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Bayport, Minnesota

Bayport is a small town of about 3,700 people in Washington County, Minnesota. It has lost about 8% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Minneapolis, is about 24 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,721
down 7.7% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$376,900
Washington County prices up 9.1% since 2022
Household income
$125,893
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Minneapolis area
104.8
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
3 miles
Stillwater, MN
To Minneapolis
24 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 4.8% above the U.S. average in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2.4 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byLakeview Memorial Hospital in Stillwater, about 3 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityMinneapolis is about 24 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Bayport meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

Worth a closer look

Bayport has lost about 8% of its people since 2020. A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$376,900U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 9.1%Washington County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$2,028 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$125,893U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
92%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,987 a yearMinnesota: $3,357
Homes built since 2010
21%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
104.8U.S. average = 100 (the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 9.1% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro area, not Bayport alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
3,7212020: 4,032
Median age
40.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
16%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
28%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
12%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (24%); professional and business services (20%); construction (13%)
Unemployment rate
2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
15%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Lakeview Memorial Hospital, Stillwater, MN, about 3 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

4 public schools in Bayport, run by St. Croix Preparatory Academy and Stillwater Area Public Schools.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Minnesota's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
83%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
91%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
9°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
18 a year
Nights at or below freezing
147 a year
Rain and melted snow
32.8 inches a year
Snow
50 inches a year
Elevation
696 feet

Weather stations: Stillwater 1 SE (2 miles away) and Roberts Wwtp (11 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Lakeview Memorial Hospital, Woodbury, Minneapolis.

Washington County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the State Prison Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Lower Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway4 miles
  • Mississippi National River and Recreation Area13 miles
  • Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway28 miles

Read about Bayport's history on Wikipedia.

Know Bayport?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Houlton, WI (unincorporated)240 people, 4 miles
  • Lakeland Shores, MN327 people, 5 miles
  • St. Marys Point, MN343 people, 7 miles
  • Pine Springs, MN381 people, 9 miles
  • Willernie, MN513 people, 9 miles
  • Birchwood Village, MN845 people, 10 miles
  • Landfall, MN847 people, 11 miles
  • Marine on St. Croix, MN661 people, 12 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.