Forest Lake, Minnesota demographics

Forest Lake, MN demographics: median age 39.6; 35.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Forest Lake city, Minnesota · Incorporated city · GEOID 2721770. The survey estimates a population of 20,729 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Forest Lake is 39.6 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.6 years. There are 8,286 households (±347). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	39.6 ±1.6	38.8 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 20,729
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Under 18	4,814 ±484	23.2% ±2.3 pp	22.9%	22.0%
18–34	4,312 ±575	20.8% ±2.8 pp	21.8%	22.8%
35–64	8,102 ±649	39.1% ±3.1 pp	38.0%	38.0%
65 and older	3,501 ±414	16.9% ±2.0 pp	17.3%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 20,729
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Male	10,161 ±399	49.0% ±1.9 pp	50.1%	49.5%
Female	10,568 ±399	51.0% ±1.9 pp	49.9%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 20,729
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
White alone	17,911 ±673	86.4% ±3.2 pp	77.1%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	615 ±450 · low precision	3.0% ±2.2 pp · low precision	7.0%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	49 ±51 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.9%	0.9%
Asian alone	741 ±344	3.6% ±1.7 pp	5.1%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	9 ±15 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	254 ±209 · low precision	1.2% ±1.0 pp · low precision	2.9%	7.1%
Two or more races	1,150 ±463	5.5% ±2.2 pp	7.0%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 20,729
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	19,944 ±476	96.2% ±2.3 pp	93.6%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	785 ±476 · low precision	3.8% ±2.3 pp · low precision	6.4%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 8,286
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Married-couple family	4,223 ±292	51.0% ±2.8 pp	48.9%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	417 ±171	5.0% ±2.1 pp	4.5%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	929 ±234	11.2% ±2.8 pp	8.9%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	2,127 ±381	25.7% ±4.5 pp	29.7%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	590 ±208	7.1% ±2.5 pp	7.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 8,286
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Households with people under 18	2,503 ±254	30.2% ±2.8 pp	28.7%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	5,783 ±473	69.8% ±4.9 pp	71.3%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 8,286
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	2,127 ±381	25.7% ±4.5 pp	29.7%	28.7%
Two-person households	2,945 ±371	35.5% ±4.2 pp	35.6%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,159 ±258	14.0% ±3.1 pp	13.4%	15.3%
Four-person households	1,206 ±312	14.6% ±3.7 pp	12.3%	12.6%
Five-person households	680 ±194	8.2% ±2.3 pp	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	157 ±80 · low precision	1.9% ±1.0 pp · low precision	2.0%	2.2%
Seven or more people	12 ±33 · low precision	0.1% ±0.4 pp · low precision	1.4%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 20,729
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Native	19,658 ±434	94.8% ±2.1 pp	91.3%	85.9%
Foreign born	1,071 ±432	5.2% ±2.1 pp	8.7%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 19,779
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
English only	18,456 ±472	93.3% ±2.1 pp	87.6%	77.7%
Spanish	298 ±170 · low precision	1.5% ±0.9 pp · low precision	4.2%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	47 ±66 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	45 ±45 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	224 ±244 · low precision	1.1% ±1.2 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	56 ±53 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.7%	2.0%
Korean	0 ±18 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	234 ±196 · low precision	1.2% ±1.0 pp · low precision	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	0 ±18 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	0 ±18 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	229 ±175 · low precision	1.2% ±0.9 pp · low precision	2.4%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±18 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	190 ±184 · low precision	1.0% ±0.9 pp · low precision	2.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 14,090
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	767 ±270	5.4% ±1.9 pp	6.1%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	3,613 ±514	25.6% ±3.6 pp	23.3%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	3,020 ±413	21.4% ±2.9 pp	19.5%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,705 ±292	12.1% ±2.0 pp	11.8%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	3,338 ±445	23.7% ±3.1 pp	25.6%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	1,647 ±406	11.7% ±2.9 pp	13.8%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 20,636
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Same house	18,591 ±643	90.1% ±3.1 pp	87.8%	87.7%
Moved within same county	757 ±516 · low precision	3.7% ±2.5 pp · low precision	5.7%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	986 ±349	4.8% ±1.7 pp	4.3%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	291 ±180 · low precision	1.4% ±0.9 pp · low precision	1.8%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	11 ±18 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

4.5% of Forest Lake residents (±1.3 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 4.7% in Minnesota and 8.4% nationally. 92.6% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Forest Lake	Minnesota	U.S.	Compared with Minnesota
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	4.5% ±1.3 pp	4.7%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	92.6% ±2.4 pp	91.6%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	4.7% ±0.9 pp	5.9%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Forest Lake . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Forest Lake housing and cost context or return to the city profile.