interstate 35E Interstate 35W Interstate 94 Interstate 694 U.S. Highway 10 U.S. Highway 12 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 120 Minnesota State Highway 149 Minnesota State Highway 280 County Road 30 (Larpenteur Avenue) County Road 34 (University Avenue) County Road 36/37 (Shepard Road/Warner Road) Other county roads
Air The primary airport serving Ramsey County is Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, in neighboring Hennepin County. The only airport in Ramsey County is Saint Paul Downtown Airport, a smaller commercial airport with three runways primarily used for general aviation and military operations., effective December 7, 2017.
Demographics
As of the third quarter of 2024, the median home value in Ramsey County was $329,720.
As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 219,075 estimated households in Ramsey County with an average of 2.41 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $81,004. Approximately 11.9% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Ramsey County has an estimated 68.7% employment rate, with 45.5% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 91.5% holding a high school diploma.
The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (76.5%), Spanish (5.3%), Indo-European (2.1%), Asian and Pacific Islander (10.6%), and Other (5.4%).
Racial and ethnic composition Ramsey County, Minnesota – racial and ethnic composition Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic) Pop. 1980 Pop. 1990 Pop. 2000 Pop. 2010 White alone (NH) 422,284(91.84%) 420,949(86.66%) 384,648(75.27%) 340,194(66.89%) 320,477(58.02%) Black or African American alone (NH) 14,494(3.15%) 22,096(4.55%) 37,978(7.43%) 54,835(10.78%) 70,101(12.69%) Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 2,993(0.65%) 4,129(0.85%) 3,677(0.72%) 3,143(0.62%) 2,914(0.53%) Asian alone (NH) 5,402(1.17%) 24,209(4.98%) 44,633(8.73%) 59,033(11.61%) 85,775(15.53%) Pacific Islander alone (NH) — — 284(0.06%) 195(0.04%) 214(0.04%) Other race alone (NH) 5,301(1.15%) 492(0.10%) 803(0.16%) 737(0.15%) 2,339(0.42%) Mixed race or multiracial (NH) — — 12,033(2.35%) 14,020(2.76%) 25,498(4.62%) Hispanic or Latino (any race) 9,310(2.02%) 13,890(2.86%) 26,979(5.28%) 36,483(7.17%) 45,034(8.15%) Total 459,784(100.00%) 485,765(100.00%) 511,035(100.00%) 508,640(100.00%) 552,352(100.00%)
2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 552,352. The median age was 35.6 years. 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.2 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 59.6% White, 12.9% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 15.6% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 4.0% from some other race, and 7.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 8.2% of the population.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while <0.1% lived in rural areas.