Nicollet County, Minnesota

Nicollet County, Minnesota
Location in the state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 5, 1853 [1]
Named for	Joseph Nicolas Nicollet, a geographer-explorer
Seat	St. Peter
Largest city	North Mankato
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	466.95 sq mi (1,209 km²) 452.29 sq mi (1,171 km²) 14.65 sq mi (38 km²), 3.14%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	32,727 66/sq mi (25/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.nicollet.mn.us

Nicollet County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 32,727. Its county seat is St. Peter.

Nicollet County is part of the Mankato–North Mankato Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 466.95 square miles (1,209.4 km²), of which 452.29 square miles (1,171.4 km²) (or 96.86%) is land and 14.65 square miles (37.9 km²) (or 3.14%) is water.

Lakes

• Annexstad Lake: in Lake Prairie Township
• Erickson Lake: in Traverse Township
• Middle Lake: the southwestern Middle Lake is in Granby Township; the northeastern Middle Lake is in Granby Township, Traverse Township, and Oshawa Township
• Oak Leaf Lake: in Oshawa Township
• Overson Lake: in Traverse Township
• Rice Lake: in New Sweden Township
• Sand Lake: in Lake Prairie Township
• Swan Lake: about a quarter of the northwest part of the lake is in Brighton Township; about three eighths of the southwest part is in Courtland Township; another three eighths is in Granby Township; a very small part of the southeast shore is in Nicollet Township

Major highways

U.S. Highway 14 U.S. Highway 169 Minnesota State Highway 4 (briefly) Minnesota State Highway 15 Minnesota State Highway 22

Minnesota State Highway 60 Minnesota State Highway 99 Minnesota State Highway 111 Minnesota State Highway 295 Minnesota State Highway 333

Adjacent counties

• Sibley County (north)
• Le Sueur County (east)
• Blue Earth County (southeast)
• Brown County (southwest)
• Renville County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	3,778		—
1870	8,362		121.3%
1880	12,333		47.5%
1890	13,382		8.5%
1900	14,774		10.4%
1910	14,125		−4.4%
1920	15,036		6.4%
1930	16,550		10.1%
1940	18,282		10.5%
1950	20,929		14.5%
1960	23,196		10.8%
1970	24,518		5.7%
1980	26,929		9.8%
1990	28,076		4.3%
2000	29,771		6.0%
2010	32,727		9.9%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 29,771 people, 10,642 households, and 7,311 families residing in the county. The population density was 66 people per square mile (25/km²). There were 11,240 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.37% White, 0.80% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 1.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 1.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 49.2% were of German, 13.3% Norwegian, 6.8% Swedish and 5.4% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

Age pyramid of county residents based on 2000 U.S. census data.

There were 10,642 households out of which 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.50% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.30% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.70% under the age of 18, 16.40% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,170, and the median income for a family was $55,694. Males had a median income of $36,236 versus $25,344 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,517. About 4.30% of families and 7.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.70% of those under age 18 and 8.00% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Cities	Townships		Unincorporated
Courtland Lafayette Mankato † Nicollet North Mankato ‡ St. Peter	Belgrade Township Bernadotte Township Brighton Township Courtland Township Granby Township Lafayette Township Lake Prairie Township	New Sweden Township Nicollet Township Oshawa Township Ridgely Township Traverse Township West Newton Township	Klossner Norseland St. George West Newton Bernadotte

† Mankato is mainly in Blue Earth County but extends into Nicollet County.
‡ North Mankato is mainly in Nicollet County but extends into Blue Earth County.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Nicollet County, Minnesota

External links

• Nicollet County official website