County · Minnesota

Nicollet County, Minnesota

Nicollet County, Minnesota. Nicollet County had 34,273 residents in 2025 by the Census Bureau's estimate, down 0.5% since 2020, while Minnesota grew 2.2%. It holds 19 places (6 cities, villages and boroughs and 13 towns and townships) and 7 census tracts. GEOID 27103.

Nicollet County is one of the 2 counties of the Mankato, MN metropolitan statistical area (the Census Bureau's July 2023 delineation).

Residents, July 2025 estimate

34,273

Census Bureau estimate (no margin published)
2020 Census count: 34,454 · ACS 2020-2024: 34,411

Median household income

$79,756

±$5,251 (90% margin)
Minnesota: $89,062

Median home value

$270,300

±$7,826 (90% margin)
Minnesota: $329,300

Median gross rent

$970

±$26 (90% margin)
Minnesota: $1,280

How many people live in Nicollet County, and is it growing?

The 2020 Census counted 34,454 residents in Nicollet County. The Census Bureau estimates 34,273 for July 1, 2025, down 0.5% since 2020, while Minnesota grew 2.2%. The 2020-2024 American Community Survey puts the population at 34,411 over 449 square miles of land.

July 2020→2021 −134 (34,370)
2021→2022 +130 (34,500)
2022→2023 −479 (34,021)
2023→2024 +218 (34,239)
2024→2025 +34 (34,273)

Nicollet County in Minnesota. Boundaries: Census Bureau 2024.

Counts, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, with the change from 2015-2019
Measure	Nicollet County	Minnesota	Change since 2015-2019
Total population	34,411	5,739,445	+457
Households	13,002±180	2,307,955	no clear change
Average household size	2.40±0.03	2.43	no clear change
Housing units	13,596±63	2,545,030	no clear change

Nicollet County's population since 2000

From 29,771 in 2000 to 34,273 in 2025: up 15.1%. The 2000, 2010 and 2020 figures are census counts. The 2005 figure is the Census Bureau's intercensal estimate, revised to fit the 2000 and 2010 counts and drawn on 2010 boundaries; 2015 and 2025 are July 1 estimates made from the census before them.

2000 Census 29,771
2005 (estimate) 31,193
2010 Census 32,727
2015 (estimate) 33,545
2020 Census 34,454
2025 (estimate) 34,273

Source: The 2000, 2010 and 2020 Census counts and the Census Bureau's population estimates (intercensal 2000-2010, Vintage 2020, Vintage 2025) · Census population estimates

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); PEP Vintage 2025 (CO-EST2025); 2020 Census · Check it at data.census.gov

What cities and towns are in Nicollet County?

Nicollet County holds 19 places: 6 cities, villages and boroughs (incorporated places) and 13 towns and townships (county subdivisions with their own government). The largest is North Mankato with 14,165 residents (2025 estimate). Places that cross a county line are listed with the share of their 2020 residents who live in this county.

Places in Nicollet County, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Ring: estimate with a coefficient of variation over 40%.

North Mankato	city	14,275	14,211±29	$80,791	$262,100	4.5%	100%
St. Peter	city	12,066	12,185±42	$65,122	$250,700	16.8%	100%
Nicollet	city	1,143	957±162	$84,643	$239,700	6.6%	100%
Belgrade Township	township	1,052	1,137±179	$135,000	$457,100	1.8%	100%
Courtland	city	734	770±122	$99,028	$275,600	0.9%	100%
Lafayette Township	township	700	704±157	$116,250	$330,600	2.8%	100%
Lake Prairie Township	township	630	651±115	$100,536	$409,400	5.8%	100%
Oshawa Township	township	594	560±125	$132,353	$426,300	1.2%	100%
Courtland Township	township	572	503±75	$88,333	$318,000	6.8%	100%
Lafayette	city	492	484±85	$88,750	$155,800	3.9%	100%
Nicollet Township	township	483	559±155	$99,375	$385,100	0.5%	100%
West Newton TownshipGEOID 2710369556	township	423	388±109	$102,500	$263,000	0.3%	100%
Traverse TownshipGEOID 2710365416	township	301	291±83	$79,700	$339,100	1.4%	100%
New Sweden TownshipGEOID 2710345988	township	279	284±112	$113,500	$296,900	4.6%	100%
Bernadotte TownshipGEOID 2710305410	township	261	248±69	$82,500	$340,700	0.8%	100%
Granby TownshipGEOID 2710324902	township	220	227±55	$130,000	$298,400	1.8%	100%
Brighton TownshipGEOID 2710307732	township	129	152±59	$97,500	$355,900	7.2%	100%
Ridgely TownshipGEOID 2710354430	township	108	100±31	$103,750	$243,200	0.0%	100%
Mankato	city	44,488	45,473±51	$66,873	$261,700	20.6%	0%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); 2020 place-by-county parts · Check it at data.census.gov

