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County · code 27131

Rice CountyMinnesota

Rice County is located in Minnesota and has its county seat in Faribault. The county was formed on March 5, 1853, from Dakota and Wabasha Counties and was named after Henry Mower Rice.

  • Founded1853
  • County seatFaribault
  • Named forHenry Mower Rice
  • Land area496 sq mi + 20 sq mi water
  • Population67,097 2020 Census
  • Parcels mapped28,166 checked 16 October 2026
Open the free map Click any parcel in Rice County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated

DakotaGoodhue Faribault Census outline · seat marked

Where it is

Rice on the map of Minnesota

Minnesota has 87 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.

Aitkin CountyAnoka CountyBecker CountyBeltrami CountyBenton CountyBig Stone CountyBlue Earth CountyBrown CountyCarlton CountyCarver CountyCass CountyChippewa CountyChisago CountyClay CountyClearwater CountyCook CountyCottonwood CountyCrow Wing CountyDakota CountyDodge CountyDouglas CountyFaribault CountyFillmore CountyFreeborn CountyGoodhue CountyGrant CountyHennepin CountyHouston CountyHubbard CountyIsanti CountyItasca CountyJackson CountyKanabec CountyKandiyohi CountyKittson CountyKoochiching CountyLac qui Parle CountyLake CountyLake of the Woods CountyLe Sueur CountyLincoln CountyLyon CountyMcLeod CountyMahnomen CountyMarshall CountyMartin CountyMeeker CountyMille Lacs CountyMorrison CountyMower CountyMurray CountyNicollet CountyNobles CountyNorman CountyOlmsted CountyOtter Tail CountyPennington CountyPine CountyPipestone CountyPolk CountyPope CountyRamsey CountyRed Lake CountyRedwood CountyRenville CountyRock CountyRoseau CountySt. Louis CountyScott CountySherburne CountySibley CountyStearns CountySteele CountyStevens CountySwift CountyTodd CountyTraverse CountyWabasha CountyWadena CountyWaseca CountyWashington CountyWatonwan CountyWilkin CountyWinona CountyWright CountyYellow Medicine CountyRice County Rice
Counties of Minnesota · Rice highlighted

History

Formed in 1853 from Dakota County and Wabasha County

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Rice County was created from Dakota and Wabasha on March 5, 1853, but was not fully organized at that time and was attached to Dakota for judicial purposes. Over the following years, Rice County experienced significant boundary changes, losing territory to Fillmore, Goodhue, and Wabasha in 1854, and losing additional areas to the creation of Dodge, Freeborn, Mower, Olmsted, and Steele Counties in 1855. The county became fully organized for county government and judicial purposes on October 9, 1855, when it was detached from Dakota County.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

  1. 1853
    Rice County created Rice created from Dakota and Wabasha; Rice not fully organized, attached to Dakota "for judicial purposes."
    from Dakotafrom Wabasha
    · Minn. Terr. Laws 1853, ch. 11, secs. 7, 12/pp. 33-34
  2. 1854
    Lost territory Rice lost to Fillmore, Goodhue, and Wabasha.
    to Fillmoreto Goodhueto Wabasha
    · Minn. Terr. Laws 1854, ch. 29, pp. 70-71, and ch. 32, sec. 7/p. 78
  3. 1855
    Gained territory Rice gained from Scott, lost to Dakota and Le Sueur, lost to the creation of Dodge, Freeborn, Mower, Olmsted, and Steele; exchanged with Non-County Area 1.
    from Scottfrom Dakotafrom Le Sueurfrom Dodgefrom Freebornfrom Mowerfrom Olmstedfrom Steele
    · Minn. Terr. Laws 1855, ch. 6, secs. 1-3, 5, 7-11/pp. 22-25
  4. 1855
    Changed Rice fully organized for county government and judicial purposes, detached from Dakota.
    Dakota
    · Minn. Terr. Laws 1856, ch. 42, secs. 1-2/p. 71
  5. 1857
    Gained territory Rice gained from Dakota and Non-County Area 1; Non-County Area 1 eliminated.
    from Dakota
    · Minn. Terr. Laws 1857, ext. sess., ch. 16, sec. 1/p. 71

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Rice

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Official
from the office that keeps the record
Good enough
a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback
a guide only; check the official record
Missing
nothing public found yet

People and land

Rice by the Census

Population
67,097 2020 Census count
Housing units
25,018 2020 Census count
Land area
496 square miles
Water area
20 square miles
People per sq mi
135 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Rice County's official site

We have found the county's site but not its offices yet; start there.

County government

See your own lot on these maps

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Questions

Common questions about Rice County

When was Rice County founded?
Rice County was founded in 1853, formed from Dakota County and Wabasha County, and named after Henry Mower Rice.
What is the county seat of Rice County?
The county seat of Rice County is Faribault.
Is there an online parcel map for Rice County?
Yes. Minnesota Geospatial Commons publishes a parcel map of 28,166 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Rice County's boundary or name changed?
Rice County was created in 1853 from Dakota County and Wabasha County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 4 later changes, chiefly involving Dakota County, Dodge County and Fillmore County.
Is my lot in a flood zone?
We do not have flood maps for Rice County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby

Counties next door