Steele County, Minnesota Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Steele 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.
-
B
Health Around averageHealthier than 76% of counties in Minnesota
-
B
Income Around averageWealthier than 78% of counties in Minnesota
-
D
Education Well below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population: density and quick facts
| Metric | Steele County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 37,436 | 5,724,000 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 86.7 | 65.8 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.31% | 0.64% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 41.1 | 37.1 | 37.3 |
| Households | 15,137 | 2,299,361 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Steele County grew by 3.2% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 37,436 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Steele County is Gen X, aged 45–60, at 20.8% of residents. That is 1.1 points above Minnesota as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 7,601 20.3% -1.0 pts
- Millennials 29–44 7,381 19.7% -2.1 pts
- Gen X 45–60 7,779 20.8% +1.1 pts
- Boomers 61–79 6,353 17.0% +0.4 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 50.1% of the people living in Steele County and men 49.9%.
- Women 50.1% Minnesota 50.0%
- Men 49.9% Minnesota 50.0%
How many residents match a customer profile?
Residents matching this profile
100% of everyone living in Steele County
Pick an age range and a women/men split and the figure above answers with how many residents that profile reaches.
Economy
Steele County has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.
| Metric | Steele County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $84,760 | $89,852 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 4.84% | 4.43% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 3.4% | 4.1% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Steele County is about 6% lower than in Minnesota.
Housing
| Metric | Steele County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $204,296 | $236,718 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $1,061 | $1,280 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 79.4% | 72.2% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Steele County is about 16.1 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,061 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Steele County spend about 27 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 111 hours, about 4.6 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Steele County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 13.3 | 20.3 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 26.6 | 40.6 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 111 | 169 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $3,437 | $5,249 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 8.7% | 17.6% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 4,552 | 7,066 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 656 | 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 Steele County is 13 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
Steele County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.
| Metric | Steele County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 26.2% | 35.5% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 2.44 | 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
Steele County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.
| Metric | Steele County | Minnesota Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 82.6 | 80.8 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 12.5% | 13.0% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 18.1% | 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).
Steele County, MN Compared With Nearby Counties
Steele County, MN is typical in size for this group, 37,436 residents against a local median of 35,482, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. Where Steele County, MN breaks from the counties next to it is commute, sitting 19% below the local median of 16.5 min at 13.3 min. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.
The counties themselves spread 9.8 min on commute, so Steele County, MN sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Steele County, MN has the lowest commute of the 5 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Median household income | Median home price | Commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steele County, MN | 37,436 | $84,760 #2/5 | $204,296 #3/5 | 13.3 min #1/5 |
| Rice County, MN | 67,917 | $82,909 | $383,335 | 17.3 min |
| Dodge County, MN | 21,046 | $95,309 | $340,475 | 23.5 min |
| Freeborn County, MN | 30,623 | $70,120 | $135,869 | 15.7 min |
| Mower County, MN | 40,341 | $72,820 | $103,820 | 13.7 min |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Steele County, Minnesota.
How many people live in Steele County, Minnesota?
About 37,436 people live in Steele County, Minnesota, in 15,137 households of 2.4 people on average. The median age is 41.1, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 4 years.
Is Steele County, Minnesota urban or rural?
Averaged over its land area, Steele County, Minnesota has 87 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is close to the U.S. average of 86.
How affordable is housing in Steele County, Minnesota?
The median home costs 2.4 times the median household income ($204,296 against $84,760), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $1,061 a month takes about 15% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
How strong is the job market in Steele County, Minnesota?
Unemployment in Steele County, Minnesota is only 3.4%, well below the U.S. rate of 5.2%, a sign of a tight labor market where employers compete for workers.
Analyze any area in the US
Get local demographics for any address, aggregated by drive time or radius, on the interactive map.
Explore the map →