Photo: Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota · CC BY-SA 2.0How is Cold Spring run?
Cold Spring’s city government spent $7.3 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2023, about $1,738 per resident. Water and other utilities ($837,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Cold Spring is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,738 per resident a year, or $4.76 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 36%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$1,037 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Cold Spring’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($1,037 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 133 Minnesota cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $1,081, and the middle half spent $815–$1,405. Cold Spring spent less than 53% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($1.2 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Minnesota cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Cold Spring itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 62% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Cold Spring reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $1,037 · 2023: $1,738. Per resident it went from $1,037 to $1,738 (up 68%), partly because the Census population behind it changed from 4,350 to 4,205.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $2,723 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.97% of the home’s value, vs 1.02% across Minnesota.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Cold Spring’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Cold Spring’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Cold Spring →
Who’s in charge in Cold Spring
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Cold Spring’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on coldspring.govoffice.com ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 183 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2023 finance file (4,205).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Rocori Public School District
Cold Spring’s K–12 school district, shared with Richmond, Wakefield Township, Rockville, Munson Township, Collegeville Township and more. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $13,890 per pupil, $8,830 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Minnesota districts overall: 30% local, 62% state, 8% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Cold Spring’s votes are counted by county
Minnesota reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Cold Spring alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Stearns County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican62.3%53,932 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat35.6%30,829 votesOthers: 2.2% (1,871 votes).
Most votes in Stearns County: Donald J Trump
Minnesota: Harris 50.9%, Trump 46.7%
100% of Cold Spring lies in Stearns County. Every 2024 race in Stearns County is on the county’s page.
Stearns County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Cold Spring.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: coldspring.govoffice.com ↗
- 2Minnesota HouseState representatives
- 3Minnesota SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Minnesota
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Cold Spring’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Cold Spring’s government
How much does Cold Spring spend per resident?
About $1,738 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2023, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $1,037 was less than 53% of 133 Minnesota cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Cold Spring?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $2,723 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.97% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.02% across Minnesota. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see coldspring.govoffice.com.
Who runs Cold Spring’s government?
See coldspring.govoffice.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Cold Spring yet.
How did Cold Spring vote in 2024?
Minnesota counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Cold Spring alone. Stearns County, where 100% of Cold Spring lies, voted Trump 62.3%, Harris 35.6% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Cold Spring?
23 full-time and 50 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $150,991 (about $1.8M a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Cold Spring in the state legislature?
State Senate District 13 (Jeff Howe) and State House District 13A (Lisa Demuth). The House district also covers 25 other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Cold Spring’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →