Golden Valley is a western and first-ring suburb of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 22,552 at the 2020 census.^[3] The city is mostly residential and is bordered by U.S. Highway 12 (Interstate 394). Over 15% of it is parks or nature reserves.^[5] The Floyd B. Olson Memorial Highway runs through the heart of the city, providing a direct route to Minneapolis's industrial district.^[6]

Golden Valley is the main corporate headquarters of General Mills, a major flour milling and food products company originally located in Minneapolis. It is the site of Pentair's U.S. headquarters and local NBC affiliate KARE. The city was also home to the former Minneapolis-Honeywell headquarters, which is now the Resideo Technologies corporate offices.^[7]

Ojibwe and Sioux tribes had encampments on nearby Medicine Lake. The first white settlers arrived in the early 1850s.^[8] Golden Valley was incorporated on December 17, 1886. In the early 20th century, it was mostly a farming community.^[9]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 10.55 square miles (27.32 km²), of which 10.20 square miles (26.42 km²) is land and 0.35 square miles (0.91 km²) is water.^[10]

The 45th parallel north runs through Golden Valley, coinciding approximately with Duluth Street.

Interstate 394, U.S. Highway 169, and Minnesota State Highways 55 and 100 are four of the main routes in the area.

Most children who live in Golden Valley attend school in the Robbinsdale School District or the Hopkins School District, as all of the city's territory belongs to one or the other. Some students attend public schools in other districts chosen by their families under Minnesota's open enrollment statute.^[11]

Golden Valley High School was founded in 1957, and the adjacent Golden Valley Middle School opened in 1964.^[12] Both closed in the early 1980s after the Golden Valley School District merged with the Hopkins School District. Carl Sandburg Junior High School opened in 1959. In 1988, it became Sandburg Middle School.^[13] In 1981, the Breck School, a private Episcopal school, purchased the former Golden Valley High School and Middle School property and moved from Minneapolis to the campus of the former Golden Valley schools.

King of Grace Lutheran School is a Christian preschool, elementary school, and middle school of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Golden Valley.^[14]

There is also a private elementary Catholic School named Good Shepherd Catholic School. Its name was changed in 2006 from Parkvalley Catholic.

What is now the site of the Perpich Center for Arts Education was originally Golden Valley Lutheran College, which closed in 1985.^[15]

Major employers in the city include:^[16]

• Tennant^[17]
• General Mills^[18]
• Pentair^[19]
• KARE, NBC television affiliate for the Twin Cities
• Minnesota United FC – headquarters for the Major League Soccer franchise^[20]
• Bluestone Garden^[21]
• Room & Board
• Honeywell^[22]
• UnitedHealth Group^[23]
• USFamily.net^[24]

Golden Valley's population is around 22,000, but more than 30,000 people work there,^[25] because of the presence of large employers including General Mills, Honeywell, and Pentair.

Golden Valley is a statutory city, where the mayor votes with the city council. Golden Valley operates under the council–manager form of government. The city council sets the policy and overall direction for the city, and appoints a city manager to serve as administrator. The city manager directs city staff in carrying out council decisions and providing services.^[28]

The mayor serves a four-year term. There are four council members serving staggered four-year terms. Two council seats are up for election every two years, in odd-numbered years. The council members run citywide; there are no wards. The current mayor is Roslyn Harmon. The current city council includes Maurice Harris, Denise La Mere-Anderson, Gillian Rosenquist and Kimberly Sanberg.^[29]

Golden Valley is in Minnesota's 5th congressional district, represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Ilhan Omar, a Democrat. The city is split between two state legislative districts: 46A, represented by Representative Larry Kraft and Senator Ron Latz, and 45B, represented by Representative Patty Acomb and Senator Kelly Morrison. All four are Democrats.