283,960 people (2024 Census estimate, +5.8% since 2020)
385 square miles of land · 738 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
29 active community water systems list Washington County in the area they serve, reporting 244,999 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| Woodbury groundwater · local government · MN1820025 | 82,643 served |
| Cottage Grove groundwater · local government · MN1820004 | 42,760 served |
| Oakdale groundwater · local government · MN1820016 | 30,144 served |
| Stillwater groundwater · local government · MN1820024 | 19,462 served |
| Hugo groundwater · local government · MN1820007 | 12,047 served |
| Forest Lake groundwater · local government · MN1820005 | 11,800 served |
| Lake Elmo groundwater · local government · MN1820009 | 10,978 served |
| Mahtomedi groundwater · local government · MN1820013 | 8,818 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 192 people were held in Washington County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 112 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 185.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
4 school districts have their office in Washington County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $332.6 million — $268.1 million to run schools, about $13,992 per student, plus $30.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $128.3 million local (mostly property tax), $199.9 million state, $16.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $320.6 million.
Spent $162.4 million — $130.6 million to run schools, about $15,764 per student, plus $17.7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $62.5 million local (mostly property tax), $83.9 million state, $8.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $107.5 million.
Spent $108.7 million — $83.6 million to run schools, about $14,282 per student, plus $13.1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $38.4 million local (mostly property tax), $61.8 million state, $6 million federal. Long-term debt: $161.9 million.
Spent $62.6 million — $43.8 million to run schools, about $13,799 per student, plus $13.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $21.6 million local (mostly property tax), $32.1 million state, $2.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $45.4 million.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively Moderate compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Washington County about $92.7 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
113 bridges in Washington County: 48 in good condition, 61 fair, and 4 poor (3.5%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| CSAH 5 over MZ LTD; BROWNS CREEK · built 1967 | 5,200 vehicles a day |
| M 232 over CLEARWATER CREEK · built 2004 | 525 vehicles a day |
| M 26 over VALLEY CREEK · built 1924 | 268 vehicles a day |
| M 62 over HARDWOOD CREEK · built 1920 | 61 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $26.8 million of work in Washington County in fiscal 2025, about $100 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Minnesota are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Washington County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Washington County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Minnesota: the state government and every county in Minnesota.
Nearby counties: Ramsey County (10 mi) · St. Croix County, WI (22 mi) · Anoka County (24 mi) · Dakota County (27 mi) · Hennepin County (29 mi) · Pierce County, WI (31 mi).