Faribault County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,921. Its county seat is Blue Earth.
History
The county was founded in 1855. It was named for Jean-Baptiste Faribault, a settler and French fur trader among the Sioux Indians.
Geography
Faribault County lies on the south side of Minnesota. Its southern border abuts the north border of the state of Iowa. The Blue Earth River flows northerly through the west-central part of the county; it enters from Iowa as two branches, West Branch and Middle Branch, merging at into the county. It is joined by East Branch near the city of Blue Earth, thence flows northward into Blue Earth County. The Maple River flows west-northwestward through the upper central part of the county, entering from Freeborn County and exiting to Blue Earth County. The Cobb River also flows through the NE part of the county, from Freeborn to Blue Earth county.
The county terrain consists of semi-arid rolling hills, devoted to agriculture. The SE portion is a glacial moraine near Kiester, and is known as the Kiester Moraine. The county has an area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water.
Lakes
Source:
- Blue Earth Municipal Airport
- Wells Municipal Airport
Major highways
- 20px Interstate 90
- 20px U.S. Highway 169
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 22
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 109
thumb|right|Soils of Faribault County
Adjacent counties
- Blue Earth County - north
- Waseca County - northeast
- Freeborn County - east
- Winnebago County, Iowa - southeast
- Kossuth County, Iowa - southwest
- Martin County - west
Protected areas
Source:
| align-fn = center
| footnote = US Decennial Census<br/>1790–1960 1900–1990<br/>1990-2000 2010-2020
!Pop 1990
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020
!% 1980
!% 1990
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|19,351
|16,528
|15,402
|13,519
|style='background: #ffffe6; |12,402
|98.16%
|97.59%
|95.19%
|92.89%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |89.09%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|4
|10
|39
|43
|style='background: #ffffe6; |55
|0.02%
|0.06%
|0.24%
|0.30%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.40%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|8
|19
|29
|41
|style='background: #ffffe6; |58
|0.04%
|0.11%
|0.18%
|0.28%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.42%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|61
|54
|57
|43
|style='background: #ffffe6; |45
|0.31%
|0.32%
|0.35%
|0.30%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.32%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|6
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|x
|x
|0.04%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|12
|4
|1
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |39
|0.06%
|0.02%
|0.01%
|0.01%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.28%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|81
|89
|style='background: #ffffe6; |309
|x
|x
|0.50%
|0.61%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.22%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|278
|322
|566
|817
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,013
|1.41%
|1.90%
|3.50%
|5.61%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7.28%
|-
|Total
|19,714
|16,937
|16,181
|14,553
|style='background: #ffffe6; |13,921
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 13,921. The median age was 44.9 years. 21.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.7 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 91.5% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.9% from some other race, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 7.3% of the population.
There were 6,086 households in the county, of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.4% were married-couple households, 20.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
<!-- PresRow should be -->
{| class="wikitable"
|+County Board of Commissioners
! colspan="2" |Position
!Name
!District
!Next Election
|-
|
|Commissioner
|John Roper
|District 1
|2024
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Greg Young
|District 2
|2026
|-
|
|Commissioner and Vice Chair
|Bill Groskreutz
|District 3
|2024
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Tom Loveall
|District 4
|2023
|-
|
|Commissioner and Chairperson
|Bruce Anderson
|District 5
|2024
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+State Legislature (2025-2026)
! colspan="2" |Position
!Name
!Affiliation
!District
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|Senate
|Rich Draheim
|Republican
|District 22
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|Senate
|Gene Dornink
|Republican
|District 23
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|House of Representatives
|Bjorn Olson
|Republican
|District 22A
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|House of Representatives
|Peggy Bennett
|Republican
|District 23A
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+U.S Congress (2025-2026)
! colspan="2" |Position
!Name
!Affiliation
!District
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|House of Representatives
|Brad Finstad
|Republican
|1st
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|Senate
|Amy Klobuchar
|Democrat
|N/A
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|Senate
|Tina Smith
|Democrat
|N/A
|}
Education
School districts include:
- Alden-Conger Public School District
- Blue Earth Area Public Schools
- Granada-Huntley-East Chain School District
- Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton School District
- Maple River School District
- United South Central School District
It also has the following state-operated schools:
- Minnesota State Academy for the Blind
- Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Faribault County, Minnesota
References
External links
- Faribault County Government's website
- Faribault County info at Rootsweb