Does Minnesota Have One of the Worst Cities for Parking Tickets?

Parking can be an issue for people in certain areas. Having to make sure the meter is fed, or you get the dreaded parking ticket. Honestly, I struggle with the concept a bit.  

I understand businesses in downtown areas can’t have someone leave their car in front of their business all day and make it hard for folks who want to shop there. But at the same time, the business chose to be there, and the city or town recruited them there. It sort of seems like the customer is left holding the bag.  

Since I moved to Minnesota, I’ve heard stories about parking tickets from both around St. Cloud and the Twin Cities. If we’re being honest, getting a parking ticket in a town the size of St. Cloud is more of an inconvenience versus cities like St. Paul or Minneapolis.  

The fines for a parking violation in St. Cloud are relatively minor, with the maximum being $20 unless you park illegally in a handicap spot, and the cost is $200.  

Compare those numbers to St. Paul or Minneapolis. A google search says that in St. Paul a parking ticket will set you back $56. In Minneapolis, the fee ranges from $35 to $200 depending on where you park.   

Those numbers are pretty good compared to the rest of the country, as a matter of fact, Minneapolis-St. Paul avoided the Top 15 list of cities that make the most money from parking tickets in an article Quartz.  

The city that pulls in the most money is Baltimore Maryland. My wife got a parking ticket there once then the officer realized after she issued it, that my wife wasn’t parked illegally. The ticket would have cost $510 if my wife didn’t appear in court. The officer explained the situation to the judge, and the case was tossed out. But it is a fact that Baltimore takes their parking fines very seriously. They make $100.87 per capita.  

The rest of the top 15 are: 

San Francisco Ca.- $98.80 

Washington DC- $98.27 (DC is a great town but parking there bites). 

Chicago Il.- $ 97.20 

Boston Ma.- $83.37 

New York, NY- $63.20 

Philadelphia Pa.- $45.70- The city took in over $72 million dollars in parking fines in 2019.  

Denver Co. - $38.98- The City netted over $27 million dollars in 2019. 

Los Angeles Ca.- Their city buses have scanners on them that can issue a ticket to a car parked in the bus lanes. 

Seattle Wa.- $28.66 

Milwaukee Wi.-$25.10 

San Diego Ca.- $22.61- Have become known for unmarked or hard to identify ticket traps.  

Madison Wi.- $20.38 

Detroit Mi.- $19.02 

San Jose Ca.- $11.01 

 So, if you’ve had parking frustrations in Minnesota, it could be worse, a lot worse. And hopefully no matter where you travel to next, this will serve as a reminder to pay closer attention to everything around where you park to help you avoid an expensive dip in your wallet.