Waconia ( or ) is a city in Carver County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, United States. Waconia attracts visitors to nearby Lake Waconia. The population was 13,033 at the 2020 census.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water. Minnesota State Highways 5 and

284 __NOTOC__ Year 284 ( CCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Carinus and Numerianus (or, less frequently, year 1037 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...

and Carver County Highway 10 are the main routes in Waconia.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 10,697 people, 3,909 households, and 2,748 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 4,112 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.1%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.5% of the population. There were 3,909 households, of which 45.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.7% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.31. The median age in the city was 34.9 years. 32.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 30.7% were from 25 to 44; 20.7% were from 45 to 64; and 11.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 6,814 people, 2,568 households, and 1,848 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 2,646 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.06%

, 0.34%

, 0.12% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.00% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.28% of the population. There were 2,568 households, out of which 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were

living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were occupied by one person and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.12. The city population had a wide age variety; with 29.9% being under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 35.5% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $55,705, and the median income for a family was $67,703. Males had a median income of $43,535 versus $29,488 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $26,996. About 2.9% of families and 3.8% 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 ...

, including 3.7% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Top employers

According to the city's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR), the top employers in the city are:

Politics

Education

Waconia Public Schools operates five schools. There are also two private schools within Waconia to make seven total: * Southview Elementary, grades K–5 * Bayview Elementary, grades K–5 * Laketown Elementary, grades K-5 * Waconia Middle School, grades 6–8 * St. Joseph Catholic Education Center, grades PreK–8 * Trinity Lutheran School, grades K–8 * Waconia High School, grades 9–12

History

A post office has been in operation at Waconia since 1860. The city took its name from Lake Waconia.

National Register of Historic Places gallery

Waconia has several buildings listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(see: National Register of Historic Places listings in Carver County, Minnesota). One of the more prominent listings is for Coney Island of the West on Lake Waconia, where cottages, boathouses and resort hotels attracted tourists, especially from 1884 until the late 1920s, when the rise of the automobile allowed people to travel farther away for summer vacations. File:2009-0713-Waconia-CityHall.jpg, Waconia City Hall File:2009-0713-Waconia-WMainHouses.jpg, West Main Street Houses, from left to right 417, 429, and 453 W. Main St. File:2009-0713-Waconia-EmileAmblard.jpg, Emile Amblard Guest House File:2009-0713-MN17-Waconia-ConeyIslandW.jpg, Coney Island of the West on Lake Waconia across from Waconia File:2009-0713-Waconia-MockFactory.jpg, Mock Cigar Factory and House File:2009-0713-Waconia-CharlesMaiser.jpg, Charles Maiser House

Popular culture

* In the film '' Drop Dead Gorgeous'', 1st Street near St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Waconia is used when the swan float explodes in the parade.

Notable people

* Robert O. Ashbach, Minnesota state legislator and businessman *

Jenn Bostic Jennifer Christiana Bostic (born January 3, 1986) is an American country music and Christian music singer-songwriter, based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2012, her song " Jealous of the Angels" was released. Her album, ''Jealous'', was released i ...

, singer and songwriter * Bill Diessner, Minnesota state legislator and physician * Aaron Elling, football player * Don Herbert, Mr. Wizard and host of ''Mr. Wizard's World'' * Noah McCourt, politician, disability advocate and speaker * Susie Schmitt Hanson, (1860–1956) milliner, dressmaker and entrepreneur * Bob Stinson, musician, lead guitarist for The Replacements * Henry Wagener, Minnesota state legislator and farmer *

Maxx Williams Maxx Williams (born April 12, 1994) is an American former professional football tight end. He played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, earning first-team All-American honors in 2014. He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in ...

, NFL tight end for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

, was born in Waconia *

Shane Wiskus Shane Michael Wiskus (born October 1, 1998) is an American artistic gymnast who is a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team. He represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics and was named as an alternative ...

, artistic gymnast, represented Team USA at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Carver County, Minnesota Cities in Minnesota Dakota toponyms