Stearns County, Minnesota

• White (non-Hispanic) 129,075 80.2%
• Hispanic or Latino (any race) 7,700 4.8%
• Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 14,498 9.0%
• Asian (non-Hispanic) 3,109 1.9%
• Two or more races (non-Hispanic) 5,967 3.7%
• American Indian / Alaska Native (non-Hispanic) 120 0.1%
• Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic) 77 0.0%
• Some other race (non-Hispanic) 319 0.2%

• Under 18 38,011 23.6%
• 18–24 23,084 14.3%
• 25–44 38,409 23.9%
• 45–64 35,490 22.1%
• 65 and over 25,871 16.1%

Median household income

$76,793

90% interval $73,051–$80,535

−$10,327 vs MN · 34th of 87

Below poverty line

11.7%

90% interval 10.0%–13.4%

+2.4 pp vs MN · 24th of 87

Unemployment (12-mo)

4.5%

+0.22 pp vs. state

County GDP

$12.6B

2.49% of state

Avg. annual pay

$65,352

Establishments

4,672

• Education & health services 25,605 29.3%
• Trade, transportation & utilities 19,379 22.2%
• Manufacturing 11,591 13.3%
• Leisure & hospitality 7,284 8.3%
• Construction 5,639 6.5%
• Professional & business services 4,953 5.7%
• Financial activities 4,586 5.2%
• Public administration 3,002 3.4%
• Other services 2,884 3.3%
• Natural resources & mining 1,254 1.4%
• Information 1,243 1.4%

Home ownership

67.9%

−4.3 pp vs MN · 81st of 87

Median gross rent

$1,068

−$212 vs MN · 16th of 87

Owner-occupied

41,663

Renter-occupied

19,740

• Moderately concentrated

  Top three sectors employ 65% 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 (Construction, $97,930/yr) pays 4.4× the lowest (Leisure & hospitality, $22,241/yr). Stark intra-economy class divisions on the panel; calibrate damages and lost-wages framing to that range.

• Institutional employer scale

  Average establishment employs 19 workers, typical of an institutional-employer economy where large hospitals, plants, schools, and government agencies dominate. Expect many panelists to share an employer rather than work for themselves.

• Republican 53,932 62.4%
• Democratic 30,829 35.7%
• Other / third-party 1,600 1.9%

• Spanish 4,934 3.3%
• Arabic 794 0.5%
• German or other West Germanic 706 0.5%
• French, Haitian, or Cajun 476 0.3%
• Russian, Polish, or other Slavic 445 0.3%
• Chinese 426 0.3%
• Vietnamese 418 0.3%
• Korean 107 0.1%
• Tagalog 84 0.1%

Households

61,403

Family households

37,462

61.0% of households

Married couples w/ children

12,189

32.5% of families

Single-mother families

3,071

8.2% of families

Veterans

7,695

6.3% of civilians 18+

• Catholic 53,720 33.9%
• Evangelical Protestant 13,746 8.7%
• Mainline Protestant 13,337 8.4%
• Other (non-Christian + minor traditions) 3,046 1.9%
• Orthodox 34 0.0%

Health insured

95.1%

±0.5 pp

Uninsured

4.9%

±0.5 pp

43rd of 87

With a disability

11.7%

±0.6 pp

62nd of 87

Bachelor's or higher

28.8%

±1.1 pp

−10.6 pp vs MN · 27th of 87

Uninsured, under 65 (2024)

6.8%

90% interval 6.1%–7.5% · Census SAHIE

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

Trial court

7th Judicial District Court

Judges

29 (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

Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Foley, Little Falls, Long Prairie, Milaca, Moorhead, St. Cloud, Wadena

This judicial district spans multiple counties.

Traffic fatalities

12

9.77 per 100k adults (18+)

Fatal crashes

9