St. Louis County, Minnesota

Tax Deed200,794 residents

County research last verified 2026-07. Office holders, platforms, and deposit rules change — re-confirm anything time-sensitive.

Sale typestate default

Tax Deed

Redemption periodstate default

3 years from judgment (5 years for homestead/ag land)

Investor returnstate default

N/A — outright deed transfer

Governing statutestate default

Minnesota Statutes Ch. 280–282

Notes

Minnesota tax-forfeiture deed county with one of the largest tax-forfeited land inventories in the U.S. (hundreds of thousands of acres managed for resource trust). St. Louis County Land & Minerals Department classifies and sells non-resource parcels at public auction (online via Public Surplus since 2024 restart after an ~18-month pause for surplus-proceeds legislative fixes). Unsold lots may go over-the-counter. Recreational, waterfront, and buildable lots appear alongside vacant urban parcels near Duluth. Bidder eligibility: cannot have delinquent St. Louis County property taxes.

Auction logistics

Format

Online public auction (Public Surplus); OTC available list for unsold

Frequency

Multiple online auction windows when inventory is approved by County Board (e.g. multi-week Public Surplus events; subscribe on landsales page)

Platform

St. Louis County Land Sales / Public Surplus ↗

Deposit rules

Register and bid on Public Surplus per auction terms. Starting bids published in county catalog. Pay remaining balance per platform/county deadline. No delinquent taxes allowed on other St. Louis County property. Sales AS IS; research access, wetlands, and mining/shoreland rules carefully on North Shore and Iron Range parcels.

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale

Tax-forfeited deed process; federal liens, shoreland/mining restrictions, and easement/access issues are common DD items. Large inventory includes non-buildable recreational land — verify zoning and utilities.

Quiet title

Expect title-insurance underwriting scrutiny and possible quiet title for marketable title after tax-forfeited conveyance, especially on older or remote parcels.

Deal maths for Minnesota

Assessment ratio: 1× of market value
Typical quiet title: $1,800–$5,000 · 5 mo
Recording and transfer: $250

Minn. Stat. § 273.11 subd. 1: "all property shall be valued at its market value." Class rates under § 273.13 are applied afterwards to compute tax capacity and do not reduce the assessed value. The estimated market value is also what § 282.005 uses to set the opening price at a tax-forfeited sale.

Offices and records

Tax collector

St. Louis County Land & Minerals Department (tax-forfeited sales) ↗

218-726-2606

Clerk of court

St. Louis County Recorder / Auditor ↗

Property appraiser

St. Louis County Assessor / parcel search ↗

GIS / parcel map

St. Louis County GIS / land sales maps ↗

Areas trending up

Directional read from dated market analysis — not a guarantee, and not a substitute for your own comps.

Duluth / Canal Park–Lincoln Park edge

Regional medical, port, and tourism employment supporting urban infill demand

Hermantown / Proctor suburban ring

Family housing demand with school districts serving Duluth metro workforce

Virginia / Iron Range service towns

Lower entry prices and resource-sector cyclical demand; higher vacancy risk than Duluth core