St. Cloud, Minnesota

About St. Cloud, Minnesota

St. Cloud (IPA: /ˌseɪntˈklaʊd/) is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the major population center in the state's central region. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 59,107. It is the county seat of Stearns County. Though mostly in Stearns County, the city also extends into Benton County and Sherburne County.

It is surrounded by a small metropolitan area, with Waite Park, Sauk Rapids, Sartell, St. Joseph and St. Augusta directly bordering the city, are Foley, Kimball, Clearwater, Clear Lake, Rockville, and Cold Spring nearby.

St. Cloud is located 65 miles (105 km) northwest of the "Twin Cities" of Minneapolis-St. Paul along Interstate 94, U.S. Route 10, and Minnesota State Highway 23. The St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is made up of Stearns and Benton Counties. The city was included in a newly defined Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud Combined Statistical Area (CSA) in 2000, even though commuting criteria did not require mandatory inclusion. St. Cloud has never been part of the 13-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington-WI "Metropolitan Statistical Area," a more commonly used definition of large urban areas. The boundary between the two government-designated areas is unclear because Sherburne County is considered part of the Twin Cities metropolitan area.