County profile

Washington 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
276,238
Median household income
$115,345
People below poverty
5.1%
Median home value
$422,000

Income

The median income of households in Washington County, Minnesota was $115,345. An estimated 2.2% of households had income below $10,000 a year and 21.8% had income of $200,000 or more.

Household Income in Washington County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
Less than $10,000 2.2
$10,000 to $14,999 1.5
$15,000 to $24,999 3
$25,000 to $34,999 4
$35,000 to $49,999 6.4
$50,000 to $74,999 12.3
$75,000 to $99,999 12.9
$100,000 to $149,999 22.2
$150,000 to $199,999 13.9
$200,000 or more 21.8

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

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Dollars
Male 87977
Female 71507

An estimated 78.7% of households received earnings. An estimated 30.3% of households received Social Security and an estimated 29 % of households received retirement income other than Social Security. The average income from Social Security was $29,211. 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 Washington County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
Earnings 78.7
Social Security 30.3
Retirement income 29
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) 2.8
Cash public assistance income 1.8

Poverty and Participation in Government Programs

In 2020-2024, 5.1 % of people were in poverty. An estimated 5% of children under 18 were below the poverty level, compared with 6.7% of people 65 years old and over. An estimated 4.7% of people 18 to 64 years were below the poverty level.

Poverty Rates in Washington County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
People in poverty 5.1
Children under 18 years below poverty 5
People 65 years old and over below poverty 6.7
People 18 to 64 years below poverty 4.7

In 2020-2024, 4.1 % of households received SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). An estimated 47.6% of households that received SNAP had children under 18, and 41.3% of households that received SNAP had one or more people 60 years and over. An estimated 32.2% of all households receiving SNAP were families with a female householder and no spouse present.


Among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Washington County, Minnesota in 2020-2024, 96.5% had health insurance coverage and 3.5% did not have health insurance coverage. Private coverage was 82.5% and public coverage was 27.8%, respectively. The percentage of children under the age of 19 with no health insurance coverage was 2.6%.


In 2020-2024, Washington County, Minnesota had a total population of 276,238 - 138,820 (50.3%) females and 137,418 (49.7%) males. The median age was 39.8 years. An estimated 24% of the population was under 18 years, 31.1% was 19 to 44 years, 26.1% was 45 to 64 years, and 16.6 % was 65 years and older.

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

Male Female
Under 5 7891 7589
5 to 9 9219 9566
10 to 14 10273 9291
15 to 19 9605 8811
20 to 24 7772 7537
25 to 29 7585 7230
30 to 34 8328 8269
35 to 39 9925 10269
40 to 44 9512 9419
45 to 49 8706 8073
50 to 54 8978 9031
55 to 59 9560 9360
60 to 64 8881 9585
65 to 69 7025 7671
70 to 74 6041 6563
75 to 79 3320 4257
80 to 84 2885 3110
85 and over 1912 3189

Hispanic Origin and Race

For people reporting one race alone, 78.1% were White; 5.6% were Black or African American; 3.8% were American Indian and Alaska Native; 7.7% were Asian; 1.7% were Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and 0% were Some Other Race. An estimated 6.1% reported Two or More Races. An estimated 5.3% of the people in Washington County, Minnesota were Hispanic or Latino. An estimated 77.2% of the people in Washington County, Minnesota were White alone, non-Hispanic. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.


Households and Families

In 2020-2024, there were 105,577 households in Washington County, Minnesota. The average household size was 2.58 people.

Married-couple households made up 56.7% of the households in Washington County, Minnesota while cohabiting couple households made up 7.3% of households. Female householders with no spouse or partner present were 22% of all households, while 14% of households had male householders with no spouse or partner present. Some households had one person, as 9.7% of households were male householders living alone, and 13.3% were female householders living alone, for a total of 23% of all households.

In Washington County, Minnesota, 33% of all households had one or more people under the age of 18; 30.6% of all households had one or more people 65 years and over.

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

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Percent
Married-couple households 56.7
Cohabiting Couples 7.3
Male Householder
No spouse/partner present
14
Female Householder
No spouse/partner present
22

Marital Status

Among persons 15 and older, 57.3% of males and 54.5% of females were currently married.

Population 15 years and over Percent
Males
Percent
Females
Never married 31.9 26.6
Now married, except separated 57.3 54.5
Separated 0.5 0.8
Widowed 2.4 6.9
Divorced 7.9 11.2

Grandparents and Grandchildren

In Washington County, Minnesota, 2,513 grandparents lived with their grandchildren under 18 years old. Of those grandparents, 20.3% were responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren.


Nativity and Foreign-Born

In 2020-2024, an estimated 91.5% of the people living in Washington County, Minnesota were U.S. natives. 67.5% of the Washington County, Minnesota population were living in the state where they were born.

Approximately 8.5% of Washington County, Minnesota residents in 2020-2024 were foreign-born. 67.7% of foreign-born were naturalized U.S. citizens and an estimated 68.6 % entered the country before the year 2010.

