Sibley County is a county in the South Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,836. Its county seat is Gaylord.
History
The county was created on March 5, 1853. It was named for Henry Hastings Sibley.
The county seat was first established at Henderson. A courthouse was built there and placed into service in 1879. It was used in that capacity until 1915, when the county seat was moved to Gaylord (after Gaylord residents presented a petition to county supervisors). Now the Henderson Community Building, the original courthouse presently houses Henderson City offices.
Geography
The Minnesota River flows northeastward along Sibley County's eastern border. It is fed by the Rush River, whose three branches drain the lower part of the county before merging and then meeting the Minnesota below Henderson. Bevens Creek drains the upper part of the county, flowing northeastward into Carver County. The county terrain consists of rolling hills etched with drainages and dotted with lakes and ponds, with the area devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the east and north, with its highest point near its northwest corner at ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (2.0%) is water. Most of the Rush River's watershed is in Sibley County.thumb|right|Soils of Sibley County
Major highways
- 20px U.S. Highway 169
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 5
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 15
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 19
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 22
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 25
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 93
Adjacent counties
- McLeod County - north
- Carver County - northeast
- Scott County - east
- Le Sueur County - southeast
- Nicollet County - south
- Renville County - west
Lakes
Source:
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census:
!Pop 1990
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020
!% 1980
!% 1990
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|15,304
|14,187
|14,337
|13,835
|style='background: #ffffe6; |12,942
|99.07%
|98.75%
|93.36%
|90.86%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |87.23%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|3
|5
|15
|41
|style='background: #ffffe6; |81
|0.02%
|0.03%
|0.10%
|0.27%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.55%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|22
|15
|33
|22
|style='background: #ffffe6; |30
|0.14%
|0.10%
|0.21%
|0.14%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.20%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|25
|32
|50
|80
|style='background: #ffffe6; |72
|0.16%
|0.22%
|0.33%
|0.53%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.49%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|0
|2
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10
|x
|x
|0.00%
|0.01%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.07%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|5
|0
|14
|10
|style='background: #ffffe6; |25
|0.03%
|0.00%
|0.09%
|0.07%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.17%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|73
|138
|style='background: #ffffe6; |361
|x
|x
|0.48%
|0.91%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.43%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|89
|127
|834
|1,098
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,315
|0.58%
|0.88%
|5.43%
|7.21%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8.86%
|-
|Total
|15,448
|14,366
|15,356
|15,226
|style='background: #ffffe6; |14,836
|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 14,836. The median age was 42.3 years. 23.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 103.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 102.1 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 89.7% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.7% from some other race, and 5.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 8.9% of the population.
There were 5,989 households in the county, of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.5% were married-couple households, 19.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 19.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
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Education
School districts include:
- Belle Plaine Public School District
- Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart Public Schools
- Central Public School District
- Glencoe-Silver Lake School District
- GFW Schools<!--Written by the Census Bureau as "G.F.W."-->
- Le Sueur-Henderson School District
- Sibley East School District
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Sibley County, Minnesota