Wabasha County, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wabasha County
U.S. county
Old Wabasha City Hall in Wabasha, Minnesota.
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	October 27, 1849
Named for	Wabasha (city)
Seat	Wabasha
Largest city	Lake City
Area
• Total	550 sq mi (1,400 km2)
• Land	523 sq mi (1,350 km2)
• Water	27 sq mi (70 km2)  4.8%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	21,387
• Estimate  (2021)	21,509
• Density	40.9/sq mi (15.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	2nd

Wabasha County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,387. Its county seat is Wabasha.

Wabasha County is part of the Rochester Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 550 square miles (1,400 km²), of which 523 square miles (1,350 km²) is land and 27 square miles (70 km²) (4.8%) is water. Wabasha is one of 17 Minnesota counties with more savanna soils than either forest or prairie soils.

Soils of Carley State Park area

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 61
• U.S. Highway 63
• Minnesota State Highway 42
• Minnesota State Highway 60
• Minnesota State Highway 74
• Minnesota State Highway 247

Lakes

• These lakes are located within the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge
  • Cross Lake
  • Half Moon Lake
  • Maloney Lake
  • McCarthy Lake
  • Peterson Lake
  • Robinson Lake

Adjacent counties

• Pepin County, Wisconsin (northeast)
• Buffalo County, Wisconsin (east)
• Winona County (southeast)
• Olmsted County (south)
• Goodhue County (west, northwest)

Demographics

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

As of the census of 2000, there were 21,610 people, 8,277 households, and 5,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 41 people per square mile (16/km²). There were 9,066 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.97% White, 0.25% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.62% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. 1.68% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 53.3% were of German, 11.1% Norwegian, 7.3% Irish and 5.0% American ancestry.

There were 8,277 households out of which 33.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.80% were married couples living together, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county, the population was spread out with 27.10% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,117, and the median income for a family was $50,480. Males had a median income of $33,053 versus $24,316 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,664. About 4.10% of families and 6.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.00% of those under age 18 and 9.30% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Wabasha County Jail, built 1916.

Cities

Townships

Unincorporated communities