Foreign-born residents of Washington 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 Washington County, Minnesota.

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

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Percent
Latin America 22.9
Asia 45.7
Europe 8.5
Africa 20.4
Northern America 1.9
Oceania 0.6

Language

Among people at least five years old living in Washington County, Minnesota in 2020-2024, 12.5 % spoke a language other than English at home. Spanish was spoken by 3.4% of people at least five years old; 4.2% 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 Washington County, Minnesota in 2020-2024

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Percent
Spanish 3.4
Other Indo-European languages 2.3
Asian and Pacific Islander languages 4.8
Other languages 1.9

Geographic Mobility

In 2020-2024, 88.9 % of the people at least one year old living in Washington County, Minnesota were living in the same house one year earlier.

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

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Percent
Same house 88.9
Different house, same county 4.3
Different county, same state 4.9
Different state 1.7
Abroad 0.2

Education

In 2020-2024, 96.1 % of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 49.1% had a bachelor's degree or higher. An estimated 3.9% did not complete high school.

The total school enrollment in Washington County, Minnesota was 68,158 in 2020-2024. Nursery school enrollment was 4,146 and kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment was 50,209. College or graduate school enrollment was 13,803.

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

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Percent
Less than high school diploma 3.9
High school diploma or equivalency 18.6
Some college, no degree 17.4
Associate's degree 11
Bachelor's degree 31.7
Graduate or professional degree 17.4

Disability

In Washington County, Minnesota, among the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2020-2024, 9.9 % reported a disability. The likelihood of having a disability varied by age - from 3.5% of people under 18 years old, to 7.8% of people 18 to 64 years old, and to 26.8% of those 65 and over.


Employment Status and Type of Employer

In Washington County, Minnesota, 65.9 % of the population 16 and over were employed; 31.7% were not currently in the labor force.

An estimated 81.6% of the people employed were private wage and salary workers; 13.4% were federal, state, or local government workers; and 4.9 % were self-employed in their own (not incorporated) business.

Class of worker Number Percent
Private wage and salary workers 117,349 81.6
Federal, state, or local government workers 19,226 13.4
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business 7,104 4.9

Industries

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

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

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Percent
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining 1
Construction 6.1
Manufacturing 13.5
Wholesale trade 2.5
Retail trade 9.7
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities 5
Information 1.4
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing 8.1
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services 12.1
Educational services, and health care and social assistance 25.2
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation, and food services 6.5
Other Services, except public administration 3.6
Public administration 5.1

Occupations

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

Civilian employed population 16 years and over Number Percent
Management, business, sciences, and arts occupations 74,225 51.6
Service occupations 18,772 13
Sales and office occupations 27,548 19.1
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations 8,450 5.9
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations 14,867 10.3

Commuting to Work

An estimated 66.3% of Washington County, Minnesota workers drove to work alone in 2020-2024, and 7.5% carpooled. Among those who commuted to work, it took them on average 24 minutes to get to work.

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

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Percent
Car, truck, van -- drove alone 66.3
Car, truck, van -- carpooled 7.5
Public transportation (excluding taxicab) 0.6
Walked 0.9
Other means 1.2
Worked from home 23.6

In 2020-2024, Washington County, Minnesota had a total of 109,307 housing units. Of these housing units, 83.2% 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"). 14.9% of the housing units were located in multi-unit structures, or those buildings that contained two or more apartments. 1.8% were mobile homes, while any remaining housing units were classified as "other," which included boats, recreational vehicles, vans, etc.

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

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Percent
Single-family houses 83.2
Apartments in multi-unit structures 14.9
Mobile homes 1.8
Boat, RV, van, etc 0.1

15.8% of the housing inventory was comprised of houses built since 2010, while 6.1% of the houses were first built in 1939 or earlier. The median number of rooms in all housing units in Washington County, Minnesota was 6.9 rooms, and of these housing units 70.5% had three or more bedrooms.


In 2020-2024, Washington County, Minnesota had 105,577 housing units that were occupied or had people living in them, while the remaining 3,730 were vacant. Of the occupied housing units, the percentage of these houses occupied by owners (also known as the homeownership rate) was 81.3% while renters occupied 18.7%. The average household size of owner-occupied houses was 2.72 and in renter-occupied houses it was 1.99.

3.7% of householders of these occupied houses had moved into their house since 2021, while 9.6% moved into their house in 1989 or earlier. Households without a vehicle available for personal use comprised 3.8% and another 25% had three or more vehicles available for use.

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

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

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Percent
Gas 81.9
Electricity 16.3
Fuel oil, kerosene, etc 0.4
All other fuels 1
No fuel used 0.4

In 2020-2024, the median property value for owner-occupied houses in Washington County, Minnesota was $422,000.

Of the owner-occupied households, 69 % had a mortgage. 31% 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 $2,275 and for owners without a mortgage it was $809.

For renter-occupied houses, the median gross rent for Washington County, Minnesota was $1,710. 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.