Founded February 20, 1855 Largest city Rochester Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5 Area 1,696 km² County seat Rochester | Named for David Olmsted Congressional district 1st Website www.co.olmsted.mn.us Population 149,226 (2013) Unemployment rate 3.1% (Apr 2015) | |
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Destinations Rochester, Chatfield, Oxbow Park and Zollman Zoo Colleges and Universities Mayo Medical School, Rochester Community and Tech, University of Minnesot, Crossroads College, Minnesota School of Business Points of interest Plummer House, Rochester Art Center, Mayo Clinic Buildings, Oxbow Park and Zollman Z, Douglas State Trail | ||
Olmsted County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 144,248. Its county seat and largest city is Rochester. The county was founded in 1855 and named for David Olmsted, a member of the first territorial council and the first mayor of St. Paul.
Contents
Map of Olmsted County, MN, USA
Olmsted County is part of the Rochester, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 655 square miles (1,700 km2), of which 653 square miles (1,690 km2) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km2) (0.2%) is water.
It is one of four counties in Minnesota that does not have any natural lakes (the other three being Mower, Pipestone, and Rock).
Lakes
Though Olmsted County does not have any natural lakes, it does have six reservoirs created by dams.
Adjacent counties
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 124,277 people, 47,807 households, and 32,317 families residing in the county. The population density was 190 people per square mile (73/km²). There were 49,422 housing units at an average density of 76 per square mile (29/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.33% White, 2.68% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 4.27% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.92% from other races, and 1.51% from two or more races. 2.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The ancestral makeup of the county was 33.7% German, 16.1% Norwegian, 8.0% Irish and 5.2% English.
There were 47,807 households out of which 35.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.70% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the county, the population was spread out with 27.00% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 32.20% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $51,316, and the median income for a family was $61,610. Males had a median income of $40,196 versus $29,994 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,939. About 3.80% of families and 6.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.70% of those under age 18 and 9.50% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
Olmsted is a historically Republican county. Rapid population growth in Rochester, however, has been turning the county more competitive in the last several decades.