Jackson County, Minnesota

Jackson County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,989.^[1] Its county seat is Jackson.^[2]

Jackson County
County
Jackson County gainCourthouse in Jackson
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 43°41′N 95°10′W
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	May 23, 1857
Named after	Henry Jackson
Seat	Jackson
Largest city	Jackson
Area
• Total	719 sq mi (1,860 km2)
• Land	703 sq mi (1,820 km2)
• Water	16 sq mi (40 km2)  2.3%
Population  (2020)
• Total	9,989
• Estimate  (2023)	9,919
• Density	14/sq mi (5.4/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.co.jackson.mn.us

History

The county was created on May 23, 1857.^[3] It was named for Henry Jackson, the first merchant in St. Paul.^[4][5]

Geography

Jackson County is on Minnesota's border with Iowa. The Des Moines River flows south-southeasterly through the central part of the county, then into Iowa. The county terrain is hilly and carved with drainages and gullies. The area is devoted to agriculture.^[6] The terrain generally slopes to the south and east; its highest point is on the lower west border, at 1,545 ft (471 m) ASL.^[7] The county has a total area of 719 square miles (1,860 km²), of which 703 square miles (1,820 km²) is land and 16 square miles (41 km²) (2.3%) is water.^[8]

Soils of Jackson County^[9]

Lakes

Source:^[6][10]

• Andersons Marsh
• Bennett Slough (Partially Drained)
• Boot Lake
• Chandler Lake
• Clear Lake (part)
• Clear Lake (Des Moines Township and Hunter Township)
• Fish Lake (part)
• Grovers Lake (part)
• Heron Lake (4 basins: Duck, North Marsh, North Lake, South Lake, connected by streams)
• Illinois Lake
• Independence Lake
• Iowa Lake (part)
• Lake Flaherty
• Laurs Lake
• Little Spirit Lake (part)
• Long Lake (Drained CD13)
• Loon Lake
• Pearl Lake
• Quevli and Goose Slough (Drained JD3)
• Quelvis Lake (Drained)
• Round Lake
• Rush Lake (Sioux Valley Township)
• Rush Lake (Minneota Township)
• Skunk Lake
• Spirit Lake
• String Lake (part)
• Swenson Lake (Drained)
• Teal Lake
• Timber Lake

Protected areas

Sources:^[6][11]

• Anderson County Park
• Artz WMA
• Belmont County Park
• Bootleg Lake State Wildlife Management Area
• Brown County Park
• Caraway State Wildlife Management Area
• Christiana WPA
• Clear Lake Recreation Area
• Community Point County Park
• Cotton-Jack WMA
• Dead Horse WMA
• Des Moines River Scientific and Natural Area
• Fish Lake WPA
• Graham Creek WMA
• Heron Lake WMA
• Heron Meadows WMA
• Holthe Prairie Scientific and Natural Area
• Holy Trinity WPA
• Husen Wildlife Management Area
• Kilen Woods State Park
• Laurs Lake State Wildlife Management Area
• Lillegard WMA
• Little Sioux WMA
• Minnesota Slough State Wildlife Management Area
• Oxbow WMA
• Pietz Slough WMA
• Robertson County Park
• Rost WPA
• Sandy Point County Park
• Sangl State Wildlife Management Area
• Sioux Forks WPA
• Sioux Valley WMA
• Skunk Lake WMA
• String Lake WPA
• Summers State Wildlife Management Area
• Teal Lake WMA
• Timber Lake WMA
• Timber Lake WPA
• Toe WMA
• Valleau WMA
• Winkler WMA

Major highways

Jackson County sign on I90

• Interstate 90
• U.S. Highway 71
• Minnesota State Highway 60
• Minnesota State Highway 86
• Minnesota State Highway 264

Adjacent counties

• Cottonwood County - north
• Watonwan County - northeast
• Martin County - east
• Emmet County, Iowa - southeast
• Dickinson County, Iowa - south
• Osceola County, Iowa - southwest
• Nobles County - west

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	181		—
1870	1,825		908.3%
1880	4,806		163.3%
1890	8,924		85.7%
1900	14,793		65.8%
1910	14,491		−2.0%
1920	15,955		10.1%
1930	15,863		−0.6%
1940	16,805		5.9%
1950	16,306		−3.0%
1960	15,501		−4.9%
1970	14,352		−7.4%
1980	13,690		−4.6%
1990	11,677		−14.7%
2000	11,268		−3.5%
2010	10,266		−8.9%
2020	9,989		−2.7%
2023 (est.)	9,919	[12]	−0.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[13] 1790–1960[14] 1900–1990[15] 1990–2000[16] 2010–2020[1]

2020 census

Jackson County, Minnesota - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)

Race / Ethnicity	Pop 2010[17]	Pop 2020[18]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	9,701	9,026	94.50%	90.36%
Black or African American alone (NH)	47	120	0.46%	1.20%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	15	22	0.15%	0.22%
Asian alone (NH)	136	122	1.33%	1.22%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	0	0	0.00%	0.00%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	5	23	0.05%	0.23%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	85	275	0.83%	2.75%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	277	401	2.70%	4.01%
Total	10,266	9,989	100.00%	100.00%

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

2000 census

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

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,268 people, 4,556 households, and 3,116 families in the county. The population density was 16.0 per square mile (6.2/km²). There were 5,092 housing units at an average density of 7.24 per square mile (2.80/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.07% White, 0.09% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 1.38% Asian, 0.97% from other races, and 0.38% from two or more races. 1.86% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 51.9% were of German, 14.1% Norwegian and 5.6% American ancestry.

