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Nicollet County
Nicollet County
County
	Nicollet County Courthouse
	Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
	Minnesota's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 44°20′N 94°15′W / 44.34°N 94.25°W
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	March 5, 1853
Named for	Joseph Nicolas Nicollet
Seat	St. Peter
Largest city	North Mankato
Area
• Total	467 sq mi (1,210 km2)
• Land	448 sq mi (1,160 km2)
• Water	18 sq mi (50 km2) 3.9%
Population (2020)
• Total	34,454
• Estimate (2023)	34,242
• Density	76.9/sq mi (29.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.co.nicollet.mn.us

Nicollet County (/ˈnɪkəlɪt/ NIH-kə-lit)^[1] is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,454.^[2] Its county seat is St. Peter.^[3]

Nicollet County is part of the Mankato – North Mankato Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

In 1849 the Minnesota Territory legislature defined the boundaries of nine future counties. One of those, Dakota, contained the area north of the Minnesota River where it altered its flow from southeast to northeast. In 1853 the first settler had homesteaded an area on the northeast run of the river, and the following year the settlement of Saint Peter was platted there. Seeing the inflow of settlers into the areas adjoining the river, on March 5, 1853, the territorial legislature partitioned off the lower portion of Dakota County to form a separate entity. It was named for Joseph Nicolas Nicollet (1786-1843),^[4] a French explorer whose maps of the area had been instrumental in the territory's development. The county seat was established at Saint Peter.^[5]

Significant fighting occurred in the county during the 1862 Dakota War, most notably at the Battle of Fort Ridgely.

Geography

The Minnesota River flows eastward along the southern border of Nicollet County, from its northwestern corner to its northeastern corner, defining the county's southern line. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, completely devoted to agriculture where possible.^[6] The terrain slopes to the east.^[7] The county has an area of 467 square miles (1,210 km²), of which 448 square miles (1,160 km²) is land and 18 square miles (47 km²) (3.9%) is water.^[8]

Nicollet County's highest point is the lowest high point of all Minnesota counties, with an elevation of 1,065 feet.^[9]^[10] The county's high point is east of Clear Lake and west of the town of Lafayette.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Sibley County - north
Le Sueur County - east
Blue Earth County - (southeast)
Brown County - southwest
Renville County - northwest

Protected areas

Fort Ridgely State Park (part)
Minneopa State Park (part)
Seven Mile Creek County Park

^[6]

Lakes

Annexstad Lake
Erickson Lake
Middle Lake
Oak Leaf Lake
Overson Lake
Rice Lake
Sand Lake
Swan Lake

^[6]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	3,778		—
1870	8,362		121.3%
1880	12,333		47.5%
1890	13,382		8.5%
1900	14,774		10.4%
1910	14,125		−4.4%
1920	15,036		6.4%
1930	16,550		10.1%
1940	18,282		10.5%
1950	20,929		14.5%
1960	23,196		10.8%
1970	24,518		5.7%
1980	26,929		9.8%
1990	28,076		4.3%
2000	29,771		6.0%
2010	32,727		9.9%
2020	34,454		5.3%
2023 (est.)	34,242	^[12]	−0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[13] 1790-1960^[14] 1900-1990^[15] 1990-2000^[16] 2010-2020^[2]

2020 Census

Nicollet County Racial Composition^[17]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	29,287	85%
Black or African American (NH)	1,672	4.9%
Native American (NH)	141	0.41%
Asian (NH)	558	1.62%
Pacific Islander (NH)	10	0.03%
Other/Mixed (NH)	986	2.9%
Hispanic or Latino	1,800	5.22%

2000 census

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

As of the 2000 census, there were 29,771 people, 10,642 households, and 7,311 families in the county. The population density was 66.5 per square mile (25.7/km²). There were 11,240 housing units at an average density of 25.1 per square mile (9.7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.37% White, 0.80% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 1.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.65% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 1.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 49.2% were of German, 13.3% Norwegian, 6.8% Swedish and 5.4% Irish ancestry.

