Nobles County, Minnesota


Nobles County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,290. Its county seat is Worthington. Nobles County comprises the Worthington, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Nobles County was first occupied by the Sisseton Sioux. The first white man to set foot on the land was Joseph Nicollet who came to map out the area in 1842. Nicollet named Lake Okabena, Lake Ocheda, East and West Graham Lake and the Kanaranzi Creek.
The first settlement was near Graham Lakes in 1846. Nobles County was established May 23, 1857, and organized October 27, 1870. The county was named for William H. Nobles, a member of the Minnesota territorial legislature in 1854 and 1856. In Autumn 1856 he began the construction of a wagon road for the US government, crossing southwestern Minnesota and Nobles County, to extend from Fort Ridgely to South Pass in the Rocky Mountains. This work was continued in 1857 but was not completed. Nobles County was created by the Minnesota Territory legislature just before the full force of the Panic of 1857 was felt. Settlers were further discouraged from coming by the Spirit Lake Massacre of 1857, where a band of Sioux murdered settlers in Spirit Lake and along the Des Moines River in Jackson and Cottonwood Counties. The few whites in the area were understandably reluctant to stay.
During the summer of 1867, a mail route was established from Blue Earth through the Graham Lakes settlement to Yankton, South Dakota. In January, a Post Office was established in each settlement. The population in the spring of 1870 was 117 and nearly doubled by fall. County Government did not start until 1870. The first railroad, the St. Paul & Sioux City Railway, was built in 1871. This later became the Chicago Northwestern Railroad and is now operated by the Union Pacific Railroad.
In 1871, a group of men from Toledo, Ohio organized a company to locate a colony of settlers in some western county. After traveling 20,000 miles in the Midwest, they decided on Nobles County and by the spring of 1872, hundreds of people came in and took up land. Worthington was platted in 1871, and became the county seat in 1873. The Worthington & Sioux Falls Railway was established in 1876. This led to rapid settlement in Rushmore, Adrian, and the western portions of the county.
The 1860 census of Nobles County showed 11 families, 35 persons,. In 1880, the population was 4,435. In 1895, the population was 11,905, and in 1970, the population was up to 23,208. In 2000, the population was 20,832, and the 2010 census showed a population of 21,378.

Economy

Nobles County's economy is largely driven by agriculture, with corn, soybeans, and hogs as the county's leading agricultural products. Food processing and fabricated metals are important manufacturing sectors, and tourism is a growing industry that benefits from the county's lakes, parks, and historical sites.

Geography

Nobles County is on the southern side of Minnesota. Its southern border abuts the northern border of the state of Iowa. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Transit

Source:
Source:
  • Adrian Spring County Park
  • Aid Pit State Wildlife Management Area
  • Bigelow State Wildlife Management Area
  • Champepadan State Wildlife Management Area
  • Compass Prairie Scientific and Natural Area
  • Dewald State Wildlife Management Area
  • Eagle Lake State Wildlife Management Area
  • Ells Pit State Wildlife Management Area
  • Fenmont State Wildlife Management Area
  • Fulda State Wildlife Management Area
  • Fury State Wildlife Management Area
  • Groth State Wildlife Management Area
  • Hawkeye County Park
  • John Erickson State Wildlife Management Area
  • Lake Bella State Wildlife Management Area
  • Lake Ocheda Game Refuge
  • Lone Tree State Wildlife Management Area
  • Maka-Oicu County Park
  • Midway County Park
  • Peterson State Wildlife Management Area
  • Pheasant Run State Wildlife Management Area
  • Scheuring State Wildlife Management Area
  • Schweigert State Wildlife Management Area
  • Sherwood State Wildlife Management Area
  • Sportsman County Park
  • Swessinger State Wildlife Management Area
  • West Graham State Wildlife Management Area

    Geology

Nobles County sits atop the Buffalo Ridge, a large expanse of rolling hills in southwestern Minnesota reaching a height of ASL. The Buffalo Ridge marks the most southerly extent of the last glaciation, and extends through Lincoln, Lyon, Pipestone, Murray, Rock, and Nobles counties. It is a drainage divide separating the watersheds of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Because of its elevation and constant winds, Buffalo Ridge has become a major site for wind energy. Over 200 wind turbines stand along the Ridge.
Buffalo Ridge is part of the inner coteau and is the highest point of the Coteau des Prairies in Minnesota. Its bedrock is formed of Cretaceous shale, sandstone and clay that lie above the pinkish-red Upper Precambrian Sioux Quartzite. These units are covered in most areas by thick deposits of glacial drift, which consist of up to of pre-Wisconsin age glacial till left after the glaciers receded. The inner coteau is made up of extremely stream-eroded glacial deposits of pre-Wisconsin glacial drift, which is then covered by a 6-15' thick deposit of a wind-blown silt called loess. This covering results in the creation of an area with long, gently sloping hills. Loess is an easily eroded material, resulting in few lakes and wetlands in the inner coteau area. Loess however promotes well-established dendritic drainage networks flowing into the Missouri River and Minnesota River systems.

Demographics

As of the first quarter of 2024, the median home value in Nobles County was $191,780.
As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 7,689 estimated households in Nobles County with an average of 2.82 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $62,973. Approximately 12.2% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Nobles County has an estimated 66.2% employment rate, with 17.1% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 79.4% holding a high school diploma.
The top five reported ancestries were English, Spanish, Indo-European, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Other.

Racial and ethnic composition

Nobles County, Minnesota – racial and ethnic composition
Race / ethnicity Pop. 1980Pop. 1990Pop. 2000Pop. 2010
White alone 21,492
19,318
17,232
14,365
12,147
Black or African American alone 30
49
212
727
978
Native American or Alaska Native alone 52
63
42
67
66
Asian alone 99
399
816
1,144
1,329
Pacific Islander alone ——0
7
41
Other race alone 17
7
10
25
42
Mixed race or multiracial ——195
223
416
Hispanic or Latino 150
262
2,325
4,820
7,271
Total21,840
20,098
20,832
21,378
22,290

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 22,290. The median age was 34.9 years. 28.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 102.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 103.6 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 58.8% White, 4.4% Black or African American, 2.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 6.1% Asian, 0.2% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 19.6% from some other race, and 8.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 32.6% of the population.
61.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 38.1% lived in rural areas.
There were 7,851 households in the county, of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.7% were married-couple households, 19.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 8,394 housing units, of which 6.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.5% were owner-occupied and 28.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.3%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 21,378 people, 7,946 households, and 5,431 families residing in the county. The population density was. There were 8,535 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 75.81% White, 3.48% African American, 0.52% Native American, 5.46% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 12.84% from some other races and 1.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 22.55% of the population.