Olmsted County, Minnesota

Olmsted County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population is 162,847, and was estimated to be 166,731 in 2025,

Olmsted County is part of the Rochester metropolitan area.

History

The Wisconsin Territory was established by the federal government effective July 3, 1836, and existed until its eastern portion was granted statehood (as Wisconsin) in 1848. Therefore, the federal government set up the Minnesota Territory effective March 3, 1849. The newly organized territorial legislature created nine counties across the territory in October of that year. One of those original counties, Wabasha, had portions partitioned off in 1853 to create Fillmore and Rice counties. Then on February 20, 1855, portions of Rice, Wabasha, and Fillmore counties were partitioned off to create the present county, with Rochester (which was also platted that year) as county seat. The county name recognized David Olmsted (1822–1861), a member of the first territorial council and the fourth mayor of St. Paul.

The county boundaries have remained unchanged since 1855.

Geography

Olmsted County is a fairly unusual mix of urban and rural areas in that there's no transition or buffer between the two environments. Rochester, Minnesota's third-largest city with roughly 123,000 people, sits in the Zumbro River valley at the center of the county. Outside the valley, with the exception of a small amount of urban growth in the last few years, is farmland with small agricultural communities and no directly adjacent suburbs. Stewartville, the county's second-largest city, has about 6,000 people.

Olmsted County is drained by three rivers, all flowing to the Mississippi. The Zumbro flows northward through the west central part of the county, into Wabasha County. The Whitewater flows northeast from the northeast part of the county into Winona County, and the Root flows east-southeastward through the lower part of the county into Fillmore County. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, etched by drainage gullies and marked by occasional buttes. The available area is devoted to agriculture or developed for other uses. The terrain slopes to the east and north, and its highest point is a hill west of Stewartville, at ASL.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.19%) is water. It is the 46th largest county in Minnesota by total area.

thumb|right|Soils of Olmsted County

It is one of four Minnesota counties that have no natural lakes (the other three are Mower, Pipestone, and Rock).

Transit

Jefferson Lines
Rochester City Lines
Rochester Public Transit

Major highways

20px Interstate 90
20px U.S. Highway 14
20px U.S. Highway 52
20px U.S. Highway 63
20px Minnesota State Highway 30
20px Minnesota State Highway 42
20px Minnesota State Highway 74
20px Minnesota State Highway 247
20px Olmsted County Highway 22

Airports

Mid-Continent Airport

| align-fn = center

| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020

According to realtor website Zillow, the average price of a home as of November 30, 2025, in Olmsted County is $337,521.

As of the 2024 American Community Survey, there are 67,723 estimated households in Olmsted County with an average of 2.41 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $92,942. Approximately 5.9% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Olmsted County has an estimated 69.6% employment rate, with 51.6% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 95.7% holding a high school diploma. There were 73,143 housing units at an average density of .

The top five reported languages (people were allowed to report up to two languages, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (88.5%), Spanish (3.1%), Indo-European (2.6%), Asian and Pacific Islander (3.5%), and Other (2.3%).

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;"

|+<big>Olmsted County, Minnesota – racial and ethnic composition</big>

! Race / ethnicity (NH = non-Hispanic)

! Pop. 1980 !! Pop. 1990 !! Pop. 2000 !! Pop. 2010 !!

| White alone (NH)

| 89,806 (97.61%) || 101,255 (95.10%) || 110,598 (88.99%) || 120,348 (83.43%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |124,758 (76.61%)

| Black or African American alone (NH)

| 404 (0.44%) || 767 (0.72%) || 3,293 (2.65%) || 6,751 (4.68%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |10,959 (6.73%)

| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

| 130 (0.14%) || 280 (0.26%) || 286 (0.23%) || 297 (0.21%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |380 (0.23%)

| Asian alone (NH)

| 983 (1.07%) || 3,157 (2.97%) || 5,270 (4.24%) || 7,771 (5.39%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |10,190 (6.26%)

| Pacific Islander alone (NH)

| — || — || 39 (0.03%) || 57 (0.04%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |66 (0.04%)

| Other race alone (NH)

| 151 (0.16%) || 41 (0.04%) || 137 (0.11%) || 246 (0.17%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |548 (0.34%)

| Mixed-race or multiracial (NH)

| — || — || 1,695 (1.36%) || 2,697 (1.87%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |6,750 (4.14%)

| Hispanic or Latino (any race)

| 532 (0.58%) || 970 (0.91%) || 2,959 (2.38%) || 6,081 (4.22%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |9,196 (5.65%)

| Total

| 92,006 (100.00%) || 106,470 (100.00%) || 124,277 (100.00%) || 144,248 (100.00%) || style='background: #ffffe6; |162,847 (100.00%)

2024 estimate

thumb|right|2022 US Census [[population pyramid for Olmsted County, from ACS 5-year estimates]]

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 166,424 people and 67,723 households residing in the county. The population density was . There were 73,143 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 80.8% White (75.4% NH White), 8.6% African American, 0.5% Native American, 7.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 6.3% of the population.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 162,847. The median age was 37.1 years. 23.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.7 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 77.8% White, 6.8% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 6.3% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.5% from some other race, and 6.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.6% of the population.

There were 65,242 households in the county, of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.0% were married-couple households, 16.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.|source2=

Education

K-12 school districts include:

Plainview-Elgin-Millville Public Schools (ISD #2899) – partial
Byron Public Schools (ISD #531)
Chatfield Public Schools (ISD #227)
Dover-Eyota Public Schools (ISD #533)
Hayfield Public Schools (ISD #203) – partial
Kasson-Mantorville Public Schools (ISD #204) – partial
Pine Island Public Schools (ISD #255) – partial
Rochester Public Schools (ISD #535)
St. Charles Public Schools (ISD #858) – partial
Stewartville Public Schools (ISD #534)
Zumbrota-Mazeppa Public Schools (ISD #2805) – partial

Communities

thumb|The Helleckson Homestead, built about 1850, preserved in Olmsted County Oxbow Park (destroyed in 2019 floods)

Cities

Byron
Chatfield (part)
Dover
Eyota
Oronoco
Pine Island (part)
Rochester (county seat)
Stewartville

Census-designated place

High Forest
Marion

Unincorporated communities

Chester
Cummingsville
Danesville (part)
Douglas
Genoa
Judge
Pleasant Grove
Post Town
Potsdam
Predmore
Ringe
Rock Dell
Salem Corners
Shanty Town
Simpson
Viola

Townships

Cascade Township
Dover Township
Elmira Township
Eyota Township
Farmington Township
Haverhill Township
High Forest Township
Kalmar Township
Marion Township
New Haven Township
Orion Township
Oronoco Township
Pleasant Grove Township
Quincy Township
Rochester Township
Rock Dell Township
Salem Township
Viola Township

References

External links

County of Olmsted – official website