Who lives in Nicollet County?

The median resident of Nicollet County is 38.3 years old; 21.5% are under 18 and 17.6% are 65 or older. The largest group is non-Hispanic white residents at 85.5%, then Hispanic or Latino residents (of any race) at 5.4%. 4.6% of residents were born outside the United States.

Age, origin and education, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Race groups are non-Hispanic; Hispanic includes any race.
Measure	Nicollet County	Minnesota	Change since 2015-2019
Median age	38.3±0.4	38.8	+2.0
Under 18 years	21.5%±0.1 pts	22.9%	–
65 years and over	17.6%±0.2 pts	17.3%	–
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	5.4%	6.4%	+0.8 pts
White alone, not Hispanic	85.5%±0.4 pts	75.9%	−3.1 pts
Black or African American alone, not Hispanic	4.5%±0.5 pts	6.9%	+1.7 pts
Asian alone, not Hispanic	1.6%±0.2 pts	5.1%	no clear change
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	0.3%±0.1 pts	0.7%	–
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0.0%±0.1 pts	0.0%	–
Two or more races, not Hispanic	2.3%±0.7 pts	4.5%	–
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	0.4%±0.3 pts	0.5%	–
Born outside the United States	4.6%±0.8 pts	8.7%	no clear change
Speak a language other than English at home (age 5+)	7.1%±0.9 pts	12.4%	–
Civilian veterans (age 18+)	5.4%±0.7 pts	5.9%	–
With a disability	12.1%±1.0 pts	11.6%	–
No health insurance coverage	3.4%±0.8 pts	4.7%	no clear change
High school graduate or higher (age 25+)	94.5%±1.3 pts	93.9%	–
Bachelor's degree or higher (age 25+)	36.1%±2.5 pts	39.4%	no clear change
Graduate or professional degree (age 25+)	12.0%±1.5 pts	13.8%	–
Moved from another state in the past year	1.4%±0.6 pts	1.8%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profiles DP02, DP05) · Check it at data.census.gov

What do households in Nicollet County earn?

Half of Nicollet County's 13,002 households earn less than $79,756 a year (±$5,251), against $89,062 in Minnesota. In 2015-2019 it was $82,948 in 2024 dollars; the margins of error cannot tell the two periods apart. 8.0% of residents live below the poverty line.

Income and poverty in 2024 dollars, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Nicollet County	Minnesota	Change since 2015-2019
Median household income	$79,756±$5,251	$89,062	no clear change
Mean household income	$112,374±$9,177	$118,304	–
Per capita income	$44,053±$4,052	$48,237	no clear change
People below the poverty line	8.0%±1.3 pts	9.3%	no clear change
Children under 18 below the poverty line	5.7%±2.9 pts	10.3%	no clear change
Households receiving SNAP	6.0%±1.6 pts	7.9%	–
Households with a broadband subscription	88.6%±1.7 pts	91.6%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What does housing cost in Nicollet County?

Owners occupy 72.2% of Nicollet County's occupied homes and renters 27.8%. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $270,300 by its owner (±$7,826). The median renter pays $970 a month including utilities, and 31.1% of renters pay 35% or more of their income on rent.

