Rock County, Minnesota

Updated on Oct 07, 2024

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Seat Luverne Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5 Area 1,251 km² Unemployment rate 2.1% (Apr 2015)		Congressional district 1st Website www.co.rock.mn.us Population 9,520 (2013) Largest city Luverne

Founded May 23, 1857 (created)1870 (organized) Named for The prominent rock deposit in the county Cities Luverne, Beaver Creek, Hills, Kanaranzi, Minnesota Rivers Rock River, Poplar Creek, Norwegian Creek, Beaver Creek

Rock County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota, in the far southwestern corner of the state. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,687. Its county seat is Luverne. The county was formed in 1857 and organized in 1870. Rock County was named for the rocky soil.

Map of Rock County, MN, USA

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 483 square miles (1,250 km²), of which 482 square miles (1,250 km²) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km²) (0.06%) is water.

Lakes

Despite Rock County not containing any natural lakes (the other three being Mower, Olmsted, and Pipestone), it does have a small lake created by a dam in Blue Mounds State Park.

Major highways

Interstate 90

U.S. Highway 75

Minnesota State Highway 23

Minnesota State Highway 269

Minnesota State Highway 270

Adjacent counties

Pipestone County (north)

Murray County (northeast)

Nobles County (east)

Lyon County, Iowa (south)

Minnehaha County, South Dakota (west)

Moody County, South Dakota (northwest)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,721 people, 3,843 households, and 2,705 families residing in the county. The population density was 20 people per square mile (8/km²). There were 4,137 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.27% White, 0.53% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. 1.28% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 41.4% were of German, 23.8% Dutch and 16.5% Norwegian ancestry.

There were 3,843 households out of which 31.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.10% were married couples living together, 5.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.30% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 24.10% from 25 to 44, 22.00% from 45 to 64, and 20.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $38,102, and the median income for a family was $44,296. Males had a median income of $28,776 versus $22,166 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,411. About 5.50% of families and 8.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.10% of those under age 18 and 8.90% of those age 65 or over.