Freeborn County is a county in the state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,895. Its county seat is Albert Lea. Freeborn County comprises the Albert Lea Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Freeborn County was created on February 20, 1855, the territory being separated from Blue Earth and Rice Counties. Twelve other Minnesota counties were created the same day by the Minnesota Territorial Legislature. Freeborn County was named for William Freeborn, an early Minnesota pioneer, merchant, and territorial legislator.

Geography

Freeborn County lies on Minnesota's border with Iowa. The Shell Rock River flows southward from Albert Lea Lake in central Freeborn County, crossing into Iowa. Turtle Creek flows eastward through the upper eastern part of the county, crossing into Mower County. The terrain is hilly and etched with drainages and gullies. The Le Sueur River, a tributary of the Minnesota River, begins in the northern part of the county and flows northward into Waseca County. The Cobb River and the Maple River, two other small rivers, begin in the extreme northwest corner of the county, the Cobb from Freeborn Lake and the Maple from Penny Lake. Both run generally northwest, emptying into the LeSueur River, just upstream from where the LeSueur empties into the Minnesota River, on the western edge of Mankato. Most of the available land is devoted to agriculture. The terrain generally slopes to the south and east, although the highest point is near the northeast corner, at ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (2.1%) is water.

thumb|right|Soils of Freeborn County thumb|right|Soils of Island in Myhre-Big Island State Park

Lakes

Source:

| align-fn = center

| footnote = U.S. 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)

|35,252

|31,771

|30,061

|27,701

|style='background: #ffffe6; |25,071

|97.04%

|96.10%

|92.26%

|88.63%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |81.15%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|2

|11

|65

|200

|style='background: #ffffe6; |460

|0.01%

|0.03%

|0.20%

|0.64%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.49%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|35

|61

|59

|55

|style='background: #ffffe6; |76

|0.10%

|0.18%

|0.18%

|0.18%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.25%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|76

|126

|171

|232

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,135

|0.21%

|0.38%

|0.52%

|0.74%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.67%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|x

|x

|2

|10

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5

|x

|x

|0.01%

|0.03%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|13

|15

|4

|17

|style='background: #ffffe6; |79

|0.04%

|0.05%

|0.01%

|0.05%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.26%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|x

|x

|173

|290

|style='background: #ffffe6; |886

|x

|x

|0.53%

|0.93%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.87%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|951

|1,076

|2,049

|2,750

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,183

|2.62%

|3.25%

|6.29%

|8.80%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10.30%

|-

|Total

|36,329

|33,060

|32,584

|31,255

|style='background: #ffffe6; |30,895

|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 30,895. The median age was 43.7 years. 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 97.5 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 84.1% White, 1.6% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.7% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 4.1% from some other race, and 6.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 10.3% of the population.

There were 13,076 households in the county, of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.2% were married-couple households, 19.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

<!-- PresRow should be -->

{| class="wikitable"

|+County Board of Commissioners

!Position

!Name

!District

!Next Election

|-

|Commissioner and Chairman

|Brad Edwin

|District 1

|2028

|-

|Commissioner

|Dawn Kaasa

|District 2

|2026

|-

|Commissioner

|Lukas Severson

|District 3

|2028

|-

|Commissioner

|Christopher Shoff

|District 4

|2026

|-

|Commissioner

|Nicole Eckstrom

|District 5

|2028

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+State Legislature (2025-2027)

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!Affiliation

!District

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Gene Dornink

|Republican

|23

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Peggy Bennett

|Republican

|23A

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Patricia Mueller

|Republican

|23B

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+U.S Congress (2025-2027)

! 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

|}

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Freeborn County, Minnesota
  • Peter Lund Creek

References

  • Freeborn County website