Elevation of St. Paul
789ft
above sea level · 240 m
St. Paul is the capital of Minnesota. Of the 50 state capitals, it’s the 18th highest. The state’s largest city is Minneapolis.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 44.94° N · 93.09° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 44° 56′ 40″ N · 93° 5′ 36″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 15T · 492,641 E · 4,976,779 N
- Zone 15 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Central Time
- UTC−6 · UTC−5 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 306,684 people
- 52.0 sq mi of land · 5,900 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from April 2023: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
St. Paul had 306,684 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 1.5% fewer than in April 2020, when it had 311,503. Its 52.0 sq mi of land work out to 5,900 people/sq mi; the state average is 73 people/sq mi.
It’s the 2nd most populous of the 916 places the Census counts in Minnesota (cities, towns and CDPs), after Minneapolis (430,324), and holds 5.3% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Ramsey County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 0.6 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with other state capitals
St. Paul sits at 789 ft (240 m) above sea level. Of the 50 state capitals, the highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft). The average is 1,098 ft: St. Paul is 309 ft below it.
Among the 91 cities with more than 250,000 people, it’s the 30th highest.
The highest point in Minnesota is Eagle Mountain, at 2,301 ft according to the USGS: 1,512 ft above St. Paul, 237 mi away in a straight line.
- 18 St. Paul 789 ft
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Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of St. Paul.
What is the elevation of St. Paul?
St. Paul is 789 feet (240 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of St. Paul?
Latitude 44.94441 and longitude -93.09327, in decimal degrees (44° 56′ 40″ N · 93° 5′ 36″ W). In UTM, zone 15: 492,641 E and 4,976,779 N, on NAD83.
How does St. Paul rank among the highest state capitals?
It’s the 18th highest of the 50 state capitals. The highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft).
What county is St. Paul in?
Ramsey County, Minnesota.
Which is higher, St. Paul or Minneapolis?
Minneapolis. St. Paul sits at 789 ft and Minneapolis at 830 ft: a difference of 41 ft, 8.7 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know