Forest Lake

• Name — Forest Lake, Minnesota • Settlement Type — City • Motto — As Good As It Sounds • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — United States • Subdivision Type1 — State • Subdivision Name1 — Minnesota • Subdivision Type2 — County • Subdivision Name2 — Washington • Government Type — Mayor–council government • Leader Title — Mayor • Leader Name — Mara Bain (I) • Established Title — Founded • Established Date — March 11, 1874 • Established Title1 — Incorporated • Established Date1 — 1896 • Unit Pref — Imperial • Area Total Km2 — 92.01 • Area Land Km2 — 79.10 • Area Water Km2 — 12.92 • Area Total Sq Mi — 35.53 • Area Land Sq Mi — 30.54 • Area Water Sq Mi — 4.99 • Population As Of — 2020 • Population Est — 20857 • Pop Est As Of — 2022 • Population Total — 20611 • Population Density Km2 — 260.58 • Population Density Sq Mi — 674.91 • Timezone — Central (CST) • Utc Offset — –6 • Timezone Dst — CDT • Utc Offset Dst — –5 • Elevation Ft — 935 • Postal Code Type — ZIP code • Postal Code — 55025 • Area Code — 651 • Blank Name — FIPS code • Blank Info — 27-21770 • Blank1 Name — GNIS feature ID • Blank1 Info — 2394789 • Blank2 Name — Sales tax • Blank2 Info — 8.375%

Forest Lake began as a stop on the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad. The first train reached Forest Lake on December 23, 1868. The lake was so named for the abundant timber that lines its shores. Forest Lake Township was organized on March 11, 1874. The first one-room school was built that year at the former location of city hall (220 N. Lake Street). The city of Forest Lake was incorporated on July 11, 1893 with 175 residents. In 2001, the city annexed the surrounding former Forest Lake Township.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 35.54 sqmi; 30.56 sqmi is land and 4.98 sqmi is water.

As of the 2020 census, Forest Lake had a population of 20,611. The median age was 39.1 years. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.5% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.5 males age 18 and over. 86.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 13.6% lived in rural areas. There were 8,131 households in Forest Lake, of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.6% were married-couple households, 17.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 8,569 housing units, of which 5.1% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.0%. Racial composition as of the 2020 census • Race — Number — Percent • White — 18,196 — 88.3% • Black or African American — 350 — 1.7% • American Indian and Alaska Native — 91 — 0.4% • Asian — 547 — 2.7% • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander — 4 — 0.0% • Some other race — 239 — 1.2% • Two or more races — 1,184 — 5.7% • Hispanic or Latino (of any race) — 782 — 3.8%

Average household income for 2024 was $123,651. Per capita income was $45,527.

Forest Lake is located in Minnesota's 8th congressional district. • Mayor: Blake Roberts • Council: Hanna Valento, Leif Erickson, Jeff Larson, Kevin Miller • City Administrator: open • State Senator: Karin Housley • State Representative: Patricia Anderson and Josiah Hill

• Illustration — Forest Lake Area High School The Forest Lake Area school system includes seven elementary sites, one middle school site, and one high school site. There are also two independent districts, North Lakes Academy and Lakes International Language Academy.

• Columbus (K–6) • Forest View (K–5) • Lakes International Language Academy (K–5) • Lino Lakes (K–6 STEM) • Linwood (K–6) • North Lakes Academy (K–6) • St. Peter Catholic School (preschool–8) • Scandia (K–6) • Wyoming (preschool–6)

• Forest Lake Area High School (grades 9–12) • Forest Lake Area Middle School (grades 6–8) • North Lakes Academy (grades 7–12) • Lakes International Language Academy (grades 6–12) • St. Peter Catholic School (grades 7–8)

• Forest Lake Sports Center • Fenway Park • Tanners Brook Golf Club • Forest hills Golf Club • Forest Lake Sportsman's Club

The first newspaper, The Enterprise, was printed in 1903. It was changed in 1907 to The Forest Lake Advertiser and later to The Forest Lake Times, in 1916, as it remains to this day. The Lowdown is another local paper.

• Elmer L. Andersen, 30th governor of Minnesota, was a resident of Forest Lake • James B. Bullard, chief executive officer and president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis • Arne Carlson, former Governor of Minnesota, is a former resident of Forest Lake • Robert Carothers, former president of the University of Rhode Island, lived in Forest Lake • Pete Hegseth, United States Secretary of Defense, raised in Forest Lake • Melvin Starkey Henderson, famed orthopedic surgeon, raised in Forest Lake • William Rush Merriam, served as Governor of Minnesota from 1889 to 1893 • Walter Mondale, former vice president of the United States, was a former resident of Forest Lake • Doug Swenson, Minnesota state representative, lawyer, and judge

• T. Eugene Thompson, attorney, summer resident who hired a hit man to kill his wife in St. Paul in 1963. • Bugs Moran, Chicago Prohibition-era gangster, lived in Forest Lake in the early 1930s.

• Rick Bayless, 1986 All-Big 10 and Minnesota Vikings running back • Dick Furey, professional basketball player, lived in Forest Lake and coached at Forest Lake Area High School • Brandon Girtz, mixed martial artist, born and raised in Forest Lake • Bud Grant, Hall of Fame coach National Football League and Canadian Football League lived in Forest Lake in the 1950s • Nora Greenwald (aka Molly Holly), former WWE world champion pro wrestler • Adam Haayer, National Football League player, graduate of Forest Lake Area High School • Hal Haskins, professional basketball player, lived in Forest Lake and coached at Forest Lake Area High School • Wilfred T. Houle, former National Football League player with the Minneapolis Marines • Dave Menne, former Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight champion • Dick Nesbitt, National Football League former Chicago Bears running back, was a former resident • Leif Nordgren, two-time Winter Olympic Games biathlon competitor • Bud Nygren, professional football player and college coach • Arron Oberholser, professional PGA Tour golfer, was a former resident • Brian Raabe, former Minnesota Twins player, lived in Forest Lake and coached at Forest Lake Area High School • Jack Trudeau, former National Football League quarterback, was born in Forest Lake in 1962 • Matt Wallner, Minnesota Twins outfielder