Official Federal Data
Steele County, Minnesota
FIPS 27147 · Owatonna, MN · Population 37,439
9 Sources
Updated June 22, 2026
$84,196 ▲
Median Income
$80,734 national
4.6% ▲
Unemployment
4% national
$2.9B ▲
GDP
28% ▲
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
$84,196 ▲
Per Capita
$41,674 ▲
Mean Household
$101,587 ▲
Poverty Rate
8.3% ▼
Median Income Comparison
Steele County$84,196
Minnesota$89,062
National$80,734
Population Profile
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 · Tables B01001, B02001, B03003
Cohorts
Under 18 · 24.3%
18-34 · 18.7%
35-54 · 24.6%
55-64 · 13.2%
65+ · 19.2%
Race & Ethnicity
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+
93.7%
High School+
National: 89.6%
▲ +4.1 pts
28%
Bachelor's+
National: 35.7%
▼ 7.7 pts
8.2%
Graduate+
National: 14.1%
▼ 5.9 pts
Employment Overview
Source: U.S. Census Bureau · American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
37,439
Population
19,498
Labor Force
Employed
18,834
Unemployment Rate BLS LAUS 2025 annual
4.6% ▲ +1.2 pts YoY
Mean Commute 7 min below national avg
19.1 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.7%
Key Takeaways
- Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 7.7 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.
Economy & Industry
Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW · Bureau of Economic Analysis
Key Takeaways
- Largest sector: Manufacturing employs 4,515 workers (32.4% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $74,636.
- Economic scale: Regional GDP of $2.9B (2024).
- Wage stratification: Construction averages $75,546 while Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation averages $18,503, a 4.1x 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.
Cluster Depth
Source: BLS QCEW · Sub-sectors with LQ ≥ 1.5 indicate genuine cluster concentration
Dominant Cluster
Goods-Producing Cluster
Coherent grouping of concentrated sub-sectors, signals supply-chain fit for site selectors
5,307
Cluster Employment
1.91x
Peak LQ
Concentrated Sub-Sectors
Machinery Manufacturing
6.38x 853
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
5.97x 1,047
Printing and Related Support Activities
3.19x 135
Crop Production
2.81x 183
Gasoline Stations and Fuel Dealers
2.55x 329
Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, and Jewelry Retailers
2.44x 343
Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
2.03x 141
General Merchandise Retailers
2.00x 795
1.91x 5,307
Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
1.89x 798
Attraction Opportunities
LQ < 0.5 with ≥ 50 employed, realistic diversification targets. Source: BLS QCEW
0.23x
Educational Services
93 employed
0.24x
Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
78 employed
0.26x
Warehousing and Storage
61 employed
Key Takeaways
- Top specialization: Machinery Manufacturing concentrates at 6.38x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
- Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
- Attraction whitespace: 4 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.
Source: BLS QCEW sub-sector Location Quotients.
Housing & Affordability
Census ACS · HUD Fair Market Rents FY2026
Housing Overview
Source: Census Bureau ACS 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates · Tables B25001, B25077, B25064
$245,400 ▲
Median Home Value vs 2019
$1,061 ▲
Rent/Mo
79.4% ▲
Owner-Occ
5.4% ▼
Vacancy
2.9x
Home Value to Income Ratio - Affordable
vs. ~4.1x national average
HUD Fair Market Rents
Source: HUD · Fair Market Rents FY2026
Studio
$787/mo
1 Bedroom
$870/mo
2 Bedroom
$1,142/mo
3 Bedroom
$1,549/mo
4 Bedroom
$1,816/mo
30% of monthly median household income (~$2,105/mo) · rents above this line are typically considered cost-burdened.
Key Takeaways
- Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.9x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
- High home ownership: 79.4% 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 (~$2,105/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
21,157 ▼
Working Age (18-64) vs 2019
Mean Commute 7 min below national avg
19.1 min
Work From Home vs 15.1% national
8.7%
Prime-Age Employed (25-54)
87.5%
of prime-age population
▼ vs 2019
Education & Talent Pipeline
Source: Census ACS 2020-2024 · Table B15003 · College Scorecard
Bachelor's+
28% ▲
HS Diploma+
93.7% ▲
Regional / Statewide Institutions
Total credentials awarded
49,702/yr
14,847/yr
13,676/yr
12,870/yr
3,728/yr
2,468/yr
2,113/yr
Aging Workforce
Source: Census Bureau ACS · Derived from age & employment tables
23.4%
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
38.3%
Service
15.1%
Sales & Office
17.6%
Construction / Maint.
10%
Production / Transport
19.1%
Bars scaled 2× for visual differentiation; percentage labels show actual share of 18,834 employed workers.
Key Takeaways
- Succession risk is real: 23.4% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
- Short commutes: 19.1-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
Steele County shows strong potential for machinery manufacturing attraction, with a 6.38x concentration and 853 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 23.4% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.
The interconnected base across machinery manufacturing, fabricated metal product manufacturing, and printing and related support activities 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 Steele County, Minnesota, from federal data sources.
What is the population of Steele County, Minnesota?
37,439 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the median household income in Steele County, Minnesota?
$84,196 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates).
What is the unemployment rate in Steele County, Minnesota?
4.6% (2025 annual average, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, LAUS).
What is the GDP of Steele County, Minnesota?
$2.9B (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAGDP1).
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