county

Watonwan County, MN

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

AI Overview

Watonwan County is a small, agriculture-oriented community of 11,169 residents in southern Minnesota, with a foreign-born population of 13.0% that reflects labor patterns typical of food-processing and meatpacking industries in the region. The workforce numbers roughly 7,300 labor-force participants (65.4% participation rate), with 88.4% holding a high school diploma or equivalent, though only 18.2% have a bachelor's degree or higher, and median worker earnings sit at $40,818 against a 5.5% unemployment rate. Housing costs are low—median home value of $151,600 and median gross rent of $807/month—and the county posted modest population growth of 1.8% over five years, with a homeownership rate of 78.2%.

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

Population

11,169

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$71,699

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.8 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+1.8% since 2018

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

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone8,278 (73.9%)
  • Some Other Race Alone1,609 (14.4%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,083 (9.7%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone118 (1.1%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races77 (0.7%)
  • Asian Alone36 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish2,356
  2. 2.Other Asian and Pacific Island27
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic25
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic7
  5. 5.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)4

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

25.6%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

54.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

13.0%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

525

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$40,083

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$35,659

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

13.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,274
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)920
  3. 3.Construction (Group)550
  4. 4.Retail Trade (Group)535
  5. 5.Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities455

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,655
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations967
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations874
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations872
  5. 5.Service Occupations774

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 5.33×)449
  2. 2.Manufacturing (LQ 1.94×)1,021
  3. 3.Construction (LQ 1.43×)524
  4. 4.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.27×)393
  5. 5.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.04×)1,290

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$151,600

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$807/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

77.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,999408 (12.4%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999358 (10.9%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999356 (10.8%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999321 (9.8%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999236 (7.2%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999202 (6.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

18.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

65.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$40,818

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

23.2 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone3,666 (73.0%)
  • Carpooled557 (11.1%)
  • Worked At Home407 (8.1%)
  • Walked220 (4.4%)
  • Public Transit65 (1.3%)
  • Bicycle53 (1.1%)

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.