Yellow Medicine County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its eastern border is formed by the Minnesota River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,528. Its county seat is Granite Falls.

The Upper Sioux Indian Reservation, related to the historical Yellow Medicine Agency that was here, is entirely within the county. It was established under the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux in 1851, by which the Dakota ceded much territory in the region to the United States.

The county was established by the Minnesota legislature on March 6, 1871, with Granite Falls as the county seat. Its name comes from Yellow Medicine River, which runs through the eastern part of the county to the Minnesota. The river's name derives from the moonseed plant, Menispermum canadense, whose yellow root the native Dakota people used for medicinal purposes.

It was proposed in 1878 to create a new county, taken from the western portions of Yellow Medicine, Lincoln, and Lac qui Parle counties. The state legislature approved the petition (subject to local voter approval), and Governor Pillsbury signed the act on February 27, 1879, but the proposal failed to garner a combined majority of votes in the three counties, and the proposed Canby County did not come into being.

Yellow Medicine County lies on the west side of Minnesota. Its west border abuts the state of South Dakota. The Minnesota River flows east-southeast along the county's northeast side on its way to discharge into the Mississippi River. The Yellow Medicine River flows northeast through the eastern part of the county, discharging into the Minnesota near the midpoint of the county's eastern border. The Stony Run Creek flows east through the northeast part of the county; the Florida Creek flows northeast through the west end of the county, and the Lac qui Parle River also flows northeast through the west central part of the county. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, carved by drainages. The area is devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the east and slightly to the north; its highest point is on the west border, near its SW corner, at 1,732 ft (528 m) ASL. The county has an area of 763 square miles (1,980 km), of which 759 square miles (1,970 km) is land and 4.1 square miles (11 km) (0.5%) is water.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	5,884		—
1890	9,854		67.5%
1900	14,602		48.2%
1910	15,406		5.5%
1920	16,550		7.4%
1930	16,625		0.5%
1940	16,917		1.8%
1950	16,279		−3.8%
1960	15,523		−4.6%
1970	14,418		−7.1%
1980	13,653		−5.3%
1990	11,684		−14.4%
2000	11,080		−5.2%
2010	10,438		−5.8%
2020	9,528		−8.7%
2023 (est.)	9,467		−0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

Yellow Medicine County Racial Composition

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	8,408	88.3%
Black or African American (NH)	48	0.5%
Native American (NH)	276	3%
Asian (NH)	28	0.3%
Pacific Islander (NH)	1	0.01%
Other/Mixed (NH)	319	3.4%
Hispanic or Latino	448	4.7%

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,080 people, 4,439 households, and 2,974 families in the county. The population density was 14.6 per square mile (5.6/km). There were 4,873 housing units at an average density of 6.42 per square mile (2.48/km). The racial makeup of the county was 96.09% White, 0.11% Black or African American, 2.04% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.92% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. 1.76% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 36.5% were of Norwegian and 34.6% German ancestry.

There were 4,439 households, out of which 30.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.60% were married couples living together, 5.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.00% were non-families. 29.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.01.

The county population contained 25.80% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 24.20% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 20.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 98.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,393, and the median income for a family was $42,002. Males had a median income of $27,770 versus $20,870 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,120. About 7.10% of families and 10.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.40% of those under age 18 and 10.60% of those age 65 or over.

Yellow Medicine County has recently been a swing county in national elections. Since 1980, the county has selected the Republican Party candidate in 56% of national elections (as of 2020). The county gave a majority to Barack Obama in 2008, but has trended more Republican in recent cycles.

United States presidential election results for Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	3,734	67.55%	1,688	30.54%	106	1.92%
2016	3,382	64.10%	1,524	28.89%	370	7.01%
2012	2,806	51.83%	2,465	45.53%	143	2.64%
2008	2,579	46.31%	2,816	50.57%	174	3.12%
2004	2,878	49.98%	2,799	48.61%	81	1.41%
2000	2,598	47.11%	2,528	45.84%	389	7.05%
1996	2,006	35.67%	2,741	48.74%	877	15.59%
1992	1,909	30.83%	2,593	41.87%	1,691	27.31%
1988	2,925	46.59%	3,282	52.28%	71	1.13%
1984	3,819	55.22%	3,018	43.64%	79	1.14%
1980	4,004	53.95%	2,833	38.18%	584	7.87%
1976	2,946	39.48%	4,337	58.12%	179	2.40%
1972	3,683	50.32%	3,462	47.30%	174	2.38%
1968	3,060	43.34%	3,587	50.81%	413	5.85%
1964	2,751	36.86%	4,707	63.06%	6	0.08%
1960	3,800	50.84%	3,649	48.82%	26	0.35%
1956	3,594	51.21%	3,416	48.67%	8	0.11%
1952	4,322	57.73%	3,143	41.99%	21	0.28%
1948	2,693	38.41%	4,164	59.38%	155	2.21%
1944	3,337	50.68%	3,214	48.81%	34	0.52%
1940	3,964	50.89%	3,786	48.61%	39	0.50%
1936	2,029	30.38%	3,921	58.71%	729	10.91%
1932	1,739	27.01%	4,580	71.14%	119	1.85%
1928	3,302	52.96%	2,861	45.89%	72	1.15%
1924	2,278	38.70%	151	2.56%	3,458	58.74%
1920	4,225	72.48%	814	13.96%	790	13.55%
1916	1,501	50.08%	1,238	41.31%	258	8.61%
1912	352	14.24%	737	29.81%	1,383	55.95%
1908	1,745	65.06%	786	29.31%	151	5.63%
1904	1,947	83.42%	258	11.05%	129	5.53%
1900	1,743	65.95%	763	28.87%	137	5.18%
1896	1,578	58.92%	1,015	37.90%	85	3.17%
1892	911	49.11%	364	19.62%	580	31.27%

County Board of Commissioners

Position		Name	District
	Commissioner	Greg Renneke	District 1
	Commissioner	John Berends	District 2
	Commissioner	Mitch Kling	District 3
	Commissioner	Ron Antony	District 4
	Commissioner	Glen Kack	District 5

State Legislature (2018-2020)

Position		Name	Affiliation	District
	Senate	Gary Dahms	Republican	District 16
	House of Representatives	Chris Swedzinski	Republican	District 16A

U.S Congress (2018-2020)

Position		Name	Affiliation	District
	House of Representatives	Michelle Fischbach	Republican	7th
	Senate	Amy Klobuchar	Democratic	N/A
	Senate	Tina Smith	Democratic	N/A

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota

• Yellow Medicine County. GovOffice.com
• Yellow Medicine County. RootsWeb.com

44°43′N 95°52′W / 44.72°N 95.86°W / 44.72; -95.86