Map the Block › Places › Minnesota › Steele County
Steele County, Minnesota in numbers: crime, income, hazards
The violent-crime rate in Steele County was 1.7 per 1,000 residents (2021-2025 average, FBI), 37% lower than the statewide rate (2.7). Households here have a median income of $84,196 and the unemployment rate was 5.6% in August 2026. Population: about 37,439 (Census, 2020-2024).
Last updated . Crime: FBI 2021-2025. Income and housing: Census ACS 2020-2024. Unemployment: BLS August 2026. Road work: October 11, 2026.
Also on the map: income · hazard risk · Superfund · dams
What is the crime rate in Steele County?
Police agencies in Steele County reported an average of 63 violent crimes and 293 property crimes a year from 2021 to 2025. That is 1.7 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, 37% lower than the Minnesota rate (2.7), and 54% lower than the U.S. rate (3.7). Property crime ran at 7.8 per 1,000, against 17.5 statewide. Aggravated assaults make up 68% of the violent total.
| Offense (yearly average, 2021-2025) | Steele County | Per 1,000 | Minnesota per 1,000 | U.S. per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 63 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 3.7 |
| Murder | 0 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 0.06 |
| Rape | 17 | 0.46 | 0.40 | 0.40 |
| Robbery | 3 | 0.08 | 0.52 | 0.62 |
| Aggravated assault | 43 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 2.6 |
| Property crime | 293 | 7.8 | 17.5 | 18.1 |
| Burglary | 40 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 2.4 |
| Larceny-theft | 227 | 6.1 | 13.1 | 13.0 |
| Motor vehicle theft | 26 | 0.69 | 2.4 | 2.6 |
Most crime never reaches the police, so these are reported crimes, a floor rather than the full count. In 2024 about half of violent crimes (48%) and about 3 in 10 property crimes (31%) were reported to police (U.S. Justice Department, National Crime Victimization Survey). Rates also depend on how completely each agency reports to the FBI. County figures add up the city police and sheriff reports in the county (3 agencies; 100% of residents covered).
What is the median household income in Steele County?
The median household in Steele County earns $84,196 a year, close to the Minnesota median ($89,062). Owner-occupied homes have a median value of $245,400, and the median rent is $1,061 a month. 7.7% of households received SNAP benefits in the past year (state: 7.9%). The newest monthly figure from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 5.6% for August 2026 (preliminary), with 987 people out of work and looking.
| Census ACS 2020-2024 | Steele County | Minnesota | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 37,439 | 5,739,445 | 334,922,499 |
| Median household income | $84,196 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Median home value (owner-occupied) | $245,400 | $329,300 | $332,700 |
| Median gross rent | $1,061 | $1,280 | $1,413 |
| Unemployment rate (2020-2024 average) | 3.4% | 4.1% | 5.2% |
| People below the poverty line | 8.3% | 9.3% | 12.5% |
| Households receiving SNAP (food stamps) | 7.7% | 7.9% | 12.1% |
| Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher | 28.0% | 39.4% | 35.7% |
| Homeowner households | 79.4% | 72.2% | 65.2% |
| Median age | 40.5 | 38.8 | 38.9 |
| Households with broadband internet | 87.7% | 91.6% | 91.0% |
| People without health insurance | 3.5% | 4.7% | 8.4% |
What natural hazards and environmental sites are in Steele County?
Steele County carries a “Very Low” overall rating in FEMA's National Risk Index. No single hazard among floods, wildfire, tornadoes, heat waves, earthquakes and hurricanes is rated higher than “Relatively Moderate”. The index compares counties with each other and also weighs how vulnerable and resilient a community is, so it is a long-run estimate, not a forecast.
Superfund sites
EPA lists no Superfund site in Steele County, active or completed (October 2026).
Industrial chemical releases
13 facilities in the county filed Toxics Release Inventory reports for 2024, together reporting 248,716 pounds of listed chemicals released on site. Reported releases are legal permitted amounts in most cases.
Disasters, air and water
Steele County was covered by 3 federal major disaster declarations from 2016 through 2025 (Flood 3), not counting COVID-19. Of 7 community water systems, none had an open health-based drinking-water violation in EPA's records (September 2026). EPA puts the county in radon zone 1 (highest). NHTSA counted 6 traffic deaths in the county in 2024, including 1 pedestrian.
Is there road construction in Steele County?
Steele County had 1 highway work zone in the October 11, 2026 feed from the state DOT (active that day). Roads listed: I-35. 1 is on interstates. The map's construction layer is refreshed every morning.
See today's work zones on the map →
How many schools, nursing homes and parks are in Steele County?
Federal school lists show 24 public and 2 private schools in the county. 2 nursing homes are certified by Medicare or Medicaid here; star ratings for each are on the map and on Medicare's Care Compare. USGS mapping shows 4 fire or EMS stations and 3 police or sheriff stations. 1 state park or recreation area: Rice Lake State Park.
