Nicollet County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,454. Its county seat is St. Peter.

Nicollet County is part of the Mankato–North Mankato Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

In 1849 the Minnesota Territory legislature defined the boundaries of nine future counties. One of those, Dakota, contained the area north of the Minnesota River where it altered its flow from southeast to northeast. In 1853 the first settler had homesteaded an area on the northeast run of the river, and the following year the settlement of Saint Peter was platted there. Seeing the inflow of settlers into the areas adjoining the river, on March 5, 1853, the territorial legislature partitioned off the lower portion of Dakota County to form a separate entity. It was named for Joseph Nicolas Nicollet (1786-1843), a French explorer whose maps of the area had been instrumental in the territory's development. The county seat was established at Saint Peter.

Significant fighting occurred in the county during the 1862 Dakota War, most notably at the Battle of Fort Ridgely.

Geography

The Minnesota River flows eastward along the southern border of Nicollet County, from its northwestern corner to its northeastern corner, defining the county's southern line. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, completely devoted to agriculture where possible. The terrain slopes to the east. The county has an area of , of which is land and (3.9%) is water.

Nicollet County's highest point is the lowest high point of all Minnesota counties, with an elevation of 1,065 feet. The county's high point is east of Clear Lake and west of the town of Lafayette.

thumb|right|Soils of Nicollet County

thumb|Soils of Chamberlain Woods SNA area

Major highways

  • 20px US Highway 14
  • 20px US Highway 169
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 4
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 15
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 22
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 60
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 99
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 111
  • List of county roads

Adjacent counties

  • Sibley County - north
  • Le Sueur County - east
  • Blue Earth County - south
  • Brown County - west
  • Renville County - northwest

Protected areas

  • Fort Ridgely State Park (part)
  • Minneopa State Park (part)
  • Seven Mile Creek County Park

| 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)

|26,562

|27,529

|28,405

|29,944

|style='background: #ffffe6; |29,287

|98.64%

|98.05%

|95.41%

|91.50%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |85.00%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|51

|84

|232

|658

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,672

|0.19%

|0.30%

|0.78%

|2.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.85%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|51

|54

|59

|74

|style='background: #ffffe6; |141

|0.19%

|0.19%

|0.20%

|0.23%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.41%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|118

|198

|335

|429

|style='background: #ffffe6; |558

|0.44%

|0.71%

|1.13%

|1.31%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.62%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|x

|x

|5

|1

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10

|x

|x

|0.02%

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|12

|8

|8

|15

|style='background: #ffffe6; |71

|0.04%

|0.03%

|0.03%

|0.05%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.21%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|x

|x

|192

|380

|style='background: #ffffe6; |915

|x

|x

|0.64%

|1.16%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.66%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|135

|203

|535

|1,226

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,800

|0.50%

|0.72%

|1.80%

|3.75%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.22%

|-

|Total

|26,929

|28,076

|29,771

|32,727

|style='background: #ffffe6; |34,454

|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 34,454. The median age was 37.2 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.1 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 86.3% White, 5.0% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.6% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.1% from some other race, and 4.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.2% of the population.

There were 12,728 households in the county, of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.6% were married-couple households, 17.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.|source2=

<!-- PresRow should be -->

{| class="wikitable"

|+County Board of Commissioners

!Position

!Name

!District

!Next election

|-

|Commissioner and chairperson

|Marie Dranttel

|District 1

|2028

|-

|Commissioner

|Nicole Helget

|District 2

|2026

|-

|Commissioner

|Jack Kolars

|District 3

|2028

|-

|Commissioner

|Mark Dehen

|District 4

|2026

|-

|Commissioner

|Kurt Zins

|District 5

|2028

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+State Legislature (2025-2027)

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!Affiliation

!District

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Nick Frentz

|Democrat

|18

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Erica Schwartz

|Republican

|18A

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Luke Frederick

|Democrat

|18B

|}

{| 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 Nicollet County, Minnesota

References

  • Nicollet County official website