60,884 people (2024 Census estimate, +1.4% since 2020)
1,972 square miles of land · 31 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.
16 active community water systems list Otter Tail County in the area they serve, reporting 26,505 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| Fergus Falls surface water · local government · MN1560014 | 14,194 served |
| Perham groundwater · local government · MN1560023 | 3,421 served |
| Pelican Rapids groundwater · local government · MN1560019 | 2,577 served |
| New York Mills groundwater · local government · MN1560017 | 1,287 served |
| Parkers Prairie groundwater · local government · MN1560018 | 1,023 served |
| Battle Lake groundwater · local government · MN1560001 | 918 served |
| Henning groundwater · local government · MN1560016 | 851 served |
| Ottertail buys groundwater · local government · MN1560032 | 694 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 46 people were held in Otter Tail County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2023), or 135 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2018 it was about 94.
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.
8 school districts have their office in Otter Tail County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $41.3 million — $34.9 million to run schools, about $11,865 per student, plus $3.9 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $10.5 million local (mostly property tax), $30.7 million state, $1.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $19.9 million.
Spent $26.5 million — $21.7 million to run schools, about $13,316 per student, plus $2.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $7.3 million local (mostly property tax), $16.3 million state, $1.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $33.8 million.
Spent $15.3 million — $12.6 million to run schools, about $14,613 per student, plus $1 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $5.1 million local (mostly property tax), $9 million state, $2.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $38.2 million.
Spent $11.9 million — $9.9 million to run schools, about $12,679 per student, plus $808,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.4 million local (mostly property tax), $8.4 million state, $1.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $14.3 million.
Spent $10 million — $7.2 million to run schools, about $12,613 per student, plus $2.2 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.7 million local (mostly property tax), $6 million state, $660,000 federal. Long-term debt: $9.9 million.
Spent $9.6 million — $7.9 million to run schools, about $14,673 per student, plus $859,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.2 million local (mostly property tax), $6.2 million state, $787,000 federal. Long-term debt: $3.8 million.
Spent $7.6 million — $5.7 million to run schools, about $13,845 per student, plus $1.5 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $2.1 million local (mostly property tax), $3.9 million state, $644,000 federal.
Spent $6.3 million — $5.3 million to run schools, about $13,898 per student, plus $465,000 on buildings and equipment. Money in: $1.8 million local (mostly property tax), $4 million state, $468,000 federal. Long-term debt: $28,000.
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: Relatively Low compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Otter Tail County about $37.7 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Very High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
148 bridges in Otter Tail County: 59 in good condition, 78 fair, and 11 poor (7.4%). “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 78 over US 10 · built 1974 | 6,500 vehicles a day |
| MN 210 over I 94 · built 1961 | 5,200 vehicles a day |
| CSAH 34 over US 10 · built 1973 | 2,500 vehicles a day |
| MSAS 116 over OTTER TAIL RIVER · built 1908 | 1,350 vehicles a day |
| CSAH 1 over DEAD RIVER · built 1977 | 1,300 vehicles a day |
| CSAH 24 over I 94 · built 1968 | 385 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $68.9 million of work in Otter Tail County in fiscal 2025, about $1,146 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 Otter Tail 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 Otter Tail County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Minnesota: the state government and every county in Minnesota.
Nearby counties: Douglas County (35 mi) · Grant County (36 mi) · Wilkin County (36 mi) · Becker County (37 mi) · Wadena County (37 mi) · Todd County (45 mi).