Gun shops, liquor stores and Planned Parenthood in Steele County
Gun shops
2 gun shops with a public storefront are on the map in Steele County, plus 2 more licensed dealers without a public storefront (not shown). On the ATF list: Cabela's 403 (Owatonna) and Texasota Sales LLC (Owatonna).
Liquor stores
6 liquor stores are on the map in Steele County: Cash Wise Liquor (2 in Owatonna), Ellendale Municipal Liquor Store (Ellendale), Firehouse Liquor (Owatonna), Highway 218 Off Sale Liquor (Blooming Prairie) and J-B Liquor (Owatonna). Minnesota has no complete public liquor licence list we can use, so this count also draws on OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps and may miss some stores or include closed ones.
Planned Parenthood
There is no Planned Parenthood health center in Steele County on the map.
See them on the map: gun shops · liquor stores →
Sources: ATF licensee list (Sept 2026); state liquor licence lists, OpenStreetMap and Overture Maps (non-official; partial in some states); HHS Title X directory and CMS NPPES.
Common questions
What is the crime rate in Steele County?
Steele County averaged 63 reported violent crimes a year in 2021-2025, or 1.7 per 1,000 residents, 37% lower than the Minnesota rate (2.7). The property-crime rate was 7.8 per 1,000 (FBI Uniform Crime Reporting).
What is the median household income in Steele County?
$84,196 (Census American Community Survey, 2020-2024 average), compared with $89,062 for Minnesota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the unemployment rate in Steele County?
The newest monthly figure from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 5.6% for August 2026 (preliminary), with 987 people out of work and looking.
What natural hazards affect Steele County?
Steele County carries a “Very Low” overall rating in FEMA's National Risk Index. No single hazard among floods, wildfire, tornadoes, heat waves, earthquakes and hurricanes is rated higher than “Relatively Moderate”.
Is there road construction in Steele County right now?
Steele County had 1 highway work zone in the October 11, 2026 feed from the state DOT (active that day). Roads listed: I-35. 1 is on interstates.
How many nursing homes are in Steele County?
2 Medicare- or Medicaid-certified nursing homes (CMS provider data, September 2026).
How does Steele County compare with neighboring counties?
| County | Population | Violent crimes per 1,000 (2021-25) | Median household income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dodge County | 21,045 | 1.1 | $95,739 |
| Freeborn County | 30,623 | 1.4 | $71,023 |
| Mower County | 40,343 | 1.9 | $73,074 |
| Rice County | 67,917 | 1.8 | $83,181 |
| Waseca County | 18,885 | 1.6 | $76,261 |
More: Minnesota statewide numbers · Sex-offender registry search (U.S. Justice Department, NSOPW)
Where do these numbers come from?
- Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting 2021-2025 (agency level, Return A), averaged and summed by county by Map the Block; Census population; state and national rates: FBI estimated crimes 2021-2025.
- Income, housing, education: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013 (median household income) and related tables.
- Monthly unemployment: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), county data, not seasonally adjusted. Public domain.
- Hazards: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), county scores; disasters: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries.
- Superfund: U.S. EPA, Superfund site boundaries and NPL status (October 2026). Dams: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Inventory of Dams (public map service, October 2026). Chemical releases: U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory, reporting year 2024 (basic data file).
- Air and water: U.S. EPA AirData, annual AQI by county 2024; EPA Air Quality Design Values 2023-2025 (June 2026); U.S. EPA SDWIS via ECHO drinking-water download (September 30, 2026). Traffic deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2024; Census population.
- Work zones: State departments of transportation, via the U.S. DOT Work Zone Data Exchange (WZDx) and state 511 feeds; refreshed every morning (snapshot October 11, 2026).
- Schools: National Center for Education Statistics, EDGE public school locations 2024-25; budgets: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, fiscal year 2024; National Center for Education Statistics, EDGE Private School geocodes (Private School Survey 2023-24). Nursing homes: U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Nursing Home Provider Information and Penalties (September 2026). Stations: U.S. Geological Survey, National Structures Dataset (Fire Stations/EMS Stations), October 2026 pull.
- Parks: USGS Protected Areas Database of the U.S. (PAD-US 4.1); state park agencies' open data (CA, NY, PA, TN, TX, FL, NJ, KY, HI, UT, MT and others); OpenStreetMap contributors for some hours, phones, fees and camping; U.S. National Park Service: unit boundaries (Land Resources Division), Acreage Report (Sept 30, 2026), park pages on nps.gov (hours, fees), Visitor Use Statistics (2025).
Map the Block shows public statistics about places, not people, and does not rate or rank neighborhoods as places to live. Figures are as published by each source; check the source before relying on a number.
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