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Houston County
Houston County
County
	Houston County Courthouse in Caledonia
	Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
	Minnesota's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 43°40′N 91°29′W / 43.67°N 91.49°W
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	February 23, 1854 (created); April 4, 1854 (organized)
Named for	Sam Houston
Seat	Caledonia
Largest city	La Crescent
Area
• Total	569 sq mi (1,470 km2)
• Land	552 sq mi (1,430 km2)
• Water	17 sq mi (40 km2) 2.9%
Population (2020)
• Total	18,843
• Estimate (2023)	18,582
• Density	33/sq mi (13/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	co.houston.mn.us

Houston County (/ˈhjuːstən/ HEW-stən)^[1] is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. At the 2020 census, the population was 18,843.^[2] Its county seat is Caledonia.^[3] Houston County is included in the La Crosse–Onalaska Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The area covered by today's Houston County was first organized as St. Croix County, of the Wisconsin Territory, in 1839.^[4] On October 27, 1849, part of that county was partitioned off to create Wabashaw County of the Minnesota Territory.^[5] On February 23, 1854, the territorial legislature authorized the partitioning of sections of Wabashaw to create Fillmore County^[6] and Houston County.^[7] An election on April 4, 1854, allowed the county government to be completed.^[7] The county was named for Sam Houston, who had been president of the Republic of Texas and a US senator from Texas.^[8] The village of Houston was the first county seat. Then a land speculator made an effort to move the seat to Caledonia, and in 1855 the county board moved the county records to Caledonia, which became the de facto seat, and eventually the legal seat after several county votes. In 1855 the records were stored in the cabin of Commissioner Samuel McPhail; the first court hearings were held in that cabin, and a one-story courthouse and jail was built in Caledonia in 1857. A two-story building was built in Caledonia in 1867, and several referendums made Caledonia the county seat by 1874.^[9] From that point on, Caledonia prospered and Houston slowly declined. The only other area of prominence was La Crescent, which benefited from its connection to La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Geography

Houston County is at Minnesota's southeast corner. Its eastern border abuts Wisconsin (across the Mississippi River) and its southern border abuts Iowa. The Mississippi flows south-southeast along its eastern border. The Root River flows east through the northern part of the county, discharging into the Mississippi. Pine Creek flows east-southeast through the northeastern part of the county to discharge into the Mississippi, while Crooked Creek flows east across the southern part of the county to discharge into the Mississippi. The county's terrain consists of low rolling hills on its western end, transitioning to hills carved with drainages toward the east.^[10] The central and western portion of the county is a plateau with its highest point at 1,273 ft (388 m) ASL, near its southwest corner.^[11] The county has an area of 569 square miles (1,470 km²), of which 552 square miles (1,430 km²) is land and 17 square miles (44 km²) (2.9%) is water.^[12]

The county is in the Driftless Zone, marked by the absence of glacial drift and presence of bedrock cut by streams into steep hills. The plateau that surrounds Caledonia includes flat, fertile farmland and hilly, verdant pasture land.

Lakes

The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge runs along the county's eastern border. Four lakes in the refuge fall within the county:^[10]

Blue Lake
Hayshore Lake
Lawrence Lake
Target Lake

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Beaver Creek Valley State Park
Mound Prairie Scientific and Natural Area
Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (part)

^[10]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	6,645		—
1870	14,936		124.8%
1880	16,332		9.3%
1890	14,653		−10.3%
1900	15,400		5.1%
1910	14,297		−7.2%
1920	14,013		−2.0%
1930	13,845		−1.2%
1940	14,735		6.4%
1950	14,435		−2.0%
1960	16,588		14.9%
1970	17,556		5.8%
1980	18,382		4.7%
1990	18,497		0.6%
2000	19,718		6.6%
2010	19,027		−3.5%
2020	18,843		−1.0%
2023 (est.)	18,582	^[14]	−1.4%
U.S. Decennial Census^[15] 1790–1960^[16] 1900–1990^[17] 1990–2000^[18] 2010–2020^[2]

2020 Census

Houston County Racial Composition^[19]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	17,840	94.7%
Black or African American (NH)	90	0.5%
Native American (NH)	42	0.22%
Asian (NH)	101	0.54%
Pacific Islander (NH)	4	0.02%
Other/Mixed (NH)	523	2.8%
Hispanic or Latino	243	1.3%

2000 census

2022 US Census population pyramid for Houston County, from ACS 5-year estimates

As of the census of 2000, there were 19,718 people, 7,633 households and 5,411 families in the county. The population density was 35.7 per square mile (13.8/km²). There were 8,168 housing units at an average density of 14.8 per square mile (5.7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.47% White, 0.31% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. 0.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 43.1% were of German, 29.6% Norwegian and 7.5% Irish ancestry.

There were 7,633 households, of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.05.

The county population contained 27.2% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males.

The median household income was $40,680 and the median family income was $49,196. Males had a median income of $32,557 and females $22,158. The per capita income was $18,826. About 4.2% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Transit

La Crosse MTU

Major highways

Airport

Houston County Airport

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Sheldon

Townships

Government and politics

Houston County voters have tended to vote Republican in the 21st century. As of 2024 the county had selected the Republican candidate in 75% of presidential elections since 1980.

United States presidential election results for Houston County, Minnesota^[20]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	6,547	57.29%	4,667	40.84%	214	1.87%
2020	6,334	55.37%	4,853	42.42%	253	2.21%
2016	5,616	52.96%	4,145	39.09%	843	7.95%
2012	4,951	47.40%	5,281	50.56%	214	2.05%
2008	4,743	43.58%	5,906	54.27%	234	2.15%
2004	5,631	50.81%	5,276	47.61%	175	1.58%
2000	5,077	49.94%	4,502	44.28%	588	5.78%
1996	3,674	38.88%	4,153	43.95%	1,623	17.17%
1992	3,853	36.87%	3,744	35.82%	2,854	27.31%
1988	4,777	54.13%	3,936	44.60%	112	1.27%
1984	5,645	61.06%	3,512	37.99%	88	0.95%
1980	5,582	58.88%	3,218	33.94%	681	7.18%
1976	4,853	54.37%	3,861	43.26%	212	2.38%
1972	5,186	66.57%	2,467	31.67%	137	1.76%
1968	4,450	57.94%	2,703	35.19%	528	6.87%
1964	3,433	46.86%	3,885	53.03%	8	0.11%
1960	4,807	60.93%	3,080	39.04%	3	0.04%
1956	4,538	67.93%	2,133	31.93%	9	0.13%
1952	5,365	74.28%	1,830	25.34%	28	0.39%
1948	3,540	56.81%	2,623	42.10%	68	1.09%
1944	4,036	68.31%	1,847	31.26%	25	0.42%
1940	4,825	69.48%	2,082	29.98%	37	0.53%
1936	2,701	44.28%	3,156	51.74%	243	3.98%
1932	2,335	42.63%	3,052	55.71%	91	1.66%
1928	3,615	64.87%	1,937	34.76%	21	0.38%
1924	2,782	53.58%	402	7.74%	2,008	38.67%
1920	4,101	85.67%	598	12.49%	88	1.84%
1916	1,783	69.08%	744	28.83%	54	2.09%
1912	659	23.75%	762	27.46%	1,354	48.79%
1908	1,700	67.35%	745	29.52%	79	3.13%
1904	1,546	76.12%	434	21.37%	51	2.51%
1900	1,765	64.58%	884	32.35%	84	3.07%
1896	2,087	65.92%	991	31.30%	88	2.78%
1892	1,509	50.13%	1,243	41.30%	258	8.57%