City · Washington County, Minnesota

Stillwater, Minnesota

Stillwater is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area. It has 19,355 residents. Stillwater, Minnesota has a quality-of-life score of 99 out of 100 (very high), ranking #220 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Minnesota it ranks #18 of 364 cities and towns. It ranks best on traffic deaths (low), voter turnout (high) and math scores (high). It ranks worst on students per teacher (high), grocery stores (low) and restaurants and bars (low).

99Very high

Quality-of-life score: #220 of 15,651 cities and towns
Minnesota: #18 of 364 in MN
Population: 19,355 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 2,404.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 2762824

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety92#1,292/15,637
Economy76#3,828/15,631
Housing48#7,833/14,977
Health91#1,421/15,609
Healthcare97#409/15,650
Environment99#159/15,453
Education95#799/15,649
Infrastructure96#674/15,650
Community96#612/15,651
Leisure & amenities55#6,985/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Stillwater, Minnesota ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Washington County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Traffic deaths · low3.8 /100k
99/100Minnesota 7.7 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataWashington County value
Voter turnout · high84.0%
99/100Minnesota 77.0%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionWashington County value
Math scores · high3.52
98/100Minnesota 3.30United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWashington County value
Loneliness · low29.1%
97/100Minnesota 32.1%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
High school diploma or higher · high96.2%
97/100Minnesota 93.9%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Food environment index · high9.4
96/100Minnesota 9.1United States 7.62019 & 2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWashington County value

Weaknesses

Students per teacher · high17.2×
20/100Minnesota 14.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsWashington County value
Grocery stores · low1.2 /10k
23/100Minnesota 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWashington County value
Restaurants and bars · low6.6 /10k
26/100Minnesota 8.6 /10kUnited States 9.0 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsWashington County value
Public libraries · low0.3 /10k
27/100Minnesota 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesWashington County value
Comfortable days · low24.1%
27/100Minnesota 23.6%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationWashington County value
Child care cost burden · high33.7%
28/100Minnesota 29.9%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteWashington County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedWorsening
2.0 /1k (2021) → 0.5 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−77%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
42.2% (2015-2019) → 49.1% (2020-2024)
+6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.2× (2015-2019) → 3.9× (2020-2024)
+23%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Child poverty rateWorsening
5.2% (2015-2019) → 9.2% (2020-2024)
+4.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Average commute timeImproving
25.2 min (2015-2019) → 20.1 min (2020-2024)
−20%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
90.2% (2015-2019) → 93.4% (2020-2024)
+3.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Stillwater, Minnesota improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 8 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Commute−5.1 min25.2 min → 20.1 min
Household income+16%$91,350 → $105,853
Broadband+3.2 points90.2% → 93.4%

Declined2

Unemployment+1.5 points2.0% → 3.5%
Price / income+0.7×3.2× → 3.9×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Stillwater, Minnesota between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	25.2 min2015-2019	20.1 min2020-2024	−5.1 min	Improved	90%
Bachelor's degree or higher	48.3%2015-2019	51.0%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Broadband subscriptions	90.2%2015-2019	93.4%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Improved	21%
Child poverty rate	5.2%2015-2019	9.2%2020-2024	+4.1 points	Within the margin of error	23%
Effective property tax rate	1.11%2015-2019	0.95%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Little change	49%
High school diploma or higher	96.4%2015-2019	96.2%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	3.9×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	35%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4342015-2019	0.4462020-2024	+0.012	Within the margin of error	40%
Median household income	$91,3502015-2019	$105,8532020-2024	+16%	Improved	25%
Poverty rate	4.9%2015-2019	7.3%2020-2024	+2.3 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Rent as share of income	26.7%2015-2019	29.6%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Rent-burdened households	42.2%2015-2019	49.1%2020-2024	+6.8 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Unemployment rate	2.0%2015-2019	3.5%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Declined	22%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	2.8%2015-2019	2.8%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	46%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Stillwater, Minnesota five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Stillwater, Minnesota in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Stillwater, Minnesota itself moved −4.4 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

19,355 residents (±35)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

8,078 households (±255)

Stillwater, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Under $25k8.9%722
$25k–50k12%949
$50k–75k13%†1,051

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

8,078 households (±255)

Stillwater, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Own77%6,197
Rent23%1,881

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

9,932 workers (±714)

Stillwater, Minnesota
Minnesota share

Drive alone68%6,737
Carpool6.8%†673
Public transit0.6%†57

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Washington County, the county holding most of Stillwater's residents.

Washington County has 6,542 employer establishments, 235 for every 10,000 residents (0.94× the US rate of 248; 0.87× Minnesota's), with 95,631 paid employees at an average annual pay of $56,273. The Census Bureau also counts 22,749 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 6,542; 22,749 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 235; US 248 · Minnesota 268
Paid employees: 95,631
Average annual pay: $56,273; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Washington County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	538	19.3	0.93×About typical	6,998	$66,636	1,021
Specialty trade contractors	468	16.8	1.08×About typical	2,924	$88,053	1,155
Restaurants and other eating places	380	13.6	0.74×Fewer than typical	9,574	$22,435	88
Lessors of real estate	367	13.2	1.07×About typical	1,089	$47,286	2,392
Management, scientific and technical consulting	236	8.5	1.26×More than typical	665	$97,478	1,401
Construction of buildings	219	7.9	1.04×About typical	1,097	$82,066	462
Services to buildings and dwellings	216	7.7	1.15×About typical	1,500	$45,317	721
Personal care services	211	7.6	1.59×More than typical	1,392	$31,615	668
Real estate agents and brokers	208	7.5	1.53×More than typical	241	$62,465	831
Offices of other health practitioners	202	7.2	1.19×About typical	952	$53,928	569
Insurance agencies and brokerages	188	6.7	1.53×More than typical	1,083	$69,671	433
Computer systems design and related services	183	6.6	1.52×More than typical	991	$104,726	301

Rank places for an industry Open Washington County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 278,890 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $197.5K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Stillwater, Minnesota: $10.20 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $197.5K; −75% vs FY2025
Per resident: $10.20; US $1,994
Sole-source: 30%; US 30%
Single offer: 11%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$114.1K58%
Department of the Army$42.4K21%
United States Mint$16.1K8.2%
Defense Health Agency$10.8K5.5%
Department of the Navy$7,3633.7%
National Park Service$4,7722.4%
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention$1,8901.0%

Top recipients

DIASORIN INC$169.2K86%
ST CROIX SENSORY INC$16.1K8.2%
MARNER MICRO TECHNOLOGIES INC$7,3633.7%
WOLF MARINA COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION INC$4,3482.2%
WOLF MARINE INC$4240.2%

Spending by fiscal year

1MFY2017
173.3KFY2018
166.1KFY2019
386.3KFY2020
1.1MFY2021
2.3MFY2022
991.2KFY2023
411.8K

Top industries (NAICS)

Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing · 3254$122.3K62%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$47.3K24%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$16.1K8.2%
Machine shops and screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing · 3327$7,3633.7%
Remediation and other waste management services · 5629$4,3482.2%
Other amusement and recreation industries · 7139

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Stillwater, Minnesota, so they do not add up across cities.

Stillwater, Minnesota's figures are part of those of Washington County, MN ($9.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 2.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Stillwater is mostly in Washington County.

See federal money in Washington County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Stillwater, Minnesota is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Amy KlobucharD-

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Washington County99100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI93

Other cities and towns in Washington County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2762824

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends