Jury Pool Profile
Steele County, Minnesota
- County seat
- Owatonna
- Judicial district
- 3rd Judicial District Court
- Population (July 2025 estimate)
- 37,464
- Census PEP. The five-year ACS survey average is 37,439.
At a glance
Steele County is a 37,464-person venue. The county population is 86% White (Census race-alone categories). Median household income is $83,225, $3,895 below the MN state median of $87,120; 28.0% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher. 6.7% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, most commonly Spanish. The largest employment sector is Manufacturing, at 23.6% of covered employment, average pay $74,636/year. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 5.1%, above the 4.31% state average. The county carried the Republican presidential candidate in 2016, 2020, and 2024, taking 59% to 61% of the vote across the three.
- Population
- 37,439
- Median household income
- $84,196
- Unemployment
- 5.1%
Who sits on a jury?
≥70% White (race-alone) and <20% Black. This county: 86% / 3%.
Steele County has a population of 37,439, with a median age of 40.5. By Census race-alone categories, White residents make up 85.8%; Black residents 3.3%. Independently, 8.9% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The median household earns $83,225; 28.0% of residents 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher; 8.3% live below the federal poverty line.
Economic context
Largest sector in BLS QCEW: Manufacturing, 4,515 jobs; Trade, transportation & utilities, 3,939, is within 20% of it.
Manufacturing is the largest employment sector at 23.6% of covered employment, followed by Trade, transportation & utilities at 20.5%. Trailing-12-month unemployment is 5.1%, above the Minnesota state average.
Political composition
Republican candidate carried this county in 2016, 2020, and 2024 (avg winning share: 60%). 'Strongly' threshold: ≥60% avg.
Steele County was carried by the Republican candidate in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 cycles, with 61.2% in 2024, 59.9% in 2020, 58.8% in 2016.
Languages, households, faith & health
Family households are 64% of all households (thresholds: ≥70% = 'family-dominant'; 50–70% = 'family-majority'; <50% = 'singles/nonfamily-majority'). 6.7% of residents 5 and older speak a language other than English at home (threshold for 'linguistically diverse' is ≥10%).
6.7% of residents 5 years and older speak a language other than English at home. The most common are Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese. Veterans account for 7.4% of the adult civilian population (2,104 individuals).