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Welcome to Dakota County ...

Time Zone: Dakota County lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time.

The community of Hastings is the Seat for Dakota County.

Dakota County is one of the original counties of Minnesota and was founded in 1849.

From the Census Estimates for 2019, <1> Dakota had a population of 429,021 people. This is an increase of 7.47% since the last Census (which gave a population of 399,211 people in 2010).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Dakota represented 7.53% of the total population of Minnesota.

Below are some of the communities located in Dakota County:

  • Apple Valley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Burnsville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Coates
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Coates is located in Dakota County (MN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coates
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
  • Eagan
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Eagan is located in Dakota County (MN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagan
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 65,975 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagan <2>
  • Farmington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Hampton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hastings
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Hastings is located in Dakota County (MN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hastings
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,889 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hastings <2>
  • Inver Grove Heights
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Lakeville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Lilydale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Lilydale is located in Dakota County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilydale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
    • Mendota
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Mendota Heights
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Miesville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • New Trier
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • New Trier is located in Dakota County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Trier
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
    • Randolph
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Randolph is located in Dakota County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
    • Rosemount
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • South Saint Paul
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Sunfish Lake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Vermillion
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • West Saint Paul
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)

Websites of Interest ...

Footnotes ...

<1>On a yearly basis, the US Census Bureau creates an estimate of the county's population. Keep in mind that this is an estimate and not an actual count. The last physical count was the 2010 Census and the next count will be for the 2020 Census.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.