Rice County, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rice County
U.S. county
Rice County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	March 5, 1853
Named for	Henry Mower Rice
Seat	Faribault
Largest city	Faribault
Area
• Total	516 sq mi (1,340 km2)
• Land	496 sq mi (1,280 km2)
• Water	20 sq mi (50 km2)  3.9%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	67,097
• Estimate  (2021)	67,262
• Density	135.3/sq mi (52.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	1st, 2nd

Henry Mower Rice, one of Minnesota's first senators and the namesake of the county

Rice County is a county located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,097. Its county seat is Faribault.

Rice County comprises the Faribault-Northfield, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI Combined Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 516 square miles (1,340 km²), of which 496 square miles (1,280 km²) is land and 20 square miles (52 km²) (3.9%) is water. The Cannon River flows northeastwardly through the county, collecting the Straight River in Faribault. The North Fork of the Zumbro River has its headwaters in the county's southeastern part. Rice is one of 17 Minnesota savanna counties with more savanna soils than either prairie or forest soils.

Soils east of Nerstrand State Park

Lakes

• Cannon Lake: almost entirely in Warsaw Township, but the far western part extends into Morristown Township
• Caron Lake: in Shieldsville Township
• Cedar Lake: in Shieldsville Township
• Circle Lake: in Forest Township
• Crystal Lake: in Cannon City Township
• Duban Lake: in Erin Township
• Dudley Lake: in Wells Township
• Fox Lake: in Forest Township
• French Lake: mostly in Wells Township, but the western part extends into Shieldsville Township
• Hatch Lake: in Wheatland Township
• Horseshoe Lake: eastern third is in Morristown Township; the rest is in Le Sueur County
• Hunt Lake: in Shieldsville Township
• Kelly Lake: in Wells Township
• Mazaska Lake: in four different townships: Wells, Shieldsville, Forest, and Erin
• Metogga Lake: in Wheatland Township
• Mud Lake: in Shieldsville Township
• Phelps Lake: all of the northern Phelps Lake is in Wheatland Township; the northern third of the southern Phelps Lake is in Wheatland Township and the rest is in Erin Township
• Rice Lake: in Shieldsville Township
• Roberds Lake: in Wells Township
• Sakatah Lake: eastern half is in Morristown Township; western half is in Le Sueur County
• Shields Lake: northern half is in Erin Township and the southern half is in Shieldsville Township
• Sprague Lake: in Morristown Township
• Union Lake: souther half is in Forest Township; northern half is in Webster Township
• Weinberger Lake: in Morristown Township
• Wells Lake: mostly in Wells Township, but the southern part extends into Warsaw Township
• Willing Lake: in Shieldsville Township

Major highways

Adjacent counties

• Dakota County (northeast)
• Goodhue County (east)
• Dodge County (southeast)
• Steele County (south)
• Waseca County (southwest)
• Le Sueur County (west)
• Scott County (northwest)

Demographics

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

As of the census of 2000, there were 56,665 people, 18,888 households, and 13,353 families residing in the county. The population density was 114 people per square mile (44/km²). There were 20,061 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile (16/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.59% White, 1.31% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 1.46% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.87% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. 5.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 32.1% were of German, 14.7% Norwegian, 7.2% Irish and 5.3% Czech ancestry.

There were 18,888 households out of which 36.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 23.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the county, the population was spread out with 25.30% under the age of 18, 15.80% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 20.20% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 101.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,651, and the median income for a family was $56,407. Males had a median income of $36,771 versus $26,151 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,695. About 4.00% of families and 6.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.70% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and recreation

• Ackman Park 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Faribault
• Albers Park in Webster
• Cannon River Wilderness Area 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Faribault
• Caron Park in Cannon City
• Falls Creek Park 1-mile (1.6 km) east of Faribault
• Heron Island in Shieldsville
• Hirdler Park 10 miles (16 km) west of Faribault
• Kalina Park in Wheatland
• King Mill Park in Faribault
• Shager Park 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Faribault

Communities

Cities

• Dennison (partly in Goodhue County)
• Dundas
• Faribault (county seat)
• Lonsdale
• Morristown
• Nerstrand
• Northfield (partly in Dakota County)

Townships

Census-designated place

• Warsaw

Other unincorporated communities

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Rice (Minnesota) para niños