Wabasha County, Minnesota

Wabasha County, Minnesota
Location in the state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
Founded	October 27, 1849 [1]
Named for	Three successive chiefs of Mississippi bands of Dakota Indians.
Seat	Wabasha
Largest city	Lake City
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	549.83 sq mi (1,424 km²) 525.01 sq mi (1,360 km²) 24.82 sq mi (64 km²), 4.51%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	21,676 41/sq mi (16/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.wabasha.mn.us

Wabasha County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, founded in 1849 As of 2010, the population was 21,676. Its county seat is Wabasha.

Wabasha County is part of the Rochester, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 549.83 square miles (1,424.1 km²), of which 525.01 square miles (1,359.8 km²) (or 95.49%) is land and 24.82 square miles (64.3 km²) (or 4.51%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 61 U.S. Highway 63 Minnesota State Highway 42

Minnesota State Highway 60 Minnesota State Highway 74 Minnesota State Highway 247

Lakes

• These lakes are located within the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge
  • Cross Lake
  • Half Moon Lake
  • Maloney Lake
  • McCarthy Lake
  • Peterson Lake
  • Robinson Lake

Adjacent counties

• Pepin County, Wisconsin (northeast)
• Buffalo County, Wisconsin (east)
• Winona County (southeast)
• Olmsted County (south)
• Goodhue County (west, northwest)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	243		—
1860	7,228		2,874.5%
1870	15,850		119.3%
1880	18,206		14.9%
1890	16,972		−6.8%
1900	18,924		11.5%
1910	18,554		−2.0%
1920	17,919		−3.4%
1930	19,613		9.5%
1940	17,653		−10.0%
1950	16,878		−4.4%
1960	17,007		0.8%
1970	17,224		1.3%
1980	19,335		12.3%
1990	19,744		2.1%
2000	21,610		9.5%
2010	21,676		0.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

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

As of the census of 2000, there were 21,610 people, 8,277 households, and 5,876 families residing in the county. The population density was 41 people per square mile (16/km²). There were 9,066 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.97% White, 0.25% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.62% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. 1.68% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 53.3% were of German, 11.1% Norwegian, 7.3% Irish and 5.0% American ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 8,277 households out of which 33.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.80% were married couples living together, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.10% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,117, and the median income for a family was $50,480. Males had a median income of $33,053 versus $24,316 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,664. About 4.10% of families and 6.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.00% of those under age 18 and 9.30% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Wabasha County Jail, built 1916.

Cities	Townships		Unincorporated
Bellechester † Elgin Hammond Kellogg Lake City † Mazeppa Millville Minneiska ‡ Plainview Wabasha Zumbro Falls	Chester Elgin Gillford Glasgow Greenfield Highland Hyde Park Lake Mazeppa	Minneiska Mount Pleasant Oakwood Pepin Plainview Watopa West Albany Zumbro	Camp Lacupolis Maple Springs Oak Center Reads Landing South Troy Theilman Weaver

† These cities lie partly within Goodhue County.
‡ A part of Minneiska extends into Winona County.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Wabasha County, Minnesota
• Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge

External links

• Wabasha-Kellogg (Minnesota) Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Wabasha County government's website
• Wabasha County Health and Demographic Data