Blaine real estate.
The largest city in Anoka County, still building out, and home to our Blaine business center.
Blaine is the largest city in Anoka County — 70,222 people at the 2020 census, and tenth-largest in Minnesota by the city's own count — spread over about 33 square miles. It is still filling in. The city says it has added roughly 1,000 residents a year for two decades and projects a build-out population between 85,000 and 90,000. The median home here was built in 1996, against 1986 countywide and 1981 metro-wide (2020-2024 ACS).
Three things inside the city limits pull traffic from the whole metro. The National Sports Center at 1750 105th Avenue NE bills itself as the world's largest amateur sports facility — the Super Rink, a stadium, Victory Links golf and the Target USA CUP every summer. TPC Twin Cities, an Arnold Palmer course on Tournament Players Parkway, hosted the 3M Open July 20-26, 2026. Northtown Mall, open since 1972, anchors the southwest corner.
Two things catch buyers out. Three school districts split the city, so addresses a mile apart can land in different high schools. And the stock is less uniform than the subdivisions suggest: 2,233 of Blaine's 26,767 housing units are manufactured homes, about one in twelve, and those finance differently than a stick-built house on owned land (2020-2024 ACS). Check the district and check the foundation before you write an offer.
The housing
The median Blaine home was built in 1996 — newer than Anoka County's 1986 and the metro's 1981 (2020-2024 ACS). Of 26,767 units, 17,877 are detached houses and 4,428 attached townhomes. Another 2,233 are manufactured homes, about one unit in twelve. Owner-occupancy runs 85 percent of occupied units, and median owner-estimated value over the same period was $352,400.
Schools
Three districts. Anoka-Hennepin (ISD 11), about 38,000 students, runs Blaine High School, Roosevelt Middle School and five elementaries in the city: Jefferson, Johnsville, Madison, Sunrise and University Avenue. Spring Lake Park (ISD 16), 6,100 students, runs three Blaine buildings — Centerview and Northpoint elementaries and Westwood Intermediate and Middle School. Centennial (ISD 12) covers part of Blaine too, along with Centerville, Circle Pines, Lexington and Lino Lakes.
Getting around
Highway 65 (Central Avenue NE) and University Avenue NE carry the north-south traffic, U.S. 10 clips the southwest corner at Northtown, and I-35W runs along the east side. Mean travel time to work is 24.5 minutes (2020-2024 ACS). Northtown Transit Center is the bus anchor: eight Metro Transit routes stop there, among them Route 10 to downtown Minneapolis all day and Route 827 down East River Road through Fridley.
Parks & things to do
The city counts 65 parks on 638 acres and more than 50 miles of trails. Lakeside Commons Park at 3020 Lakes Parkway NE has a public beach, splash pad and a boathouse renting canoes and kayaks. The Blaine Wetland Sanctuary off Lexington Avenue NE protects more than 500 acres; its boardwalk opened in July 2017. Lochness Park and Swanson Dog Park are also city-run.
Neighborhoods in Blaine
- The Lakes (Lakes Parkway NE)
- Radisson Road corridor
- Northtown, at University Avenue and Highway 10
- Lexington Avenue NE
- Central Avenue (Highway 65)
- Town Square Drive NE
- 105th Avenue NE and the National Sports Center
- Tournament Players Parkway
Buying or selling in Blaine.
Which school district will my Blaine address be in?
One of three, and it follows the parcel rather than the neighborhood. Anoka-Hennepin (ISD 11) covers most of the city and has seven schools with Blaine addresses: Blaine High School at 12555 University Avenue NE, Roosevelt Middle School, and Jefferson, Johnsville, Madison, Sunrise and University Avenue elementary schools. Spring Lake Park Schools (ISD 16) — 6,100 students drawn from Blaine, Fridley and Spring Lake Park — runs three buildings inside Blaine: Centerview Elementary at 10365 Davenport Street NE, Northpoint Elementary at 2350 124th Court NE, and Westwood Intermediate and Middle School at 711 91st Avenue NE. Centennial (ISD 12) covers part of Blaine as well, alongside Centerville, Circle Pines, Lexington and Lino Lakes. Confirm the address with the district before you write an offer.
Can I get from Blaine to downtown Minneapolis by train?
No. Northstar commuter rail ran its last trains on January 4, 2026, and Metro Transit replaced the line with buses: Route 888 for Ramsey, Anoka and Coon Rapids, Route 882 for Big Lake and Elk River, and Route 827, which starts at Northtown Transit Center in Blaine and runs down East River Road through Fridley into downtown Minneapolis. Blaine never had a Northstar station, but 827's northern terminal sits inside the city. The City of Blaine's own transportation page still links to Northstar as though it runs. It does not. Northtown Transit Center, in the southwest corner off Northtown Drive, is the bus anchor either way: eight Metro Transit routes stop there — 10, 25, 725, 802, 805, 824, 827 and 860 — with Route 10 running downtown all day and Routes 802 and 805 north to Anoka. In the 2020-2024 ACS, 237 of Blaine's 37,060 workers commuted by public transportation and 7,642 worked from home.
Is Blaine in Anoka County or Ramsey County?
Both, but barely. Census TIGER 2024 puts 99.44 percent of Blaine's land area in Anoka County and 0.56 percent in Ramsey County, at the southeast corner. In practice every Blaine transaction we handle is an Anoka County one: Anoka County records the deed, keeps the property record and sends the tax statement. If a property sits on that southeast edge, check the parcel's county first — the recording office, the tax statement and the county services attached to it all change with the line.
What is the airport in Blaine?
Anoka County-Blaine Airport, also called Janes Field, at 8891 Airport Road NE. It is a general aviation reliever field run by the Metropolitan Airports Commission — the same agency that runs MSP — on about 1,800 acres, with two runways: 9/27 at 5,000 feet and 18/36 at 4,855 feet. Its non-federal control tower is staffed 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in winter and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in summer. MAC says it has the most based aircraft of any reliever in its system. There is no airline service, but if you are buying under a pattern, stand in the yard on a Saturday morning before you decide.
Explore other communities.
Coon Rapids
Our home office is here: Anoka County's second-largest city, on the east bank of the Mississippi.Ham Lake
One-acre zoning minimum, no city sewer or water, and Highway 65 as the only principal arterial.Fridley
A first-ring Anoka County suburb on the Mississippi, split among four school districts.Brooklyn Park
Minnesota's sixth-largest city, and the northern end of the planned Blue Line extension.Thinking about Blaine?
Whether you're buying or selling here, we'll pull the current numbers and put together a plan. No obligation.