Houston County, Minnesota

• White (non-Hispanic) 17,432 93.5%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 289 1.5%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 50 0.3%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 166 0.9%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 663 3.6%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 27 0.1%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 0 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 26 0.1%

• Under 18 3,992 21.4%
• 18–24 1,231 6.6%
• 25–44 4,088 21.9%
• 45–64 4,946 26.5%
• 65 and over 4,396 23.6%

Median household income

$77,735

90% interval $69,620–$85,850

−$9,385 vs MN · 29th of 87

Below poverty line

8.6%

90% interval 7.0%–10.2%

−0.7 pp vs MN · 66th of 87

Unemployment (12-mo)

3.7%

−0.57 pp vs. state

County GDP

$810.3M

0.16% of state

Avg. annual pay

$49,120

Establishments

478

• Education & health services 1,617 31.5%
• Trade, transportation & utilities 1,063 20.7%
• Public administration 437 8.5%
• Leisure & hospitality 398 7.8%
• Construction 386 7.5%
• Manufacturing 368 7.2%
• Professional & business services 241 4.7%
• Other services 192 3.7%
• Financial activities 159 3.1%
• Natural resources & mining 148 2.9%
• Information 119 2.3%

Home ownership

83.4%

+11.2 pp vs MN · 12th of 87

Median gross rent

$879

−$401 vs MN · 49th of 87

Owner-occupied

6,782

Renter-occupied

1,352

• Moderately concentrated

  Top three sectors employ 61% of the county workforce. Substantial intra-sector overlap among panelists is likely; confirm employer relationships before sector-specific framing.

• Wide wage spread

  Highest-paid sector (Information, $74,074/yr) pays 4.8× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $15,398/yr). Stark intra-economy class divisions on the panel; calibrate damages and lost-wages framing to that range.

• Mixed business scale

  Average establishment employs 11 workers, a mix of institutional employers and small businesses. Both employed-by-large-institution and small-business-owner perspectives are likely on the panel.

• Republican 6,547 57.5%
• Democratic 4,667 41.0%
• Other / third-party 180 1.6%

• Spanish 184 1.0%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 148 0.8%
• German or other West Germanic 59 0.3%
• Chinese 23 0.1%
• Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 22 0.1%
• Arabic 10 0.1%
• Tagalog 9 0.1%

Households

8,134

Family households

5,258

64.6% of households

Married couples w/ children

1,428

27.2% of families

Single-mother families

295

5.6% of families

Veterans

984

6.7% of civilians 18+

• Catholic 5,249 27.9%
• Mainline Protestant 4,294 22.8%
• Evangelical Protestant 2,160 11.5%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 1 0.0%

Health insured

96.8%

±0.8 pp

Uninsured

3.2%

±0.8 pp

81st of 87

With a disability

11.0%

±1 pp

75th of 87

Bachelor's or higher

30.1%

±2.5 pp

−9.3 pp vs MN · 22nd of 87

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

5.5%

90% interval 4.9%–6.1% · Census SAHIE

The under-65 uninsured rate is not comparable to the ACS insurance figures, which cover all ages.

Trial court

3rd Judicial District Court

Judges

23 (District Court judges per judicial district; counts vintage 2026 mncourts.gov and may shift modestly as the Legislature reallocates seats between districts (Minn. Stat. § 2.724).)

Court seats

Albert Lea, Austin, Caledonia, Faribault, Mantorville, Owatonna, Preston, Rochester, Wabasha, Waseca, Winona

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Traffic fatalities

2

13.64 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

2