South St. Paul is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States, immediately south and southeast of St. Paul and east of West St. Paul. The population was 20,759 at the 2020 census. The town was a major meat-packing location, and many residents are descended from immigrants of Southern European and Eastern European heritage, who came to work in the meat-packing plants in the early twentieth century.

Dakota County is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Minnesota, located in the east central portion of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 439,882. The population of Dakota County was estimated to be 447,440 in 2023. The county seat is Hastings. Dakota County is named for the Dakota Sioux tribal bands who inhabited the area.