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The Minnesota Association of Townships (MAT) is a nonprofit corporation representing Minnesota’s 1,776 townships. MAT is a voluntary membership organization.

MISSION: The mission of the Minnesota Association of Townships (MAT) is to support and promote the township form of local government in Minnesota through educational programs, structured advocacy, vital collaboration, and procurement of critical resources fundamental to local governments.

MINNESOTA T‍OWNSHIP FACTS: Based on the most recent data for the state demographer’s office, approximately 922,013 residents of Minnesota live in a township. Townships provided a variety of services to these residents, including being responsible for the maintenance of approximately 55,000 miles of roads, more than any other single level of road authority in the State.

HISTORY: It is not uncommon for townships to organize or dissolve over time, causing the number of townships to change. Townships can organize from unorganized land (mostly in the Northern part of the state) while merging, annexation and incorporation into a city cause townships to dissolve. 1,801 is the most townships the state has ever had. The newest township is Goodwill Township in St. Louis County— organized in 2025. The last township to dissolve was Northern Township near Bemidji in 2026.

Download our “Townships 101” PDF document here.