County profile

Brown County

Minnesota · ACS 2020–2024

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Latest estimates

At a glance

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

Total population
25,800
Median household income
$69,378
People below poverty
8.5%
Median home value
$191,200

Income

The median income of households in Brown County, Minnesota was $69,378. An estimated 4% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 5.3% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 4
$10,000 to $14,999 3.2
$15,000 to $24,999 5.9
$25,000 to $34,999 7.5
$35,000 to $49,999 11.5
$50,000 to $74,999 21.8
$75,000 to $99,999 15.5
$100,000 to $149,999 18.3
$150,000 to $199,999 7.1
$200,000 or more 5.3

Median Earnings for Full-Time Year-Round Workers by Sex in Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Dollars
Male 61983
Female 50527

An estimated 74.9% of households received earnings. An estimated 34.3% of households received Social Security and an estimated 24 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $23,696. These income sources are not mutually exclusive; that is, some households received income from more than one source.

Proportion of Households with Various Income Sources in Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 74.9
Social Security 34.3
Retirement income 24
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 3.1
Cash public assistance income 2.3

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 8.5 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 6.2% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 12.1% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 8% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 8.5
Children under 18 years below poverty 6.2
People 65 years old and over below poverty 12.1
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 8

In 2020-2024, 6.5 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 30.5% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 42.3% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 26.6% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024, 95.4% had health insurance coverage and 4.6% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 77.3% and public coverage was 34.6%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 2.9%.


In 2020-2024, Brown County, Minnesota had a total population of 25,800 - 12,851 (49.8%) females and 12,949 (50.2%) males. The median age was 42 years. An estimated 21.9% of the population was under 18 years, 29% was 19 to 44 years, 24.3% was 45 to 64 years, and 22.2 % was 65 years and older.

Population by Age and Sex for Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

Male Female
Under 5 728 688
5 to 9 803 848
10 to 14 890 701
15 to 19 891 764
20 to 24 857 814
25 to 29 664 663
30 to 34 672 729
35 to 39 937 706
40 to 44 683 757
45 to 49 645 637
50 to 54 673 688
55 to 59 907 758
60 to 64 897 1070
65 to 69 777 921
70 to 74 776 627
75 to 79 443 540
80 to 84 277 358
85 and over 429 582

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 92.7% were White; 1% were Black or African American; 3.8% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 0.5% were Asian; 0.3% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 3.7% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 5.1% of the people in Brown County, Minnesota were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 91.4% of the people in Brown County, Minnesota were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 11,027 households in Brown County, Minnesota. The average household size was 2.23 people.

Married-couple households made up 48.7% of the households in Brown County, Minnesota while cohabiting couple households made up 7.4% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 23.6% of all households, while 20.3% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 17.5% of households were male householders living alone, and 17.2% were female householders living alone, for a total of 34.7% of all households.

In Brown County, Minnesota, 25.9% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 35% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

Types of Households in Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
Married-couple households 48.7
Cohabiting Couples 7.4
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
20.3
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
23.6

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 53.7% of males and 52.3% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 34.6 24.1
Now married, except separated 53.7 52.3
Separated 0.6 0.9
Widowed 3.4 10.8
Divorced 7.7 11.8

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Brown County, Minnesota, 119 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 48.7% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 97.1% of the people living in Brown County, Minnesota were U.S. natives. 80.3% of the Brown County, Minnesota population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 2.9% of Brown County, Minnesota residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 61.3% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 70.7 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Brown County, Minnesota come from different parts of the world. The bar graph below displays the percentage of foreign-born from each world region of birth in 2020-2024 for Brown County, Minnesota.

Region of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
Latin America 41.8
Asia 14.5
Europe 23.3
Africa 16.6
Northern America 3.3
Oceania 0.5

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024, 5 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 3.2% of people at least five years old; 2.1% reported that they did not speak English "very well."

Percentage of the Population 5 years and over who Speak a Language other than English in Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 3.2
Other Indo-European languages 1
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 0.4
Other languages 0.3

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 91.8 % of the people at least one year old living in Brown County, Minnesota were living in the same house one year earlier.

Geographic Mobility of Residents of Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
Same house 91.8
Different house, same county 3.6
Different county, same state 3.1
Different state 1.3
Abroad 0.2

Education

In 2020-2024, 92.8 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 24.5% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 7.2% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Brown County, Minnesota was 6,052 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 460 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 4,218. College or graduate school enrollment was 1,374.

Educational Attainment of People in Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 7.2
High school diploma or equivalency 34.5
Some college, no degree 21.2
Associate's degree 12.7
Bachelor's degree 16.5
Graduate or professional degree 8

Disability

In Brown County, Minnesota, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 11.3 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 2.7% of people under 18 years old, to 8.9% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 26.6% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Brown County, Minnesota, 63.7 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 34.4% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 78.8% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 12.6% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 8.4 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 10,397 78.8
Federal, state, or local government workers 1,663 12.6
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 1,111 8.4

Industries

In 2020-2024, the civilian employed population 16 years and older in Brown County, Minnesota worked in the following industries:

Percent by Industry in Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 7
Construction 6.2
Manufacturing 16.9
Wholesale trade 2.7
Retail trade 8.9
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 5.3
Information 1.6
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 3.8
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 8.1
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 26.3
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 5.9
Other Services, except public administration 4.2
Public administration 3.1

Occupations

Occupations for the Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and over in Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 4,871 36.9
Service occupations 2,249 17
Sales and office occupations 2,266 17.2
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 1,339 10.1
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 2,475 18.8

Commuting to Work

An estimated 79.8% of Brown County, Minnesota workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 6.8% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 14.6 minutes to get to work.

Percent of Workers 16 and over Commuting by Mode in Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 79.8
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 6.8
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.4
Walked 4.8
Other means 0.9
Worked from home 7.3

In 2020-2024, Brown County, Minnesota had a total of 11,827 housing units. Of these housing units, 82.6% were single-family houses either not attached to any other structure or attached to one or more structures (commonly referred to as "townhouses" or "row houses"). 14.4% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 3.1% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

Types of Housing Units in Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
Single-family houses 82.6
Apartments in multi-unit structures 14.4
Mobile homes 3.1
Boat, RV, van, etc 0

5.8% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 30.1% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Brown County, Minnesota was 6.4 rooms, and of these housing units 66.9% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Brown County, Minnesota had 11,027 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 800 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 78.9% while renters occupied 21.1%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.36 and in renter-occupied houses it was 1.77.

3% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 16.7% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 4.9% and another 25.1% had three or more vehicles available for use.

The following chart provides the primary fuel used to heat houses in Brown County, Minnesota:

House Heating Fuel Used in Brown County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
Gas 79.8
Electricity 14.2
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 2.2
All other fuels 3
No fuel used 0.7

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Brown County, Minnesota was $191,200.

Of the owner-occupied households, 52.9 % had a mortgage. 47.1% owned their houses "free and clear," that is without a primary mortgage or loan on the house. The median monthly housing costs for owners with a mortgage was $1,392 and for owners without a mortgage it was $578.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Brown County, Minnesota was $890. Gross rent includes the monthly contract rent and any monthly payments made for electricity, gas, water and sewer, and any other fuels to heat the house.