Lakeville, MN: The Most Underrated Suburb in the Twin Cities
When people think of the best Twin Cities suburbs, they think of Edina or Minnetonka. But one suburb is quietly becoming one of the most sought-after in the metro, and it’s my hometown: Lakeville. It has 130 miles of trails, lakes, two downtowns and new construction from the $300,000s to multi-millions. Here’s the tour.
Prices are as of my video above (November 2025). See our Lakeville community guide for current numbers.
Where Lakeville is
Lakeville is centrally located in the south metro, with I-35 on the west side and Cedar Avenue on the east. It’s about 25 to 35 minutes to the airport and at most about 40 minutes to downtown Saint Paul or Minneapolis, depending on where you live in town. Shopping is easy, too.
One advantage most newer cities don’t have: the Airlake Industrial Park and Airlake Airport. That industrial tax base helps keep residential property taxes in check.
Parks, trails and lakes
Lakeville has more than 1,800 acres of parks, one of the largest park systems in the metro, and 130 miles of paved trails that connect nearly everything.
Lake Marion (about 560 acres), where I grew up, has three parks:
- Antlers Park, recently renovated, with a sandy swimming beach, a dedicated fishing spot, grills, a rentable pavilion, a playground, summer concerts and Lakeville Brewing Company in the summer.
- Casperson Park, with the paved boat launch and parking.
- Ritter Farm Park, quieter, with crab apple trees and walking areas.
Lake Marion is one of the biggest fisheries in Dakota County, stocked with walleye, plus largemouth bass, northern pike and panfish. Along the west shore, the old gravel Juno Trail road was turned into a walking trail of roughly a mile and a half to two miles.
Two downtowns
Historic downtown Lakeville dates to the 1800s and has about 60 shops, from a hardware store to breweries. Until the mid-’90s, the city didn’t allow big-box stores, and downtown has since had a real renaissance. Summer events include:
- Pan-O-Prog (late June through July 4), with street dances and car shows
- Taste of Lakeville, with food vendors from around the Twin Cities
- Lakeville Art Festival
Neighborhoods
Brackett’s Crossing is Lakeville’s only private golf course, built in 1965, one of the oldest in the south metro and Golf Course of the Year in 2013. The clubhouse has tennis, an Olympic-size pool and three dining options, with social and golf memberships. Homes range from townhomes in the high $400,000s to multi-million-dollar homes on the course.
Credit River, now its own city of about 5,500 people, is essentially an extension of Lakeville with larger lots, typically 2.5 acres or more. Entry level starts around $500,000. In new neighborhoods like The Ranch ($1.6 million to $3 million) and Yellowstone (from about $1.4 million), you can have your own slice of country.
The housing market
- Average sale price around $477,000, about $68,000 less than Eden Prairie and more than a quarter million less than Edina.
- Just under 1.5 months of inventory, a seller’s market.
- About 24% of homes sold above asking, and Lakeville ranked among the hottest housing markets in the country.
- Homes of every age, from the early 1900s to brand new, and more new construction than anywhere else in the metro: new townhomes from about $325,000, and new single-family homes around $500,000 in neighborhoods like Ritter Meadows.
(In April 2026, Lakeville paused new plat approvals for up to a year; already-approved lots are still being built. More in Twin Cities suburbs that will change by 2050.)
Who Lakeville fits
Lakeville isn’t for everyone. If you need to be close to downtown every day, it’s a drive. But it fits:
- Price-conscious buyers who want a lot of community for the money
- People who want a commute that’s not too short, a little away from everything
- Outdoor lovers: Lake Marion, Orchard Lake, part of Crystal Lake, and 1,800 acres of parks
- Investors and anyone looking for their own slice of heaven, from townhomes to acreage
People often buy based on reputation and choose a suburb like Edina for the name. My take: consider Lakeville. You get many of the same parks and amenities, and the value is the trade for being a little farther out. Reach out. We’ve helped hundreds of buyers in Lakeville.