There were 4,556 households, out of which 29.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.00% were married couples living together, 5.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.60% were non-families. 28.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.95.

The county population contained 24.50% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 20.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 100.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,746, and the median income for a family was $43,426. Males had a median income of $29,123 versus $20,860 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,499. About 5.20% of families and 8.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.00% of those under age 18 and 8.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Alpha
• Heron Lake
• Jackson (county seat)
• Lakefield
• Okabena
• Wilder

Census-designated place

• Fish Lake

Unincorporated communities

• Bergen
• Miloma
• Petersburg
• Rost
• Sioux Valley
• Spafford

Townships

• Alba Township
• Belmont Township
• Christiania Township
• Delafield Township
• Des Moines Township
• Enterprise Township
• Ewington Township
• Heron Lake Township
• Hunter Township
• Kimball Township
• La Crosse Township
• Middletown Township
• Minneota Township
• Petersburg Township
• Rost Township
• Round Lake Township
• Sioux Valley Township
• Weimer Township
• West Heron Lake Township
• Wisconsin Township

Politics

From 1932 to 1996, Jackson County favored the Democratic nominee in all but four presidential elections, all of which were Republican landslides. Since 2000, the county has voted Republican in every election. George W. Bush won the county by somewhat modest margins in both 2000 and 2004, and John McCain defeated Barack Obama by slightly over 4% in 2008. In 2012, Mitt Romney defeated Obama by over 14%. This was a portent, as in 2016, Donald Trump nearly tripled Romney's margin of victory, defeating Hillary Clinton in the county by over 38%. Trump was the first Republican to win at least 60% of the county vote since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. His margin of victory fell slightly in 2020, but he increased his vote share to nearly 68%, the best vote share for any Republican in the county since Warren G. Harding. Trump's vote share increased further to nearly 70% in 2024 and his margin of victory increased to 42%, the highest for a Republican presidential candidate since Harding in 1920.^[19]

United States presidential election results for Jackson County, Minnesota^[20]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	3,949	69.97%	1,581	28.01%	114	2.02%
2020	3,948	67.85%	1,745	29.99%	126	2.17%
2016	3,609	65.81%	1,492	27.21%	383	6.98%
2012	3,044	56.06%	2,268	41.77%	118	2.17%
2008	2,858	50.83%	2,618	46.56%	147	2.61%
2004	3,024	52.33%	2,652	45.89%	103	1.78%
2000	2,773	50.99%	2,364	43.47%	301	5.54%
1996	2,153	36.87%	2,727	46.70%	959	16.42%
1992	1,824	29.17%	2,481	39.68%	1,947	31.14%
1988	2,629	44.12%	3,275	54.96%	55	0.92%
1984	3,131	47.27%	3,437	51.89%	55	0.83%
1980	3,391	48.00%	3,062	43.35%	611	8.65%
1976	2,870	39.39%	4,311	59.16%	106	1.45%
1972	3,599	51.50%	3,304	47.27%	86	1.23%
1968	2,886	42.65%	3,515	51.95%	365	5.39%
1964	2,441	34.77%	4,576	65.18%	4	0.06%
1960	3,591	47.87%	3,898	51.96%	13	0.17%
1956	3,543	52.23%	3,232	47.64%	9	0.13%
1952	4,558	62.08%	2,771	37.74%	13	0.18%
1948	2,288	32.83%	4,541	65.16%	140	2.01%
1944	2,789	44.77%	3,417	54.85%	24	0.39%
1940	3,387	45.27%	4,065	54.33%	30	0.40%
1936	1,676	23.29%	5,187	72.09%	332	4.61%
1932	1,524	26.45%	4,129	71.67%	108	1.87%
1928	3,099	55.06%	2,503	44.47%	26	0.46%
1924	2,760	48.96%	407	7.22%	2,470	43.82%
1920	4,313	83.62%	715	13.86%	130	2.52%
1916	1,503	51.95%	1,272	43.97%	118	4.08%
1912	468	17.14%	913	33.43%	1,350	49.43%
1908	1,575	58.94%	1,013	37.91%	84	3.14%
1904	2,032	76.08%	554	20.74%	85	3.18%
1900	1,757	61.35%	993	34.67%	114	3.98%
1896	1,558	56.51%	1,150	41.71%	49	1.78%
1892	901	46.16%	721	36.94%	330	16.91%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Jackson County, Minnesota