18,352 people (2024 Census estimate, −2.5% since 2020)
552 square miles of land · 33 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
6 active community water systems list Houston County in the area they serve, reporting 11,200 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| LaCrescent groundwater · local government · MN1280007 | 5,257 served |
| Caledonia groundwater · local government · MN1280002 | 2,824 served |
| Spring Grove groundwater · local government · MN1280010 | 1,291 served |
| Houston groundwater · local government · MN1280005 | 997 served |
| Hokah groundwater · local government · MN1280004 | 555 served |
| Eitzen groundwater · local government · MN1280003 | 276 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 28 people were held in Houston County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2019), or 245 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2014 it was about 22.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
4 school districts have their office in Houston County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $29.9 million — $26.9 million to run schools, about $12,729 per student, plus $2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.7 million local (mostly property tax), $24.1 million state, $1 million federal. Long-term debt: $6 million.
Spent $18.2 million — $15.2 million to run schools, about $14,823 per student, plus $707,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.9 million local (mostly property tax), $11.5 million state, $630,000 federal. Long-term debt: $26.9 million.
Spent $12.4 million — $10.1 million to run schools, about $13,858 per student, plus $905,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $3.5 million local (mostly property tax), $8.2 million state, $1.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $9.9 million.
Spent $6 million — $5.3 million to run schools, about $15,196 per student, plus $295,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.1 million local (mostly property tax), $3.8 million state, $354,000 federal. Long-term debt: $692,000.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Very Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Houston County about $14 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Very Low.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
170 bridges in Houston County: 107 in good condition, 58 fair, and 5 poor (2.9%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| MN 26 over STREAM · built 1956 | 2,636 vehicles a day |
| MN 16 over CRYSTAL CREEK · built 1939 | 1,564 vehicles a day |
| MN 16 over STREAM · built 1986 | 1,564 vehicles a day |
| MN 76 over BADGER CREEK · built 1982 | 1,255 vehicles a day |
| T 7 over WATERLOO CREEK · built 1974 | 55 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $2 million of work in Houston County in fiscal 2025, about $104 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Minnesota are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Houston County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Houston County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Minnesota: the state government and every county in Minnesota.
Nearby counties: La Crosse County, WI (26 mi) · Winona County (26 mi) · Allamakee County, IA (28 mi) · Fillmore County (30 mi) · Winneshiek County, IA (31 mi) · Vernon County, WI (34 mi).