Ham Lake real estate.
One-acre zoning minimum, no city sewer or water, and Highway 65 as the only principal arterial.
Ham Lake runs on private wells and on-site septic — no municipal sewer, no city water. The 2040 Comprehensive Plan says homes and businesses are served by individual or community septic systems, and that the city does not own or operate a public water supply. The Metropolitan Council has no plans to extend regional sewer, and the city does not intend to connect within the 2040 planning period. One acre is the zoning minimum for new lots; older cabin-era lots near the lakes can be smaller. That sets the market.
The city fills 36 square miles — a full survey township — and wetland takes a large share. The comprehensive plan counts eight of those square miles as wetland and another three as sod fields, and says no section of the 36 holds less than 20 percent of one or the other. Ham Lake, Lake Netta, South Coon Lake and Mallard Lake lie entirely inside the city; Coon Lake is shared with East Bethel, Columbus and Linwood Township. The Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area borders most of the eastern city line.
Values run high for the county. The median home was built in 1994, and the median owner-estimated value was $442,500 in the 2020-2024 ACS, against $346,500 countywide and $374,000 across the metro. Two things catch buyers out. School district lines split the city, so addresses a mile apart can feed different high schools. And ZIP 55304 covers Ham Lake and Andover alike, so a mailing address will not tell you which city holds the parcel.
The housing
Detached single-family dominates: 5,086 of 6,014 units in the 2020-2024 ACS, plus 349 attached townhomes and 382 manufactured homes. Owners occupy 5,573 of 5,945 occupied units, about 94 percent, and the median build year is 1994. The comprehensive plan puts the townhome additions in the southwest quadrant, built between 1992 and 2004, and lists fifteen of them on group septic systems.
Schools
Two districts, and only two. Anoka-Hennepin (ISD 11) covers most of the city and runs its only public school, McKinley Elementary at 1740 Constance Blvd NE; the district reports about 38,000 students across 13 communities and 172 square miles. Forest Lake Area Schools (ISD 831) covers the eastern edge and has no building in Ham Lake. Census district boundaries confirm no third district enters the city.
Getting around
Trunk Highway 65 is the only principal arterial, two lanes each direction, and it carries nearly all the commercial development. The comprehensive plan lists four minor arterials: Lexington Avenue (CSAH 17), Bunker Lake Boulevard (CSAH 116), Crosstown Boulevard (CSAH 18) and Radisson Road (CSAH 52) south of Bunker Lake. Mean travel time to work is 28.6 minutes (ACS 2020-2024). Plan on driving; there is no fixed-route bus.
Parks & things to do
Ham Lake Park, 174 acres on the south shore of Ham Lake at 1843 153rd Ave NE, is the centerpiece: ball fields, a public boat launch, disc golf and two ice sheets. Lions Park at 1220 157th Ave NE has two tennis courts, four pickleball courts and a skate park. Majestic Oaks Golf Club, 701 Bunker Lake Blvd, runs two 18-hole courses and a nine-hole layout, open to the public.
Neighborhoods in Ham Lake
- Soderville (Highway 65 at Crosstown Boulevard)
- Hidden Forest East
- Elwell Farms
- Enchanted Estates
- Harmony Estates
- Swedish Chapel Estates
- Crosstown Rolling Acres
- Evergreen Estates
- Kohler Farms
- Peterson Lake Preserve
- Constance Boulevard Terrace
- Bluegrass Estates
Buying or selling in Ham Lake.
Does Ham Lake have city sewer and water?
No, and the city has no plans to add either. The 2040 Comprehensive Plan states there is no municipal sewer system and that Ham Lake "does not own or operate a public water supply and distribution system." Homes and businesses run on onsite wells and on individual or community septic systems; the plan lists fifteen townhome additions on shared group septic systems, among them the Cottages of Heritage Oaks and the Townhomes of Highland Bluffs. The Metropolitan Council does not plan to extend regional sewer to Ham Lake, and the city does not intend to connect within the 2040 planning period. The city requires each dwelling site to hold enough suitable soil to build a complete replacement drain field — a policy the plan says it has always had. It keeps a database of every system and mails inspection notices to owners, and the plan notes that most lending agencies require a septic inspection at sale. Budget for well and septic inspections on any purchase here.
Which school district will my Ham Lake address be in?
One of two, and it follows the parcel rather than the neighborhood. The city's residential development map (map date February 24, 2026) labels every new subdivision either Anoka-Hennepin School District 11 or Forest Lake Area School District 831, and splits one — Hidden Forest East — between the two. Anoka-Hennepin covers most of the city and reports about 38,000 students across 13 communities and 172 square miles; its only building inside Ham Lake is McKinley Elementary at 1740 Constance Blvd NE. Forest Lake Area Schools covers the eastern edge and has no building in the city — its elementary schools are Columbus, Forest View, Lino Lakes, Linwood, Scandia and Wyoming. Intersecting Census school-district boundaries with the city limits returns those two and nothing else: St. Francis 15 and Centennial 12 serve neighboring cities but hold no ground inside Ham Lake. Directories that name Anoka-Hennepin alone are incomplete. Confirm the parcel with the district before you write an offer.
Can I commute from Ham Lake to Minneapolis by train or bus?
Not without driving first. Northstar commuter rail's last day was January 4, 2026, and Metro Transit replaced it with buses on January 5: Route 888 to Ramsey, Anoka and Coon Rapids, Route 827 to Fridley, and Route 882 to Big Lake and Elk River. Ham Lake never had a Northstar station. Its last fixed-route service ended August 19, 2017, when Metro Transit cut back the three Route 865 express trips that had reached a park-and-ride at Family of Christ Lutheran Church here and one in East Bethel; Route 865 kept running Blaine to Minneapolis for years afterward and is gone from the route list now. Checked in July 2026, no Metro Transit route has a stop in Ham Lake. Transit Link, the region's weekday dial-a-ride, covers the seven-county metro where regular routes do not run. In the 2020-2024 ACS, 40 of Ham Lake's 8,065 workers commuted by public transportation and 1,366 worked from home. Several north-metro city and county pages still describe Northstar as running. It does not.
Why do Ham Lake and Andover share ZIP code 55304?
Because one ZIP covers both cities. Ham Lake City Hall is at 15544 Central Avenue NE, Ham Lake, MN 55304; Andover City Hall is at 1685 Crosstown Boulevard NW, Andover, MN 55304. A 55304 address on its own does not tell you which city holds the parcel, whose taxes and building permits apply, or which school district it feeds — Andover is split between Anoka-Hennepin 11 and St. Francis 15, while Ham Lake is split between Anoka-Hennepin 11 and Forest Lake 831. It also means listings, tax records and map results can disagree about the city. Check the county parcel record, not the mailing address.
Explore other communities.
Blaine
The largest city in Anoka County, still building out, and home to our Blaine business center.Andover
Two markets in one city: sewered subdivisions south of the MUSA line, 2.5-acre lots north.East Bethel
Forty-eight square miles of acreage lots along Highway 65, most of it on well and septic.Coon Rapids
Our home office is here: Anoka County's second-largest city, on the east bank of the Mississippi.Thinking about Ham Lake?
Whether you're buying or selling here, we'll pull the current numbers and put together a plan. No obligation.