county

Steele County, MN

Demographic and economic profile of Steele County, MN, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Steele County is a small south-central Minnesota county of 37,413 residents with a 3.1% unemployment rate and a median household income of $84,196, well above national norms for a county its size. The labor force participation rate stands at 66.6%, with 93.7% of residents holding a high school diploma or higher and 29.7% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, while median worker earnings of $48,593 reflect a relatively affordable cost structure supported by a median home value of $234,200 and median gross rent of $1,006 per month. The county posted 2.0% population growth over five years, a 7.4% poverty rate, and a mean commute time of 19.1 minutes, with a GDP per capita of $57,267 and a homeownership rate of 79.9%.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

37,413

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$84,196

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.5 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+2.0% since 2018

Steele County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone32,125 (85.8%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,672 (4.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone1,253 (3.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,043 (2.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races942 (2.5%)
  • Asian Alone275 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish1,573
  2. 2.German or other West Germanic115
  3. 3.Arabic110
  4. 4.Vietnamese69
  5. 5.Korean68

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

24.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

56.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

18.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

4.3%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

2,104

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$57,267

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$41,392

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

7.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance3,964
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)3,640
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)2,324
  4. 4.Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing1,703
  5. 5.Construction (Group)1,276

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations7,210
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations3,591
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations3,308
  4. 4.Service Occupations2,836
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations1,889

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 2.34×)707
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 2.13×)4,009
  3. 3.Public Administration (LQ 1.28×)1,140
  4. 4.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.19×)1,498
  5. 5.Retail Trade (LQ 1.09×)2,244

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$234,200

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,006/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

79.4%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $200,000 to $249,9992,179 (18.1%)
  • $300,000 to $399,9992,102 (17.5%)
  • $250,000 to $299,9991,718 (14.3%)
  • $400,000 to $499,9991,126 (9.4%)
  • $150,000 to $174,9991,019 (8.5%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999999 (8.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

29.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

93.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

66.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$48,593

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

19.1 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone14,797 (80.2%)
  • Worked At Home1,600 (8.7%)
  • Carpooled1,240 (6.7%)
  • Walked419 (2.3%)
  • Public Transit170 (0.9%)
  • Other96 (0.5%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.