Rice County, Minnesota Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Rice County, MN Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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A
Health Above averageHealthier than 83% of counties in Minnesota
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B
Income Around average
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C
Education Below averageBetter educated than 77% of counties in Minnesota
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Rice County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 67,917 | 5,724,000 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 131.7 | 65.8 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.53% | 0.64% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 38.6 | 37.1 | 37.3 |
| Households | 23,493 | 2,299,361 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Rice County grew by 9.8% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 67,917 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Rice County is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 26.1% of residents. That is 4.8 points above Minnesota as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 17,707 26.1% +4.8 pts
- Millennials 29–44 13,472 19.8% -2.0 pts
- Gen X 45–60 12,959 19.1% -0.6 pts
- Boomers 61–79 10,907 16.1% -0.5 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Minnesota, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 49.0% of the people living in Rice County and men 51.0%.
- Women 49.0% Minnesota 50.0%
- Men 51.0% Minnesota 50.0%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Rice County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Rice County has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.
| Metric | Rice County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $82,909 | $89,852 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 3.82% | 4.43% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 4.5% | 4.1% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Rice County is about 8% lower than in Minnesota.
Housing
| Metric | Rice County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $383,335 | $236,718 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $1,082 | $1,280 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 76.3% | 72.2% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Rice County is about 29.5 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,082 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Rice County spend about 35 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 144 hours, about 6.0 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Rice County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 17.3 | 20.3 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 34.6 | 40.6 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 144 | 169 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $4,472 | $5,249 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 12.0% | 17.6% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 5,767 | 7,066 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 716 | 854 | 1,355 |
Fastest commutes among counties in
Minnesota:
Brown County (10.6 min), Pennington County (10.8 min), Cottonwood County (10.9 min).
Slowest:
Chisago County (30.9 min), Wright County (28.8 min), Sherburne County (28.8 min).
The average commute time in Rice County is 17 minutes, shorter than the 20 minutes in Minnesota.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Rice County has a education index of C, which means it is somewhat educated.
| Metric | Rice County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 25.4% | 35.5% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.55 | 2.43 | 2.53 |
Highest education index among counties in
Minnesota:
Hennepin County (0.4), Olmsted County (0.4), Carver County (0.4).
Lowest:
Nobles County (0.2), Mahnomen County (0.2), Watonwan County (0.2).
Health
Rice County has a health index of A, which means it is very healthy.
| Metric | Rice County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 81.3 | 80.8 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 11.3% | 13.0% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 17.1% | 18.5% | 19.0% |
Highest health index among counties in
Minnesota:
Carver County (0.8), Washington County (0.8), Stevens County (0.8).
Lowest:
Mahnomen County (0.8), Clearwater County (0.8), Beltrami County (0.8).
Rice County, MN Compared With Nearby Counties
Rice County, MN is the 3rd largest of the 5 counties compared here, 67,917 residents against a local median of 95,990. Rice County, MN's median home price, at $383,335, runs 51% above the $253,666 typical of the counties around it.
Commute tells the same story from another angle: 17.3 min against a local median of 22.2 min, 22% below it. The picture is mixed rather than uniform: commute runs ahead of the neighbourhood while median household income runs behind it, so Rice County, MN is trading one against the other rather than simply out-performing what surrounds it. The counties themselves spread $208,228 on median home price, so Rice County, MN sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Rice County, MN has the 2nd highest median home price of the 5 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice County, MN | 67,917 | $82,909 #5/5 | $383,335 #2/5 | 17.3 min #2/5 |
| Steele County, MN | 37,436 | $84,760 | $204,296 | 13.3 min |
| Scott County, MN | 154,543 | $120,239 | $282,373 | 23.2 min |
| Dakota County, MN | 445,396 | $106,144 | $412,524 | 22.0 min |
| Le Sueur County, MN | 29,116 | $92,665 | $224,959 | 22.4 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Rice County, Minnesota.
How big is Rice County, Minnesota by population?
About 67,917 people live in Rice County, Minnesota, in 23,493 households of 2.6 people on average. The median age is 38.6, close to the U.S. median of 37.3.
How densely populated is Rice County, Minnesota?
Averaged over its land area, Rice County, Minnesota has 132 people per square mile, a density typical of a mix of suburbs, small towns and farmland. That is about 1.5 times the U.S. average of 86.
How affordable is housing in Rice County, Minnesota?
The median home costs 4.6 times the median household income ($383,335 against $82,909), compared with 3.1 times nationally. A ratio of about 3 is traditionally considered affordable. Median rent of $1,082 a month takes about 16% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
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