Jackson County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,989. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

History

The county was created on May 23, 1857. It was named for Henry Jackson, the first merchant in St. Paul.

Geography

Jackson County lies on the south side of Minnesota. Its south border abuts the north border of the state of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

. The

Des Moines River The Des Moines River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwestern United States that is approximately long from its farther headwaters.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Na ...

flows south-southeasterly through the central part of the county, thence into Iowa. The county terrain is hilly and carved with drainages and gullies. The area is devoted to agriculture.''Jackson County MN'' Google Maps (accessed March 12, 2019)
/ref> The terrain generally slopes to the south and east; its highest point is on the lower west border, at 1,545' (471m) ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.3%) is water.

Lakes

* Andersons Marsh * Boot Lake * Chandler Lake * Clear Lake (part) * Clear Lake (Des Moines Township and Hunter Township) * Fish Lake (part) * Heron Lake (4 lakes, connected by streams, all called Heron Lake) * Illinois Lake * Independence Lake * Iowa Lake (part) * Lake Flaherty * Laurs Lake * Little Spirit Lake * Loon Lake * Pearl Lake * Round Lake * Rush Lake (Sioux Valley Township) * Rush Lake (Minneota Township) * Skunk Lake * South Heron Lake * Spirit Lake * String Lake (part) * Teal Lake * Timber Lake

Protected areas

* Anderson County Park * Bootleg State Wildlife Management Area * Caraway State Wildlife Management Area * Des Moines River Scientific and Natural Area * Holthe Prairie Scientific and Natural Area * Husen Scientific and Natural Area * Kilen Woods State Park * Laurs Lake State Wildlife Management Area * Minnesota Slough State Wildlife Management Area * Robertson County Park * Sangl State Wildlife Management Area * Summers State Wildlife Management Area

Major highways

* Interstate 90 * U.S. Highway 71 *

Minnesota State Highway 60 Trunk Highway 60 (MN 60) is a highway in southern Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 60 at the Iowa state line (at Bigelow) and continues east-northeast to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line (at Wabasha), where the route ...

Minnesota State Highway 86 Minnesota State Highway 86 (MN 86) is a highway in southwest Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 86 at the Iowa state line, near Spirit Lake, IA, and continues north to its northern terminus at its intersection with State Highway 60 nea ...

* Minnesota State Highway 264

Adjacent counties

Cottonwood County Cottonwood County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,517. Its county seat is Windom. History The county was created on May 23, 1857, named for the river in Germantown Township ("cottonwoo ...

- north * Watonwan County - northeast * Martin County - east *

Emmet County, Iowa Emmet County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,388. The county seat is Estherville. History Emmet County was created by authority of the Iowa Legislature in 1851. There were finally eno ...

- southeast *

Dickinson County, Iowa Dickinson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,703. The county seat is Spirit Lake. The county was organized in 1857 and is named in honor of Daniel S. Dickinson, a U.S. Senator f ...

- south *

Osceola County, Iowa Osceola County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census the population was 6,192, making it the state's fifth-least populous county. It is named for Seminole war chief Osceola. The county seat is Sibley, named ...

- southwest * Nobles County - west

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 11,268 people, 4,556 households, and 3,116 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 16.0/sqmi (6.19/km²). There were 5,092 housing units at an average density of 7.24/sqmi (2.80/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.07%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.09%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.12% Native American, 1.38%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.97% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.38% from two or more races. 1.86% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. 51.9% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 14.1%

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

and 5.6%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

ancestry. There were 4,556 households, out of which 29.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.00% were married couples living together, 5.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.60% were non-families. 28.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.95. The county population contained 24.50% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 25.30% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 20.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 100.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $36,746, and the median income for a family was $43,426. Males had a median income of $29,123 versus $20,860 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $17,499. About 5.20% of families and 8.60% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 11.00% of those under age 18 and 8.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Alpha * Heron Lake *

(county seat) * Lakefield * Okabena * Wilder

Census-designated place

* Fish Lake

Unincorporated communities

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

* Miloma * Petersburg *

Rost Rost may refer to: People: * Andrea Rost (born 1962), Hungarian lyric soprano *Burkhard Rost (born 1961), German scientist - computational biologists * Christina Rost (born 1952), German former women's team handball player * Clarence Rost (born 19 ...

* Sioux Valley * Spafford

Townships

* Alba Township * Belmont Township * Christiania Township * Delafield Township * Des Moines Township * Enterprise Township * Ewington Township * Heron Lake Township * Hunter Township * Kimball Township * La Crosse Township * Middletown Township * Minneota Township * Petersburg Township * Rost Township * Round Lake Township * Sioux Valley Township * Weimer Township * West Heron Lake Township * Wisconsin Township

Politics

Jackson County voters tended to vote Democratic in times past, but have selected the Republican Party candidate in every national election since 2000 (as of 2020).

References

External links

Jackson County government's web site
{{Coord, 43.68, -95.16, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MN_source:UScensus1990 Minnesota counties 1857 establishments in Minnesota Territory Populated places established in 1857