Saint Paul is Minnesota’s capital city, home to Minnesota’s most popular cultural attractions and entertainment venues.  The city is filled with gardens, parks, historic buildings and cobbled streets.  The old world charm blends appropriately with an array of modern amenities for visitors and business travelers.

Located in Ramsey County, Saint Paul is also know as "The Last City of the East" because early developers laid it out in an East Coast style, with the city squares and broad boulevards, and buildings with elaborate ornamentation.  Five designated historic districts: Dayton’s Bluff, Historic Hill District, Irvine Park, Lowertown, and Summit Avenue West, and in University-Raymond Commercial Historic District.  Maps of the districts are posted on the city’s web site at www.stpaul.gov/depts/liep/hp

St. Paul’s population (287,260) and economy have and always will trail Minneapolis.  Many people prefer to live there because it feels more like a small town than a big city.  Downtown St. Paul is compact; the streets are more wholly residential than the streets of Minneapolis.  There are restaurants, grocery stores, bookstores, and historical and cultural sites which are easily accessible by foot or bus from most neighborhoods.  In general housing on the east side tends to be cheaper than on the west side.  Rents average $100 less per month than Minneapolis and houses typically are proportionally less as well. 

St. Paul is made up of 17 neighborhoods (here called districts), assisted by district councils that work with city government, to give the neighborhoods a voice. 

St. Paul’s police force is organized into three districts, western (north and south), central, and eastern.  Each district has several neighborhoods substations.  For information about crime in a particular neighborhood, call the St. Paul Crime Prevention Coordinator at 651-266-5625.  The police department’s annual crime reports and maps of crime locations (STATMap) are posted on the internet at www. St.paul.gov/police.  According to the STATMap, the highest crime areas tend to be located in the parts of town north of I-94, particularly in the Frogtown, Summit-University, and Dayton’s Bluff neighborhoods. 

City of St Paul: 651-266-8989 www.stpaul.gov

Area code: 651

Public Schools: St. Paul, District Office: 651-767-8100, www.stpaul.k12.mn.us

Parks: www.stpaul.gov/depts/parks:  There are 160 parks and open spaces, 41 recreation centers, three 18-hole golf courses, over 100 miles of trails, indoor and outdoor pools, and a public beach.  The main parks are Como and Phalen on the northern end of the city and Highland and the Mississippi riverfront in the south.