ExecutivePulse
Official Federal Data

Olmsted County, Minnesota

FIPS 27109 · Rochester, MN · Population 164,498
9 Sources Updated June 22, 2026
$95,406
Median Income
$80,734 national
3.1%
Unemployment
4% national
$15.7B
GDP
49.4%
Bachelor's+
35.7% national

Demographics & Population

Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 · 5-Year Estimates

Household Income

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median Household
$95,406
Per Capita
$54,393
Mean Household
$132,916
Poverty Rate
7.5%
Median Income Comparison
Olmsted County$95,406
Minnesota$89,062
National$80,734

Population Profile

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
65+: 16.7% (27,397 residents) 55-64: 12.1% (19,974 residents) 35-54: 25.1% (41,228 residents) 18-34: 22.2% (36,535 residents) Under 18: 23.9% (39,364 residents) 38 Median Age
Cohorts
Under 18 · 23.9%
18-34 · 22.2%
35-54 · 25.1%
55-64 · 12.1%
65+ · 16.7%
Race & Ethnicity
White77.2%
Black or African American7.5%
Asian6.4%
Hispanic or Latino(any race)6%
Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic category and overlaps with the race categories above.

Educational Attainment

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · Population 25+
95.1%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +5.5 pts
49.4%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▲ +13.7 pts
21.5%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▲ +7.4 pts

Employment Overview

Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
164,498
Population
90,623
Labor Force
Employed
87,337
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
3.1% ▲ +0.7 pts YoY
Mean Commute 8 min below national avg
18.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
15.4%
Key Takeaways
  • Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
  • Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 13.7 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.

Economy & Industry

Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis

$15.7B
Gross Domestic Product · 2024
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis · CAGDP1 Regional GDP

Top Industries by Employment

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics · Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages 2025 Annual
Top industries by employment in Olmsted County, Minnesota, with employment, share of top sectors, and average wage
IndustryEmploymentShare of Top 10Avg Wage
1Health Care and Social Assistance
50,861 56.1%
$104,512
2Retail Trade
10,342 11.4%
$38,848
3Accommodation and Food Services
8,253 9.1%
$28,881
4Manufacturing
5,433 6.0%
$122,462
5Construction
4,490 5.0%
$83,718
6Administrative and Support and Waste Management
4,089 4.5%
$74,134
7Other Services (except Public Administration)
2,392 2.6%
$43,548
8Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
1,721 1.9%
$98,461
9Transportation and Warehousing
1,717 1.9%
$50,171
10Wholesale Trade
1,314 1.5%
$88,489
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Key Takeaways
  • Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 50,861 workers (56.1% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $104,512.
  • Economic scale: Regional GDP of $15.7B (2024).
  • Wage stratification: Manufacturing averages $122,462 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $28,881, a 4.2x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.
Source: BLS QCEW + BEA Regional GDP.
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Industry Concentration

Location Quotient measures regional specialization vs. national average. LQ > 1.0 = concentrated.

Location Quotient Analysis

Concentrated Industries
Source: BLS QCEW · 3-digit NAICS sub-sector · Location Quotient vs. national employment share
Same source as the Top Industries table above, sub-sector view surfaces the specialization the supersector view masks (e.g., Plastics & Rubber Manufacturing inside the Manufacturing supersector).
Ambulatory Health Care Services
5.18x
31,549
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
2.11x
806
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
2.06x
464

Cluster Depth

Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Health Care & Social Assistance Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
31,549
Cluster Employment
5.18x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Ambulatory Health Care Services
5.18x 31,549
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
2.11x 806
Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing
2.06x 464

Attraction Opportunities

LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.18x
Crop Production
64 employed
0.18x
Support Activities for Transportation
99 employed
0.18x
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
310 employed
0.21x
Publishing Industries and Telecommunications
125 employed
Key Takeaways
  • Top specialization: Ambulatory Health Care Services concentrates at 5.18x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
  • Cluster depth: 3 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
  • Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Olmsted County's Top Sectors by Workforce Share
Each rectangle's area is proportional to that sector's share of total private-sector employment across all NAICS supersectors. Hover for exact employment.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW 2025 Annual · Private sector, NAICS supersectors

Housing & Affordability

Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026

Housing Overview

Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$331,700
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,370
Rent/Mo
70.6%
Owner-Occ
5.9%
Vacancy
3.5x
Home Value to Income Ratio
vs. ~4.1x national average

HUD Fair Market Rents

Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$1,112/mo
1 Bedroom
$1,189/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,407/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,957/mo
4 Bedroom
$2,360/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,385/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
  • In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.5x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
  • High home ownership: 70.6% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
  • Broadly affordable rents: All 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,385/mo), a clear cost-of-living advantage for workforce attraction.
Source: Census ACS housing tables + HUD Fair Market Rents.

Workforce Pipeline

Labor force readiness, commuting, and workforce composition

Labor Market Overview

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B23025, B08303, B08301
97,737
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 8 min below national avg
18.7 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
15.4%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
87.4%
of prime-age population
Labor force participation rate: 72.4% of working-age population (18-64) 72% Participation
▼ vs 2019

Education & Talent Pipeline

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
49.4%
HS Diploma+
95.1%
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
49,702/yr
Capella University 14,847/yr
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities 13,676/yr
Walden University 12,870/yr
Minnesota State University-Mankato 3,728/yr
University of Minnesota-Duluth 2,468/yr
Century College 2,113/yr

Aging Workforce

Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
20.4%
55-64 of working-age population (18-64)
Elevated retirement risk, above the 20% threshold. Succession planning recommended.

Workforce by Occupation

Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table C24010 · Civilian employed population 16+
Management / Professional
55%
Service
14.1%
Sales & Office
16.5%
Construction / Maint.
5.8%
Production / Transport
8.5%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 87,337 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
  • Short commutes: 18.7-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
  • Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 41,393 annual credentials.
Source: ACS workforce data and College Scorecard.

AI Insights

AI-assisted analysis, drawn from 9 federal data sources

Sample AI Insight

Olmsted County shows strong potential for ambulatory health care services attraction, with a 5.18x concentration and 31,549 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally.

The interconnected base across ambulatory health care services, transit and ground passenger transportation, and furniture and related product manufacturing creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.

Industry Shift Analysis

Manufacturing Automation Risk
High
Healthcare Growth Forecast
+4.2% CAGR
Remote Work Migration
67/100

Prospect Match Scores

Advanced Manufacturing
92/100
Life Sciences
84/100
Data Centers
71/100
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Data Sources

Updated from official federal government data.

Census ACS 5-Year2024
BLS QCEW2025 annual
BLS LAUS (via FRED)2025 annual
BEA Regional GDP2024
Census CBP2023
HUD Fair Market RentsFY2026
FCC Broadband Map2024
USAspending.govFY2026
College ScorecardAY 2022-23

Frequently Asked Questions

Key economic and demographic figures for Olmsted County, Minnesota, from federal data sources.

What is the population of Olmsted County, Minnesota?

164,498 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the median household income in Olmsted County, Minnesota?

$95,406 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).

What is the unemployment rate in Olmsted County, Minnesota?

3.1% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).

What is the GDP of Olmsted County, Minnesota?

$15.7B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).