Waseca County () is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,968. Its county seat is Waseca.
History
In 1849, the newly organized Minnesota Territory legislature authorized nine counties across the territory. One of those, Dakota, was partially subdivided in 1853 to create Blue Earth, Le Sueur, and Rice counties. In 1855, parts of those counties were partitioned to create Steele. On February 27, 1857, the territorial legislature authorized partitioning western Steele County to create Waseca County, with its seat at Wilton, a settlement which began in 1854. The county name was taken from the area's first farming settlement, started in 1855, near the present location of the city of Waseca. That settlement name came from the Dakota word meaning "rich," a reference to the fertile soil in the area.
The Winona and Saint Peter Railroad line past the town of Waseca was completed in the latter half of the 1860s, causing the town to bloom. By 1870 the vote was taken to relocate the county seat to that settlement.
Waseca County's boundaries have not changed since its creation.
Geography
The Le Sueur River flows westward through the county toward its confluence with the Blue Earth River in Blue Earth County. It is augmented by the Little Le Sueur, which drains the southeast part of the county. Bull Run Creek flows westward from Silver Lake through the lower central part of the county into Blue Earth County; the Little Cobb River rises in southern Waseca County and flows westward into Blue Earth County to its confluence with the Cobb River.
The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, carved by drainages and dotted with lakes. The area is devoted to agriculture wherever possible. The terrain slopes to the north and west, with its highest point near its southeast corner, at ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (2.2%) is water.
Waseca is one of seven southern Minnesota counties that have no forest ecosystems, only prairie and savanna soils.
Transit
- Southern Minnesota Area Rural Transit
Major highways
- 20px U.S. Highway 14
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 13
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 30
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 60 (runs along north border of county only)
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 83
- Minnesota State Highway 230
Adjacent counties
- Rice County - northeast
- Steele County - east
- Freeborn County - southeast
- Faribault County - southwest
- Blue Earth County - west
- Le Sueur County - northwest
Protected areas
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)
|18,229
|17,814
|18,198
|17,308
|style='background: #ffffe6; |16,538
|98.81%
|98.53%
|93.20%
|90.45%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |87.19%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|22
|26
|435
|371
|style='background: #ffffe6; |336
|0.12%
|0.14%
|2.23%
|1.94%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.77%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|7
|35
|111
|129
|style='background: #ffffe6; |114
|0.04%
|0.19%
|0.57%
|0.67%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.60%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|45
|74
|89
|127
|style='background: #ffffe6; |111
|0.24%
|0.41%
|0.46%
|0.66%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.59%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|6
|4
|style='background: #ffffe6; |12
|x
|x
|0.03%
|0.02%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.06%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|4
|1
|8
|8
|style='background: #ffffe6; |21
|0.02%
|0.01%
|0.04%
|0.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.11%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|113
|204
|style='background: #ffffe6; |565
|x
|x
|0.58%
|1.07%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.98%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|141
|129
|566
|985
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,271
|0.76%
|0.71%
|2.90%
|5.15%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6.70%
|-
|Total
|18,448
|18,079
|19,526
|19,136
|style='background: #ffffe6; |18,968
|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 18,968. The median age was 40.6 years. 23.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.0 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 89.8% White, 1.9% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.1% from some other race, and 4.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.7% of the population.
There were 7,387 households in the county, of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.2% were married-couple households, 18.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
|Republican
|District 19
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|Senate
|Gene Dornink
|Republican
|District 23
|-
|style="background-color:" |
|House of Representatives
|Keith Allen
|Republican
|District 19A
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|House of Representatives
|Tom Sexton
|Republican
|District 19B
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|House of Representatives
|Peggy Bennett
|Republican
|District 23A
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+U.S Congress (2021–2023)
! 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
|}
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See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Waseca County, Minnesota
References
External links
- Waseca.com - Waseca's Information Site
- Waseca County government’s website