Olmsted County, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Olmsted County
U.S. county
Olmsted County Government Center (pre-expansion)
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	February 20, 1855
Named for	David Olmsted
Seat	Rochester
Largest city	Rochester
Area
• Total	655 sq mi (1,700 km2)
• Land	653 sq mi (1,690 km2)
• Water	1.5 sq mi (4 km2)  0.2%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	162,847
• Estimate  (2021)	163,436
• Density	249/sq mi (96/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st

Olmsted County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population is 162,847. Its county seat and largest city is Rochester.

Olmsted County is part of the Rochester Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 655 square miles (1,700 km²), of which 653 square miles (1,690 km²) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²) (0.2%) is water. It is one of four counties in Minnesota that does not have any natural lakes (the other three being Mower, Pipestone, and Rock).

Lakes

Though Olmsted County does not have any natural lakes, it does have six reservoirs created by dams.

• Chester Lake: Eyota Township
• Lake Florence: High Forest Township
• Lake George: Rochester Township
• Mayowood Lake: Rochester Township
• Silver Lake: Haverhill Township and Cascade Township
• Lake Zumbro (partially): Oronoco Township

Major highways

Adjacent counties

• Wabasha County (north)
• Winona County (east)
• Fillmore County (south)
• Mower County (southwest)
• Dodge County (west)
• Goodhue County (northwest)

Demographics

Age pyramid of county residents based on 2000 U.S. census data

As of the census of 2000, there were 124,277 people, 47,807 households, and 32,317 families residing in the county. The population density was 190 people per square mile (73/km²). There were 49,422 housing units at an average density of 76 per square mile (29/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.33% White, 2.68% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 4.27% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.92% from other races, and 1.51% from two or more races. 2.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The ancestral makeup of the county was 33.7% German, 16.1% Norwegian, 8.0% Irish and 5.2% English.

There were 47,807 households out of which 35.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.70% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county, the population was spread out with 27.00% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 32.20% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $51,316, and the median income for a family was $61,610. Males had a median income of $40,196 versus $29,994 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,939. About 3.80% of families and 6.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.70% of those under age 18 and 9.50% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

The Helleckson Homestead, built about 1850, preserved in Olmsted County Oxbow Park

Cities

Townships

Unincorporated communities

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Olmsted para niños