county

Wadena County, MN

Demographic and economic profile of Wadena County, MN, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Wadena County is a small, rural Minnesota county of 14,135 residents with an economy rooted in agriculture and related industries, reflecting its regional land-use patterns. The labor force is modest, with 64.5% participation, median worker earnings of $36,145, and 17.5% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher—well below state norms—though 91.4% have completed high school. Housing costs are low, with a median home value of $170,500 and median rent of $706/month, and the county posted 3.6% population growth over five years against a 5.8% unemployment rate.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

14,135

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$61,467

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

+3.6% since 2018

Wadena County added population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone12,328 (86.5%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race1,279 (9.0%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races295 (2.1%)
  • Black or African American Alone243 (1.7%)
  • Asian Alone44 (0.3%)
  • Some Other Race Alone37 (0.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic88
  2. 2.Spanish83
  3. 3.Other Indo-European15
  4. 4.Other Asian and Pacific Island14
  5. 5.French (incl. Cajun, Haitian)11

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

26.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

53.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

831

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$38,365

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$30,037

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

5.8%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance1,637
  2. 2.Manufacturing (Group)1,046
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)693
  4. 4.Construction (Group)563
  5. 5.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining374

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,942
  2. 2.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,551
  3. 3.Sales & Office Occupations1,077
  4. 4.Service Occupations1,045
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations771

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 4.50×)471
  2. 2.Wholesale Trade (LQ 2.12×)321
  3. 3.Manufacturing (LQ 1.72×)1,126
  4. 4.Construction (LQ 1.21×)549
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.20×)372

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$170,500

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$706/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

73.6%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $150,000 to $174,999768 (17.2%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999681 (15.2%)
  • $300,000 to $399,999562 (12.6%)
  • $125,000 to $149,999346 (7.7%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999281 (6.3%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999280 (6.3%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

17.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

91.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

64.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,145

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

21.3 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

8.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone4,884 (77.7%)
  • Carpooled576 (9.2%)
  • Worked At Home526 (8.4%)
  • Bicycle117 (1.9%)
  • Walked100 (1.6%)
  • Public Transit46 (0.7%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.