Mankato is a city in Blue Earth and Nicollet counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 32,427 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, and is located along a large bend of the Minnesota River at its confluence with the Blue Earth River. Mankato is located in Blue Earth County and neighbored by its sister city across the Minnesota River, North Mankato, and completely encompasses the town of Skyline. Mankato is the larger of the two principal cities of the Mankato–North Mankato Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan area that covers Blue Earth and Nicollet counties and had a combined population of 85,712 at the 2000 census. Mankato was designated a Metropolitan Statistical Area by the U.S. Census Bureau in November of 2008. U.S. Routes 14 and 169 and Minnesota State Highways 22, and 60 are four of the main arterial routes in the city.
