Swift County, Minnesota Demographics

Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.

Swift 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 average
  • B
    Income Around average
  • D
    Education Well below average
    Less educated than 71% of counties in Minnesota

Source: Map AI Methodology

Swift County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Swift County Minnesota Avg U.S. Average
Population 9,748 5,724,000 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 13.0 65.8 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) 0.36% 0.64% 0.59%
Median age 42.7 37.1 37.3
Households 4,121 2,299,361 130,235,071

Population in Swift County declined by 10.5% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 9,748 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Swift County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Swift County is Gen X, aged 45–60, at 20.3% of residents. That is 0.7 points above Minnesota as a whole.

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 48.8% of the people living in Swift County and men 51.2%.

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Economy

Swift County has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.

Metric Swift County Minnesota Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $60,667 $89,852 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 2.53% 4.43% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 4.4% 4.1% 5.2%

The median household income in Swift County is about 32% lower than in Minnesota.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Swift County Minnesota Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $138,802 $236,718 $248,835
Median rent $920 $1,280 $1,407
Homeownership rate 72.4% 72.2% 65.2%

The median home price in Swift County is about 12.6 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $920 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Swift County spend about 28 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 116 hours, about 4.8 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Swift County Minnesota Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 14.0 20.3 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 27.9 40.6 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 116 169 187
Estimated yearly cost $3,608 $5,249 $5,790
Work from home 7.5% 17.6% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 954 7,066 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 187 854 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 Swift County is 14 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.

Commute and transport details →

Education & Households

Swift County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.

Metric Swift County Minnesota Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 21.4% 35.5% 31.6%
Average household size 2.30 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

Swift County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.

Metric Swift County Minnesota Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 83.7 80.8 78.3
Self-rated poor health 14.3% 13.0% 16.3%
Smokers 19.1% 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).

Full health data →

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Swift County, Minnesota.

How many people live in Swift County, Minnesota?

About 9,748 people live in Swift County, Minnesota, in 4,121 households of 2.3 people on average. The median age is 42.7, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 5 years.

How densely populated is Swift County, Minnesota?

Averaged over its land area, Swift County, Minnesota has 13 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 15% of the U.S. average of 86.

Can a typical household afford a home in Swift County, Minnesota?

The median home costs 2.3 times the median household income ($138,802 against $60,667), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $920 a month takes about 18% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

How common is a college degree in Swift County, Minnesota?

21.4% of adults in Swift County, Minnesota hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 5), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.

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