Wright County is a county in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 141,337. Its county seat is Buffalo. The county was founded in 1855. Wright County is part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. In terms of population, Wright County is the tenth-largest county in Minnesota and the fastest growing.

The county was established in 1855, and was named for New York politician Silas Wright. The first county seat was Monticello; in 1868 the county seat was changed to Buffalo. Most of the area's first settlers were of German and Swedish origin. The county's population in 1860 was 3,729; in 1875, it was 13,775.

The 1998 thriller A Simple Plan was set in Wright County, though it does not mention a specific town.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an area of 714 square miles (1,850 km), of which 661 square miles (1,710 km) is land and 53 square miles (140 km) (7.4%) is water. The terrain is undulating and contains numerous small lakes. The county is bounded on the northeast by the Mississippi River. Wright is one of 17 Minnesota savanna region counties with more savanna soils than either prairie or forest soils, and one of only two Minnesota counties where savanna soils make up more than 75% of the county area (the other is Hennepin County).

• Sherburne County - northeast
• Hennepin County - east
• Carver County - southeast
• McLeod County - southwest
• Meeker County - west
• Stearns County - northwest
• Anoka County - northeast

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	3,729		—
1870	9,457		153.6%
1880	18,104		91.4%
1890	24,164		33.5%
1900	29,157		20.7%
1910	28,082		−3.7%
1920	28,685		2.1%
1930	27,119		−5.5%
1940	27,550		1.6%
1950	27,716		0.6%
1960	29,935		8.0%
1970	38,933		30.1%
1980	58,681		50.7%
1990	68,710		17.1%
2000	89,986		31.0%
2010	124,700		38.6%
2020	141,337		13.3%
2023 (est.)	151,150		6.9%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2020

Wright County, Minnesota - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)

Race / Ethnicity	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	116,786	126,031	93.65%	89.17%
Black or African American alone (NH)	1,286	2,605	1.03%	1.84%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	397	331	0.32%	0.23%
Asian alone (NH)	1,459	1,877	1.17%	1.34%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	42	35	0.03%	0.03%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	77	508	0.06%	0.35%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	1,601	5,253	1.28%	3.72%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	3,052	4,697	2.45%	3.32%
Total	124,700	141,337	100.00%	100.00%

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.

The ethnic makeup of the county, according to the 2010 United States census, was the following:

• 95.04% White
• 1.06% Black
• 0.34% Native American
• 1.19% Asian
• 0.04% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
• 1.53% Two or more races
• 0.81% Other races
• 2.45% Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

As of the census of 2000, there were 89,986 people, 31,465 households, and 23,913 families in the county. The population density was 136 inhabitants per square mile (53/km). There were 34,355 housing units at an average density of 52 per square mile (20/km). The racial makeup of the county was 97.85% White, 0.26% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. 1.10% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 42.3% were of German, 11.9% Norwegian, 7.4% Swedish and 6.6% Irish ancestry.

There were 31465 households, out of which 42.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.50% were married couples living together, 7.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.00% were non-families. 18.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.26.

The county population contained 31.10% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 32.60% from 25 to 44, 19.90% from 45 to 64, and 8.80% over age 64. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 101.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $53,945, and the median income for a family was $60,940. Males had a median income of $40,630 versus $28,201 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,844. About 3.60% of families and 4.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.50% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or over.

• Silver Creek

• Dickinson

2020 Rank	City	2010 Census	2020 Census	Percent Increase
1	Otsego	13,571	19,966	+47.12%
2	St. Michael	16,399	18,235	+11.20%
3	Buffalo	15,453	18,168	+17.57%
4	Monticello	12,759	14,455	+13.29%
5	Albertville	7,044	7,896	+12.10%
6	Delano	5,464	6,484	+18.67%
7	Rockford	4,316	4,515	+4.61%
8	Annandale	3,228	3,517	+8.95%
9	Hanover	2,938	3,507	+19.37%
10	Montrose	2,847	3,317	+16.51%
11	Cokato	2,694	2,747	+1.97%

