Farmington, Minnesota

Farmington is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 21,086 at the 2010 census. It is a part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.

History
Farmington was founded at the intersection of the Minnesota Central and the Hastings and Dakota railroads, and the Vermillion River. The original name of the town was Dakota City. The popular city train station was Farmington Station and non-residents began confusing the two names and identifying the town as Farmington. The town's name was then permanently changed from Dakota City to Farmington.

Farmington is home to three properties listed on the Register of Historic Places for Dakota County: the Daniel F. Akin House, the Church of the Advent, and the Exchange Bank Building.

Economy
Farmington is the location of the Minneapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center (ZMP) and a Marigold Kemps packing plant.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.5 square miles (32.5 km²), all of it land.

County Road 31, County Road 50, Minnesota Highway 50, and Minnesota Highway 3 are four of the main routes in the city.

Farmington is host to The Dakota County Fairgrounds with entrances on 220th St (Ash Street) and along Highway 3. The Fairgrounds is the Largest in area with 360 acre versus 300 for the next largest: The Minnesota State Fairgrounds. It also hosts the largest county fair attendance in the state, with average attendance now at 125,000 annually.

Farmington is a suburb of the Minneapolis/ Saint Paul area and is largely of residential development. It can generally be divided into two (2) sections, the area of the town north of County Highway 50 and the area south of Highway 50. The area to the north has been widely developed in the last 18 years, while the area to the south is generally known as "Downtown" and has had only two major developments in the last 20 years. The third area of the city is the North-East Farmington/West Central Empire Township developments, with large areas of development in the recent 5 years. Farmington has many biking and walking trails integrated within its housing communities. The trail along the Vermillion River unites the downtown, uptown, and Empire Township neighborhoods.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,365 people, 4,169 households, and 3,255 families residing in the city. The population density was 986.0 people per square mile (380.7/km²). There were 4,233 housing units at an average density of 337.5 per square mile (130.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.62% Caucasian. 0.74% African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.46% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.88% of the population.

There were 4,169 households out of which 51.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.4% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.9% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the city the population was spread out with 34.0% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 41.5% from 25 to 44, 12.4% from 45 to 64, and 5.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 101.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $61,864, and the median income for a family was $65,380. Males had a median income of $42,796 versus $30,373 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,281. About 1.3% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Farmington schools currently enroll approximately 5,000 students. The district range includes the cities of Farmington and the east portion of Lakeville, and the Townships of Castle Rock, Empire, and Eureka. The Farmington Senior High School mascot is Pouncer the Tiger and school colors are orange and black, with silver occasionally included.

Politics
Farmington is located in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, represented by John Kline, a Republican, scoring 2.8% progressive on a range of issues and 88% conservative based on 2006 House votes. Farmington is represented in the Minnesota Senate by District 36 Senator Dave Thompson, and in the Minnesota House by District 36B Representative Pat Garofalo.

Notable residents

 * The late pornographic actress Colleen Applegate, also known as Shawna Grant, was from Farmington. She was a graduate of Farmington High School, and was a cheerleader there.