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Welcome to Howard Lake ...

The city of Howard Lake is located in Wright County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Howard Lake, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1892.

A typical abbreviation for Howard Lake: Howard Lk.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Howard Lake has a population of 2,134 people<2> (see below for details).

Howard Lake is 990 feet [302 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Howard Lake lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Howard Lake: 320

The ZIP codes for Howard Lake: 55349, 55575<4>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Howard Lake had an population of 2,134 people. This is an increase of 8.77% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 15.16% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Howard Lake had a population of 1,962 people. This makes Howard Lake the county's 13th most populous community.

The population of Howard Lake represents 0.04% of the population of Minnesota (which has 5,303,925 people), making it the state's 263rd most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 1,962 people, the population of Howard Lake increased 5.88% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 1,853 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Howard Lake.

Websites for Howard Lake ...

Official Website: www.howard-lake.mn.us/

Communities near Howard Lake ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Howard Lake.

  • Buffalo
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buffalo have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
    • Buffalo is located in Wright County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,853 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buffalo <6>
  • Hutchinson
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Delano
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Watertown
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Rockford
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Independence
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Independence have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
    • Independence is located in Hennepin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,786 people
  • Montrose
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Annandale
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Annandale have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annandale
    • Annandale is located in Wright County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,546 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Annandale <6>
  • Greenfield
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenfield have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Greenfield is located in Hennepin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,058 people
  • Cokato
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Howard Lake. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Howard Lake.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Howard Lake. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Howard Lake.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Howard Lake. See our Newspapers Page for Howard Lake.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Howard Lake ...

Looking for more information about Howard Lake? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Howard Lake, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Howard Lake.

Adding Howard Lake to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Howard Lake in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Howard Lake was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>

X2X - From that list, the Howard Lake post office opened in 1892.

We also found Howard Lake in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Howard Lake.

The official website for Howard Lake: www.howard-lake.mn.us/

The official website for Wright County: www.co.wright.mn.us/

The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Minnesota's counties, including Wright, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Howard Lake.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Howard Lake - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Howard Lake). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Howard Lake or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<5>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025