West St. Paul is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 20,615 at the 2020 census. It is immediately south of Saint Paul and immediately west of South St. Paul.
History
The city's confusing name comes from its location on the west bank of the predominantly north-to-south Mississippi River, though a myth—that it was named because it was "west of South St. Paul"—was created by Jake H. Marthaler in the mid-20th century and has persisted. The city sits on the site of a previous West St. Paul, which predated the current county lines and was partially in what is now called Saint Paul's Lower West Side. According to the West 7th/Fort Road foundation, Saint Paul annexed the West Side for two reasons: "to aid law enforcement—criminals could escape Saint Paul authorities by crossing to the West Side and Dakota County—and to eliminate the Wabasha Street Bridge tolls which were inhibiting development on the West Side". West St. Paul continued to exist independently in Dakota County from 1874 until 1887, when the city of South St. Paul was incorporated in its place. In 1889, the current city of West St. Paul split off from the still new South St. Paul and reclaimed the original name. The population was 20,615 at the 2020 census,
U.S. Highway 52 (also known as the Lafayette Freeway), Robert Street, and Minnesota Highway 62 are three of West St. Paul's main routes. Interstate Highway 494 runs just south of the city and Minnesota Highway 3 (unmarked Route 952) runs through the middle of the city and into downtown Saint Paul as Robert Street. Robert Street was named for Captain Louis Robert, a Mississippi River boat captain and early French-Canadian settler of Saint Paul.