Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,625, platted in 1857.
Oak Park Heights's standout: 6% of its land is conserved. Overall it grades B+, 165th of 271 graded towns in Minnesota. Its schools outperform 85% of the state's and residents are healthier than 85% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its weakest subject is safety: it reports more crime per resident than 78% of U.S. towns, including 6 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. 31% of residents are 65 or older in Oak Park Heights, against 17% in Minnesota’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Oak Park Heights is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 83% of U.S. towns. Oak Park Heights has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Lake St. Croix Overlook and Log Cabin.
Where Oak Park Heights beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Stillwater Area High School | 9–12 | 2,658 |
| MCF - Oak Park Heights | 9–12 | 1 |
4,339 counted in 2010 and 4,849 in 2020; an estimated 4,625 in 2025.
Since 2020 the trend has turned: down 4.6%, after 11.8% growth in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Minnesota), ordered by how far Oak Park Heights is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 580 in 1950, a low of 332 in 1960, 4,849 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1932 and 5 maps from 1948 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Oak Park Heights. Close and well known come first.
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaU.S. Bank Stadium
16 mi Stadium & arenaGrand Casino Arena
21 mi Stadium & arenaHuntington Bank Stadium
23 mi Stadium & arenaTarget Field
18 mi Stadium & arenaAllianz Field
15 mi MuseumMinnesota State CapitolU.S. Bank Stadium: Darb02, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Grand Casino Arena: AlexiusHoratius, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Huntington Bank Stadium: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Target Field: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Allianz Field: Andy Witchger, CC BY 2.0 · Minnesota State Capitol: McGhiever, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Oak Park Heights, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Oak Park Heights.
Oak Park Heights draws workers from Stillwater and beyond, costs less than Bayport or any other town next door and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of Minnesota.
4.9 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. Oak Park Heights’ trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Valley View Park, 135 acres with 2.8 miles of trail.
| Oak Park Heights | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.5 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.4% | 4.6% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Valley View Park | 2.8 mi | 135 |
| 2. Environmental Learning Center | 1.6 mi | 50 |
| 3. Oak Park Crossing Park | 0.3 mi | 39 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Stillwater Area Public Schools. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Stillwater Area High School, with 2,658 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stillwater Area High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,658 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MN on state tests and graduation
4,754 jobs are based in Oak Park Heights, 2.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Oak Park Heights for work: only 7% work in town. Jobs based in Oak Park Heights grew to 4,754 in 2023, 966 more than in 2013. The top destinations are St.
| Oak Park Heights | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 7.2% | 9.9% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.1% | 7% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
12% of adults report frequent mental distress in Oak Park Heights. No town among the 271 in Minnesota we compare has a lower share of adults who binge drink than Oak Park Heights. 28% of adults feel lonely in Oak Park Heights.
| Oak Park Heights | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 30% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 18% | 16% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 30% | 33% |
| What stands out | Oak Park Heights | MN |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.8% | 11.4% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 6.5% | 9.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.3% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 152 to 105 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in Oak Park Heights is 21.4 per 1,000 residents. Oak Park Heights reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 78% report less.
| Oak Park Heights | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 21.4 per 1,000 residents | 8.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 1.1 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Only 46.4% of households own their home, against 72.2% across Minnesota.
16% of Oak Park Heights residents are under 18. Only 7 of the 273 Minnesota towns we compare have a higher median age than Oak Park Heights. Oak Park Heights has lost 4.6% of its people since 2020, down to 4,625 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Oak Park Heights | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 51.3 years | 39.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 16% | 23% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 39% | 33% | 29% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.7 points. Across Minnesota, 49.9% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 68% are men (MN 51%).
| Oak Park Heights | MN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.5% | 12.1% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.5% | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.4% | 8.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.5% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.3% | 13.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.5% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11% | 12.9% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.7% | 10.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 22.6% | 7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.3% | 6.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 24% | 23.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.6% | 19.5% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.2% | 11.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.7% | 25.6% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 16.2% | 13.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,600, single groups can be off by several points
The U Of Mn St Paul weather station, 18 miles away, records that 40 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 83% of Minnesota places with climate records. July afternoons average 82.1°: cooler than most of the country, but hotter than 77% of Minnesota places with climate records; January nights average 6.4°.
Oak Park Heights has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers.
| Oak Park Heights | Minnesota towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 6°F | 6°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 82°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 67% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its typical home is the least expensive on its borders; Bayport is next at $438K.
The typical Oak Park Heights home is worth about $346,000, about the same as a year ago, close to the Minnesota typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Oak Park Heights
About 2 of every 100 Oak Park Heights residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Minnesota.
Where Oak Park Heights’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Oak Park Heights on the National Register of Historic Places.
City in Minnesota, United States
Oak Park Heights is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. It is on the west bank of the St. Croix River and is included in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The city is just south of Stillwater. Oak Park Heights' population was 4,849 at the 2020 census and had a population density of 1,456 inhabitants per square mile (562.2km2). Oak Park Heights has many historical places like the Stillwater Overlook, and the Log Cabin.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Oak Park Heights.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B+; Lake Elmo (A−) is closest.
| Town | MN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Park Heights | #165 | B+ | C | C− | A | A− |
| Stillwater | #67 | A | C | B+ | A | A |
| Bayport | #25 | A+ | C+ | A | A | B+ |
| Baytown Township | — | — | C | — | A | A |
| Stillwater Township | — | — | C+ | — | A | A |
| Lake Elmo | #117 | A− | D | — | A | A |
Baytown Township and Stillwater Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Baytown Township, Stillwater Township and Lake Elmo report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Oak Park Heights with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Oak Park Heights grades B+ overall, better than 70% of U.S. towns and #165 of 271 in Minnesota. It grades A− for health, C− for safety and A for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 3.5 years of the area's median household income ($99,833 across the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
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