Farmington is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 23,632 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. On February 5, 2026, Mayor Joshua Hoyt resigned after a tense city council meeting. Nick Lien was appointed as acting mayor on March 2, 2026.
History
thumb|The Exchange Bank Building in downtown Farmington
Settlers began arriving in Empire Township, in which Farmington grew, in the early 1850s. The village of Dakota City began around the intersection of the Minnesota Central, Hastings, and Dakota railroads, and the Vermillion River. The popular city train station in Dakota City was Farmington Station and non-residents began confusing the names and calling the town Farmington. The town's name was then permanently changed to Farmington. It derives from the numerous farms near the original town site. Farmington received its village charter in 1872, making it Dakota County's second-oldest community after the county seat, Hastings.
A notable event in Farmington's history is the movement of the Dakota County Fair to Farmington in 1869. Another event, the Great Fire of Farmington on November 22, 1879, destroyed several houses, stores, a hotel, and a grain elevator in the current downtown area. The fire was started by a firework cart that was knocked over in a buggy accident. Farmington High School graduated its first class in 1884. In 1897, Farmington became one of the first communities in the United States to offer rural free mail delivery. Tract also clarified that the project's annual water usage would be capped at 50 million gallons.
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 an area of , of which is land and is water.
Farmington borders Lakeville to the west, Empire Township to the east, and the Townships of Castle Rock and Eureka to the south.
County Road 31/Pilot Knob, County Road 50, Minnesota Highway 50, and Minnesota Highway 3 are four of the main routes in Farmington.
Community
The Dakota County Fairgrounds are in Farmington, with entrances on 220th Street (Ash Street) and along Highway 3 (Chippendale Avenue). The Fairgrounds is the largest in area with versus 300 for the next largest: The Minnesota State Fairgrounds. It also hosts the largest county fair attendance in the state, with average annual attendance of 125,000.
Farmington is largely residential. It can be divided into two sections, north and south of County 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 last five years. Farmington has many biking and walking trails within its housing communities. The trail along the Vermillion River unites the downtown, uptown, and Empire Township neighborhoods.