Housing, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Nicollet County	Minnesota	Change since 2015-2019
Median home value (owner-occupied)	$270,300±$7,826	$329,300	+$34,130
Median gross rent	$970±$26	$1,280	−$60
Renters paying 35% or more of income on rent	31.1%±6.1 pts	38.4%	no clear change
Median monthly owner costs, with a mortgage	$1,707±$50	$1,947	–
Owner-occupied homes	72.2%±2.2 pts	72.2%	no clear change
Housing units	13,596±63	2,545,030	no clear change
Homeowner vacancy rate	1.4%±1.0 pts	0.6%	–
Rental vacancy rate	3.4%±2.8 pts	5.3%	–
Single-family detached homes	69.4%±2.1 pts	66.0%	–
Mobile homes	4.2%±0.9 pts	2.9%	–
Built 2020 or later	1.4%±0.6 pts	1.9%	–
Built 1939 or earlier	17.4%±1.9 pts	15.6%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP04) · Check it at data.census.gov

How many new homes is Nicollet County building?

Builders took permits for 82 new housing units across Nicollet County in 2025 (48 single-family), 2.4 per 1,000 residents.

2019 45 units
2020 90 units
2021 159 units
2022 195 units
2023 89 units
2024 106 units
2025 82 units

Source: Building Permits Survey, annual county files 2019-2025, U.S. Census Bureau · Census Building Permits Survey

How do people in Nicollet County get to work?

70.2% of Nicollet County's workers drive alone and 13.3% work from home. The average trip to work takes 16.4 minutes. The unemployment rate in 2020-2024 averaged 2.2%.

Work and commuting, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Nicollet County	Minnesota	Change since 2015-2019
In the labor force (age 16+)	68.4%±1.6 pts	68.1%	–
Unemployment rate	2.2%±0.8 pts	4.1%	no clear change
Drove alone to work	70.2%±2.9 pts	68.9%	–
Carpooled	7.5%±1.3 pts	7.5%	–
Public transportation	0.3%±0.3 pts	1.8%	–
Walked	6.4%±1.6 pts	2.5%	–
Worked from home	13.3%±1.9 pts	17.6%	no clear change
Mean travel time to work	16.4 min±0.8	22.7 min	−1.7 min

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What are Nicollet County's census tracts?

Nicollet County is divided into 7 census tracts. Among those with a reliable estimate, median household income runs from $61,534 (Tract 4804) to $103,828 (Tract 4802).

Census tracts of Nicollet County, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates; sort by any column

Tract 480127103480100	Lafayette (8%)	3,428	3,358±225	$97,500	$273,800	$881	2.8%
Tract 480227103480200	Nicollet (10%)	6,585	6,475±405	$103,828	$335,800	$1,198	5.6%
Tract 480327103480300	St. Peter (92%)	4,912	5,142±356	$67,467	$243,700	$937	13.3%
Tract 480427103480400	St. Peter (97%)	5,753	5,870±353	$61,534	$260,200	$949	20.3%
Tract 4805.0127103480501	North Mankato (89%)	7,013	6,380±405	$83,357	$314,500	$971	4.6%
Tract 4805.0227103480502	North Mankato (75%)	3,256	3,568±325	$81,042	$278,100	$1,173	5.4%
Tract 480627103480600	North Mankato	3,507	3,618±378	$70,147	$202,200	$843	4.5%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) · Check it at data.census.gov

How does Nicollet County compare with Minnesota's other counties?

Nicollet County's rank among Minnesota's counties with a reliable estimate (1 = highest)
Measure	Rank
Population	32nd of 87
Growth 2020-2025	59th of 87
Residents per square mile	19th of 87
Median household income	23rd of 87
Median home value	26th of 87
Median gross rent	26th of 87
Poverty rate	70th of 87
Bachelor's degree or higher	10th of 87
Median age	70th of 87

Every county in Minnesota

Source: PlainCities ranks from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) and PEP Vintage 2025 · How ranks are computed

How these figures are made: methodology and release checks · reading a margin of error · every state · corrections

Not on this page: crime, weather and schools for Nicollet County are other agencies' records. Crime: the FBI's Crime Data Explorer · climate: NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals · schools: the National Center for Education Statistics' school search.