Freeborn County is a county in the state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,895. Its county seat is Albert Lea. Freeborn County comprises the Albert Lea Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Freeborn County was created on February 20, 1855, the territory being separated from Blue Earth and Rice Counties. Twelve other Minnesota counties were created the same day by the Minnesota Territorial Legislature. Freeborn County was named for William Freeborn, an early Minnesota pioneer, merchant, and territorial legislator.

Geography

Freeborn County lies on Minnesota's border with Iowa. The Shell Rock River flows southward from Albert Lea Lake in central Freeborn County, crossing into Iowa. Turtle Creek flows eastward through the upper eastern part of the county, crossing into Mower County. The terrain is hilly and etched with drainages and gullies. The Le Sueur River, a tributary of the Minnesota River, begins in the northern part of the county and flows northward into Waseca County. The Cobb River and the Maple River, two other small rivers, begin in the extreme northwest corner of the county, the Cobb from Freeborn Lake and the Maple from Penny Lake. Both run generally northwest, emptying into the LeSueur River, just upstream from where the LeSueur empties into the Minnesota River, on the western edge of Mankato. Most of the available land is devoted to agriculture. The terrain generally slopes to the south and east, although the highest point is near the northeast corner, at 1,296 ft (395 m) ASL. The county has an area of 722 square miles (1,870 km), of which 707 square miles (1,830 km) is land and 15 square miles (39 km) (2.1%) is water.

Lakes

Source:

Protected areas

Source:

Transit

• Southern Minnesota Area Rural Transit

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	3,367		—
1870	10,578		214.2%
1880	16,069		51.9%
1890	17,962		11.8%
1900	21,838		21.6%
1910	22,282		2.0%
1920	24,692		10.8%
1930	28,741		16.4%
1940	31,780		10.6%
1950	34,517		8.6%
1960	37,891		9.8%
1970	38,064		0.5%
1980	36,329		−4.6%
1990	33,060		−9.0%
2000	32,584		−1.4%
2010	31,255		−4.1%
2020	30,895		−1.2%
2023 (est.)	30,515		−1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

2020 Census

Freeborn County Racial Composition

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	25,071	81.2%
Black or African American (NH)	460	1.5%
Native American (NH)	76	0.3%
Asian (NH)	1,135	3.7%
Pacific Islander (NH)	5	0.02%
Other/Mixed (NH)	965	3.12%
Hispanic or Latino	3,183	10.3%

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 32,584 people, 13,356 households, and 9,015 families in the county. The population density was 46.1 per square mile (17.8/km). There were 13,996 housing units at an average density of 19.8 per square mile (7.6/km). The racial makeup of the county was 95.22% White, 0.24% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.92% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. 6.29% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 34.8% were of Norwegian, 26.2% German and 5.8% Danish ancestry.

There were 13,356 households, of which 29.1% had children under age 18 living with them, 56.5% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.92.

The county population contained 24.0% under 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females 18 and older, there were 95.0 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,964, and the median income for a family was $45,142. Males had a median income of $31,491 versus $21,799 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,325. About 5.6% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.0% of those under 18 and 9.1% of those over 64.

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Government and politics

From 1932 to 2012, Freeborn County voted for the Democratic candidate in all but five elections, four of which were nationwide Republican landslides (1952, 1956, 1972, and 1980), and the fifth was in 1960 in one of the closest elections in American history. After voting for Bill Clinton by at least 15% in both 1992 and 1996, against George W. Bush by at least 10% in both 2000 and 2004, and for Barack Obama by at least 14% in both 2008 and 2012, the 2016 election saw a dramatic swing to the right, as Donald Trump won the county by more than 17%. Though his margin of victory slightly shrank to 16% in 2020, his vote share of nearly 57% was the best for a Republican in the county since 1928.

United States presidential election results for Freeborn County, Minnesota

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	9,578	56.95%	6,889	40.96%	351	2.09%
2016	8,808	54.88%	6,041	37.64%	1,202	7.49%
2012	6,969	41.72%	9,326	55.82%	411	2.46%
2008	6,955	40.25%	9,915	57.38%	410	2.37%
2004	7,681	43.48%	9,733	55.09%	252	1.43%
2000	6,843	42.40%	8,514	52.75%	782	4.85%
1996	5,166	32.31%	8,458	52.90%	2,364	14.79%
1992	5,089	28.57%	7,759	43.56%	4,965	27.87%
1988	7,226	44.56%	8,836	54.48%	156	0.96%
1984	8,413	47.09%	9,338	52.26%	116	0.65%
1980	8,475	47.65%	8,212	46.17%	1,098	6.17%
1976	8,220	45.62%	9,470	52.56%	328	1.82%
1972	9,747	56.90%	7,163	41.82%	220	1.28%
1968	7,315	44.16%	8,671	52.35%	577	3.48%
1964	6,136	36.72%	10,554	63.16%	19	0.11%
1960	8,970	52.73%	8,018	47.14%	22	0.13%
1956	7,632	51.63%	7,138	48.29%	11	0.07%
1952	8,450	56.25%	6,525	43.44%	46	0.31%
1948	5,238	39.45%	7,825	58.94%	213	1.60%
1944	5,728	46.77%	6,486	52.96%	32	0.26%
1940	6,683	48.85%	6,942	50.75%	55	0.40%
1936	4,653	37.81%	7,378	59.96%	274	2.23%
1932	4,931	44.62%	5,838	52.82%	283	2.56%
1928	7,815	72.70%	2,859	26.60%	76	0.71%
1924	6,139	63.75%	480	4.98%	3,011	31.27%
1920	6,772	81.96%	1,131	13.69%	360	4.36%
1916	2,418	60.07%	1,347	33.47%	260	6.46%
1912	672	17.04%	880	22.31%	2,392	60.65%
1908	2,465	61.14%	976	24.21%	591	14.66%
1904	2,876	78.19%	461	12.53%	341	9.27%
1900	2,934	74.17%	838	21.18%	184	4.65%
1896	3,400	72.25%	1,179	25.05%	127	2.70%
1892	2,004	61.27%	743	22.71%	524	16.02%

County Board of Commissioners

Position		Name	District	Next Election
	Commissioner	Brad Edwin	District 1	2024
	Commissioner	Dawn Kaasa	District 2	2026
	Commissioner and Chairman	John Forman	District 3	2024
	Commissioner	Christopher Shoff	District 4	2026
	Commissioner	Nicole Eckstrom	District 5	2024

State Legislature (2021-2023)

Position		Name	Affiliation	District
	Senate	Gene Dornink	Republican	District 27
	House of Representatives	Peggy Bennett	Republican	District 27A
	House of Representatives	Patricia Mueller	Republican	District 27B

U.S Congress (2021-2023)

Position		Name	Affiliation	District
	House of Representatives	Brad Finstad	Republican	1st
	Senate	Amy Klobuchar	Democrat	N/A
	Senate	Tina Smith	Democrat	N/A

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Freeborn County, Minnesota