There were 10,642 households, out of which 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.50% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.30% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.05.

The county population contained 24.70% under the age of 18, 16.40% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,170, and the median income for a family was $55,694. Males had a median income of $36,236 versus $25,344 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,517. About 4.30% of families and 7.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.70% of those under age 18 and 8.00% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Courtland
Lafayette
Mankato (partly in Blue Earth County)
Nicollet
North Mankato (partly in Blue Earth County)
St. Peter (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

West Newton

Townships

Government and politics

Nicollet County has been politically balanced in past decades. Since 1980 the county has selected the Democratic and Republican Party candidates in equal measure in national elections (as of 2024). It has backed the nationwide winner in every election since 1980 except for 2004, and even then, losing Democrat John Kerry only beat incumbent Republican George W. Bush in the county by just 108 votes and a 0.61% margin.

United States presidential election results for Nicollet County, Minnesota^[18]^[19]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	9,540	49.13%	9,441	48.62%	436	2.25%
2020	9,018	47.15%	9,622	50.31%	485	2.54%
2016	8,437	46.62%	7,886	43.58%	1,774	9.80%
2012	8,214	44.75%	9,652	52.58%	491	2.67%
2008	7,968	43.67%	9,887	54.19%	390	2.14%
2004	8,689	48.98%	8,797	49.59%	255	1.44%
2000	7,221	47.11%	7,041	45.94%	1,065	6.95%
1996	5,057	36.53%	6,772	48.92%	2,013	14.54%
1992	5,091	33.85%	6,055	40.26%	3,893	25.89%
1988	6,878	49.92%	6,786	49.25%	115	0.83%
1984	7,472	55.97%	5,789	43.37%	88	0.66%
1980	6,436	47.25%	5,400	39.64%	1,786	13.11%
1976	6,071	49.58%	5,777	47.18%	397	3.24%
1972	6,230	56.28%	4,680	42.28%	159	1.44%
1968	4,671	50.58%	4,244	45.96%	319	3.45%
1964	3,605	41.27%	5,121	58.62%	10	0.11%
1960	5,283	57.08%	3,961	42.80%	11	0.12%
1956	5,322	66.81%	2,636	33.09%	8	0.10%
1952	5,775	68.77%	2,584	30.77%	39	0.46%
1948	3,576	48.82%	3,663	50.01%	86	1.17%
1944	4,345	64.83%	2,321	34.63%	36	0.54%
1940	4,674	62.01%	2,832	37.57%	31	0.41%
1936	2,360	33.70%	4,136	59.06%	507	7.24%
1932	2,217	35.03%	3,960	62.58%	151	2.39%
1928	3,628	59.13%	2,466	40.19%	42	0.68%
1924	2,518	50.05%	287	5.70%	2,226	44.25%
1920	4,115	83.45%	556	11.28%	260	5.27%
1916	1,288	58.44%	814	36.93%	102	4.63%
1912	525	21.64%	929	38.29%	972	40.07%
1908	1,392	59.28%	832	35.43%	124	5.28%
1904	1,677	74.04%	513	22.65%	75	3.31%
1900	1,684	64.13%	858	32.67%	84	3.20%
1896	1,803	66.41%	837	30.83%	75	2.76%
1892	1,098	47.70%	937	40.70%	267	11.60%

County Board of Commissioners^[20]
	Name	District	Next Election
Commissioner	Marie Dranttel	District 1	2024
Commissioner	Terry Morrow	District 2	2026
Commissioner	Jack Kolars	District 3	2024
Commissioner	Mark Dehen	District 4	2026
Commissioner and Chairperson	Kurt Zins	District 5	2024

State Legislature (2021-2023)
	Name	Affiliation	District
Senate	Nick Frentz^[21]	Democrat	District 19
House of Representatives	Susan Akland^[22]	Republican	District 19A
House of Representatives	Luke Frederick^[23]	Democrat	District 19B