Comparing the townships in Dakota and Scott counties

Just beyond the Targets and the Caribous in Scott and Dakota counties lie the townships -- a throwback world of frontier democracy. So much so, township officials say, that even the folks living there aren't always fully conscious of it.

"Most people don't realize that it's township residents who set our tax levy," said Brent Lawrence, town board chairman in Credit River Township.

Not that they all throng the meetings, mind you. Of Credit River's 1,700 or so households, he concedes, "A good turnout for an annual meeting would be around 60 people."

Still, it's a whole different world in the counties' hinterlands -- a hinterlands that is slowly evaporating in some metro counties where few if any townships still remain, but one that is remains remarkably robust in these two counties south of the river.

"Scott and Dakota counties don't really fully reflect the state, because they do have exurban growth in some townships," said Eric Hedtke of Eagan, an attorney for the Minnesota Association of Townships. "But even here, when you're in southeast Dakota, toward Red Wing, in places like Douglas Township, things are still very much like they were in the past."

The release a few days ago by the state auditor of tax and spending numbers for most of the state's 1,785 townships provides a fresh reminder of just how different the suburban-edge townships have become from their more farm-centered cousins further out.

The tax wealth of a place like Credit River, for instance, with its easy access to I-35 and its rolling, wooded topography, towers over most of its neighboring townships and ranks third statewide.

A number of factors account for the vigorous farming existence of dozens of south metro townships at a time when they are drying up elsewhere. As Hedtke remarked, "Anoka County is down to one, and Hennepin just lost their last one last year, when Hassan Township was annexed by Rogers. Ramsey has one, Washington just a handful, three or four."

Factors include the high quality of south-metro farmland and political decisions to remain more rural. Credit River for instance did contemplate incorporating as a city but decided against it.

One big difference between townships and cities is the expectation of surburban-type services and the taxing and spending that goes with it. Even in outlying small towns in counties like Scott there is pressure for amenities, and the result, the township association figures, is a difference in per-capita spending that is yawning: $1,242 for cities, versus just under $290 a person in townships.

Even between Dakota and Scott, differences emerge. Dakota is a tremendous powerhouse in agriculture, for instance, with 150,000 acres still farmed compared with 96,000 in Scott, according to Met Council land use estimates. Dakota townships hold five of the top six spots for farm acreage metrowide.

Conversely, Dakota townships rank way below Scott's for lakes acreage, perhaps in part because farmers drained lakes years ago.

Here's what we found in consulting multiple sources:

Scott County has three of the 20 most populous townships among the roughly 1,700 across the state.

The peopling of a county's rural areas, as opposed to remaining mostly farmland, results from a number of factors, including freeway access, topography and past political decisions about large-lot exurban growth.

Statewide rankTownshipPopulation

5Credit River5,162

18New Market3,435

29Cedar Lake2,793

37Empire2,459

The most solid numbers here come from the 2000 and 2010 Censuses, but officials note that exurban growth rates in general are far lower today. Even during that decade, however, some townships in Scott and Dakota, much less outstate townships, did lose population.

Metrowide rank*TownshipGrowth, 00-10Pct. growth

8Empire80649%

12Cedar Lake58226%

18New Market38313%

21Helena20814%

29Sciota12945%

32Greenvale11917%

35Jackson1038%

39Nininger8510%

*11-county metro, about 95 townships

Not surprisingly, tax wealth follows from population, though Credit River has far more million-dollar home sales, for instance, than most. "Tax capacity" is a measure that includes not just the value of property but its ability to spin off taxes: homes, farms and stores are taxed at differing rates.

3Credit River$9,199,211

11Spring Lake$5,774,136

14New Market$5,260,724

23Cedar Lake$4,784,276

62Empire$3,042,842

Property tax

Statewide rankTownship/Countyper person

351St. Lawrence$365.07

435Empire$331.94

520Eureka$307.68

596Hampton$284.99

These numbers suggest that a township like Louisville, south of Shakopee, is drawing folks who work in job centers such as Chanhassen and Eden Prairie. This data set dates mainly from before the arrival of MnPass lanes, and it will be interesting to see whether commute times drop along I-35 for enough affluent folks to change these rankings.

Dakota/Scott rankAvg. in minutesTownshop

121.7Nininger (Dakota)

222Louisville (Scott)

422.8Castle Rock (Dakota)

523Sciota (Dakota)

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2029.4Randolph (Dakota)

2129.6New Market (Scott)

2330.9Cedar Lake (Scott)

2431.8Empire (Dakota)

One notable change over the past 10 to 15 years has been the growing gap in household incomes between the townships, as the exurban land rush brought members of the One Percent to places like Credit River township, fairly close in along I-35W, much more than to other places.

Percent over $200,000,

Dakota/Scott rankTownshipincome&benefits

2Cedar Lake11.4%

3New Market11.1%

4Louisville8.5%

5Eureka7.2%

There are some surprises here until you consider how much land, for instance, along the Minnesota River is held by state, federal and other layers of government. The national wildlife refuge is growing along the river banks.

2Ravenna2,933

4Louisville2,403

5Credit River2,323

7St. Lawrence1,704

9Douglas1,334

Dakota County dominates in this category, with lots of rich, flat farmland. Other than in Carver County, there isn't really a ton of open farmland left in the metro, at least in townships. Experts do note that some jurisdictions -- in, for instance, Hennepin and Anoka counties that have incorporated as cities -- are still sort of townships in reality.

Metrowide rank***TownshipAvg. acres

1Belle Plaine19,317

2Vermillion18,776

3Hampton18,506

5Marshan17,933

***Seven-county metro area

The presence of bodies of water is a clue sometimes to property wealth, with developers drawn to the lake or river views. In Washington County, the St. Croix River draws lots of impressive mansions.

Metrowide rank***TownshipAcres of open water

3Nininger2,046

7Spring Lake1,379

9Helena902

11Ravenna863