United States presidential election results for Wright County, Minnesota

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	51,973	63.05%	28,430	34.49%	2,023	2.45%
2016	43,274	62.16%	20,334	29.21%	6,010	8.63%
2012	40,466	59.67%	25,741	37.96%	1,609	2.37%
2008	37,779	57.61%	26,343	40.17%	1,456	2.22%
2004	36,176	60.77%	22,618	37.99%	740	1.24%
2000	23,861	55.02%	16,762	38.65%	2,743	6.33%
1996	13,224	37.92%	15,542	44.57%	6,108	17.51%
1992	11,650	33.13%	12,465	35.45%	11,045	31.41%
1988	14,987	50.73%	14,177	47.99%	379	1.28%
1984	15,399	54.82%	12,486	44.45%	205	0.73%
1980	12,293	45.54%	12,383	45.88%	2,315	8.58%
1976	9,314	39.69%	13,379	57.02%	771	3.29%
1972	9,996	51.56%	8,695	44.85%	695	3.59%
1968	6,321	40.13%	8,793	55.82%	639	4.06%
1964	5,476	38.60%	8,687	61.24%	22	0.16%
1960	7,180	52.57%	6,452	47.24%	26	0.19%
1956	7,257	59.42%	4,944	40.48%	12	0.10%
1952	8,089	64.59%	4,373	34.92%	62	0.50%
1948	5,589	49.47%	5,523	48.89%	185	1.64%
1944	6,961	64.99%	3,678	34.34%	72	0.67%
1940	8,297	67.04%	3,993	32.26%	87	0.70%
1936	4,087	36.01%	5,363	47.25%	1,901	16.75%
1932	3,406	31.45%	7,205	66.53%	219	2.02%
1928	6,011	56.57%	4,483	42.19%	132	1.24%
1924	4,349	47.52%	567	6.20%	4,235	46.28%
1920	7,013	79.51%	1,299	14.73%	508	5.76%
1916	2,683	52.24%	2,262	44.04%	191	3.72%
1912	837	19.42%	1,333	30.94%	2,139	49.64%
1908	2,820	63.48%	1,396	31.43%	226	5.09%
1904	3,183	75.04%	860	20.27%	199	4.69%
1900	3,153	60.72%	1,888	36.36%	152	2.93%
1896	3,312	59.37%	2,172	38.93%	95	1.70%
1892	2,271	48.56%	1,829	39.11%	577	12.34%
1888	2,877	53.73%	2,133	39.83%	345	6.44%
1884	2,383	57.49%	1,609	38.82%	153	3.69%
1880	2,110	61.57%	1,317	38.43%	0	0.00%
1876	1,482	53.21%	1,280	45.96%	23	0.83%
1872	1,135	54.99%	929	45.01%	0	0.00%
1868	985	61.26%	623	38.74%	0	0.00%
1864	528	59.73%	356	40.27%	0	0.00%
1860	572	74.87%	188	24.61%	4	0.52%

County Board of Commissioners

Position	Name	District	Next Election
Commissioner	Tina Diedrick	District 1	2026
Commissioner	Darek Vetsch	District 2	2024
Commissioner	Jeanne Holland	District 3	2026
Commissioner	Nadine Schoen	District 4	2024
Commissioner	Michael Kaczmarek	District 5	2024

State Legislature (2018-2020)

Position		Name	Affiliation	District
	Senate	Andrew Mathews	Republican	District 15
	Senate	Scott Newman	Republican	District 18
	Senate	Bruce Anderson	Republican	District 29
	Senate	Mary Kiffmeyer	Republican	District 30
	House of Representatives	Shane Mekeland	Republican	District 15B
	House of Representatives	Dean Erdahl	Republican	District 18A
	House of Representatives	Joe McDonald	Republican	District 29A
	House of Representatives	Marion O'Neill	Republican	District 29B
	House of Representatives	Eric Lucero	Republican	District 30B

U.S. Congress (2018-2020)

Position		Name	Affiliation	District
	House of Representatives	Tom Emmer	Republican	6th
	Senate	Amy Klobuchar	Democrat	N/A
	Senate	Tina Smith	Democrat	N/A

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

• Wright County government’s website
• Wright County community website

45°11′N 93°58′W / 45.18°N 93.97°W / 45.18; -93.97