About Winona County

The name of the county is said to derive from a Dakota legend regarding a woman, referred to Winona, who was betrothed to marry a warrior whom she did not love. Rather than marry him, she is said to have leapt to her death from a rock now called “Maiden’s Rock” on Lake Pepin. This legend is colloquially referred to as the Princess Winonalegend.

 

Minnesota Top Ten Employers

Employer	Service or Product	Number of Employees
State of Minnesota	State Government	40,208 employees
United States Federal Government	Federal Government	34,000 employees
Mayo Foundation	Health Care	32,893 employees
Target Corporation	Retailer	30,500 employees
Allina Health System	Health Care	23,302 employees
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.	Retailer	20,434 employees
Fairview Health Services	Health Care	20,178 employees
Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota	Banking	20,000 employees
University of Minnesota	Public University	19,157 employees
Minnesota State Colleges and Universities	Public Colleges and Universities	18,516 employees

Source: Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal, 2011

 

Population and Demographics

	Apr 1, 2010 Census	Jan 1, 2013 Estimate	Numeric Change	Proportional Change
United States	308,400,408	315,090,923	6,690,515	2.2%
Minnesota	5,303,925	5,422,060	118,135	0.7%
Winona County	51,461	51,232	-229	-0.5%
Winona, City	27,595	27,546	-49	-0.2%

Source: Minnesota, State & County QuickFacts, United States Census Bureau