Cottage Grove, Minnesota demographics

Cottage Grove, MN demographics: median age 36.5; 40.8% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Cottage Grove city, Minnesota · Incorporated city · GEOID 2713456. The survey estimates a population of 40,992 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Cottage Grove is 36.5 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.9 years. There are 14,395 households (±334). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	36.5 ±0.9	38.8 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 40,992
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Under 18	10,409 ±695	25.4% ±1.7 pp	22.9%	22.0%
18–34	8,887 ±736	21.7% ±1.8 pp	21.8%	22.8%
35–64	15,936 ±847	38.9% ±2.1 pp	38.0%	38.0%
65 and older	5,760 ±526	14.1% ±1.3 pp	17.3%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 40,992
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Male	20,279 ±553	49.5% ±1.3 pp	50.1%	49.5%
Female	20,713 ±560	50.5% ±1.4 pp	49.9%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 40,992
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
White alone	30,486 ±979	74.4% ±2.4 pp	77.1%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	2,684 ±575	6.5% ±1.4 pp	7.0%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	27 ±27 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.9%	0.9%
Asian alone	3,013 ±524	7.4% ±1.3 pp	5.1%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	14 ±20 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	1,042 ±364	2.5% ±0.9 pp	2.9%	7.1%
Two or more races	3,726 ±778	9.1% ±1.9 pp	7.0%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 40,992
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	37,862 ±564	92.4% ±1.4 pp	93.6%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	3,130 ±565	7.6% ±1.4 pp	6.4%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 14,395
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Married-couple family	8,736 ±490	60.7% ±3.1 pp	48.9%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	842 ±248	5.8% ±1.7 pp	4.5%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,611 ±296	11.2% ±2.0 pp	8.9%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	2,404 ±272	16.7% ±1.8 pp	29.7%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	802 ±282	5.6% ±2.0 pp	7.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 14,395
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Households with people under 18	5,488 ±323	38.1% ±2.1 pp	28.7%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	8,907 ±464	61.9% ±2.9 pp	71.3%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 14,395
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	2,404 ±272	16.7% ±1.8 pp	29.7%	28.7%
Two-person households	4,778 ±500	33.2% ±3.4 pp	35.6%	33.8%
Three-person households	2,770 ±349	19.2% ±2.4 pp	13.4%	15.3%
Four-person households	2,495 ±318	17.3% ±2.2 pp	12.3%	12.6%
Five-person households	1,353 ±276	9.4% ±1.9 pp	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	413 ±130	2.9% ±0.9 pp	2.0%	2.2%
Seven or more people	182 ±83	1.3% ±0.6 pp	1.4%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 40,992
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Native	37,547 ±498	91.6% ±1.2 pp	91.3%	85.9%
Foreign born	3,445 ±492	8.4% ±1.2 pp	8.7%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 38,157
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
English only	32,506 ±822	85.2% ±2.0 pp	87.6%	77.7%
Spanish	2,017 ±524	5.3% ±1.4 pp	4.2%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	42 ±41 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	95 ±79 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	106 ±148 · low precision	0.3% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	154 ±126 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.7%	2.0%
Korean	85 ±151 · low precision	0.2% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	93 ±81 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	193 ±196 · low precision	0.5% ±0.5 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	113 ±98 · low precision	0.3% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	1,592 ±370	4.2% ±1.0 pp	2.4%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±21 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	1,161 ±325	3.0% ±0.9 pp	2.6%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 26,974
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	1,333 ±288	4.9% ±1.1 pp	6.1%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	6,364 ±633	23.6% ±2.3 pp	23.3%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	4,924 ±484	18.3% ±1.8 pp	19.5%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	3,339 ±453	12.4% ±1.7 pp	11.8%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	7,703 ±578	28.6% ±2.1 pp	25.6%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	3,311 ±478	12.3% ±1.8 pp	13.8%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 40,432
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Minnesota	U.S.
Same house	35,722 ±894	88.4% ±2.2 pp	87.8%	87.7%
Moved within same county	2,375 ±721	5.9% ±1.8 pp	5.7%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,647 ±548	4.1% ±1.4 pp	4.3%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	549 ±338 · low precision	1.4% ±0.8 pp · low precision	1.8%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	139 ±69	0.3% ±0.2 pp	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

2.7% of Cottage Grove residents (±0.6 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 4.7% in Minnesota and 8.4% nationally. 94.4% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Cottage Grove	Minnesota	U.S.	Compared with Minnesota
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	2.7% ±0.6 pp	4.7%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	94.4% ±1.8 pp	91.6%	91.0%	Higher
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	5.2% ±1.0 pp	5.9%	6.2%	Not statistically different

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Cottage Grove . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Cottage Grove housing and cost context or return to the city profile.