Apple Valley is a city in northwestern Dakota County in the State of Minnesota, and a suburb of the Twin Cities. The population was 56,374 at the 2020 census, making it the 17th most populous city in Minnesota. In 2014, Money.com named Apple Valley the 17th best place to live in the United States, up from 20th in 2010, 24th in 2008 and 28th in 2007. And it also the host for Scott Highlands Middle School a national blue ribbon school placed in the city of Apple Valley, Minnesota.