Until 1877 Blaine was part of the city of Anoka, Minnesota. Phillip Laddy, a native of Ireland, is recognized as the first settler in Blaine and settled near a lake that now bears his name, Laddie Lake, in 1862. Laddy died shortly after his arrival and his survivors moved on to Minneapolis. Another early settler was the Englishman George Townsend, who lived for a short time near what would today be Lever St. and 103rd Ave.

It was not until 1865 that Blaine’s first permanent resident, Green Chambers, settled on the old Townsend claim. Chambers was a former slave who moved north from Barren County, Kentucky, following the Civil War. In 1870 George Wall, Joseph Gagner, and soon others settled in the area and it began to grow.

In 1877 Blaine separated from Anoka and organized as a township of its own. That year the first election was held and Moses Ripley was elected as the first Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. Ripley, who had come to Minnesota from Maine, persuaded his fellow board members to name the new Township in honor of James G. Blaine, a senator and three-time presidential candidate from Maine. By 1880 Blaine’s population had reached 128.

In 2007, the city was named one of the top 100 places to live, for it's great community. In 2008, a youth TV show, Local Edition with Devry Foss and Austin Gamst, from North Metro TV, started as a local edge-opinion show that covered Blaine like a newscast. Since 1998, Blaine has had North Metro TV News as well, which served Blaine and parts of the North Metro.

While many of the other communities in Anoka County experienced growth due to farming, Blaine’s sandy soil and abundant wetlands discouraged would-be farmers and it remained a prime hunting area. Blaine’s growth remained slow until after World War II when starter home developments began to spring up in the southern part of town and the community changed from a small rural town to a more suburban one. Blaine’s population has grown from 1,694 in 1950 to 20,640 in 1970 to an estimated 54,020 in 2005. For several years Blaine led the Twin Cities metro region in new home construction.

Blaine's growth could be attributed to the development of Interstate Highway 35W, U.S. Highway 10, and Minnesota Highway 65 which increased its accessibility to the Twin Cities making it an attractive location for business and residential development. Corporate residents include the Aveda Corporation, MagnetStreet and Dayton Rogers Manufacturing.

Blaine is also home to the 600-acre (2.4 km2) National Sports Center featuring 50 soccer fields, a golf course, a velodrome, and the Schwan Super Rink, containing 4 Olympic and 4 regulation ice rinks in one building.

There are 2 high schools within the city: Blaine High School home to the Bengals in the Anoka-Hennepin School District, and Centennial High School home to the Cougars in the Centennial School District.

The Blaine campus of Globe University/Minnesota School of Business, a for-profit private career college, offers master's, bachelor's and associate degree programs in business, information technology, health sciences and legal sciences. Rasmussen College, a private, for-profit school offering Bachelor's and Associate's degrees, has a location in Blaine.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 34.0 square miles (88.1 km²), of which, 33.8 square miles (87.7 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²) of it is water. The total area is 0.50% water. Blaine is 13 miles (21 km) from Minneapolis and 20 miles (30 km) from St. Paul.