Counties with the most pre-war homes in Minnesota

Counties with the most pre-war homes in Minnesota

Pre-war homes—those built before 1939—are architectural gems. They are sturdy, charming, and often what people are referring to when they look at the prevalent colorless, linear designs of today and lament “they just don’t make them like they used to.”

In some ways, that’s a good thing. Pre-war homes often contained materials we know to be hazardous today, like asbestos and lead. But their signature characteristics, including hardwood floors, nickel accents, ornate crown molding, and high ceilings, are among the features many people look for in a dream home.

Preserving the history of these properties, many of which you’ll find on the National Register of Historic Places, is labor that often extends beyond the scope of an individual homeowner. Depending on where these homes are located, special permission by local historic commissions may be required before renovations can be done in an effort to preserve their historic architectural integrity.

Stacker compiled a list of counties in Minnesota with the most pre-war homes using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the highest percent of homes that were built in 1939 or earlier based on 2023 5-year estimates.

#50. Hennepin County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 18.6% (105,002 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 1.1% (6,463 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1973
– National rank: #964

– Total homes built: 564,441

#49. Wadena County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 18.7% (1,308 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (47 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1974
– National rank: #956

– Total homes built: 6,990

#48. Rice County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 18.7% (4,716 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 1.1% (280 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1977
– National rank: #955

– Total homes built: 25,173

#47. Steele County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 19.1% (3,035 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.4% (65 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1975
– National rank: #933

– Total homes built: 15,878

#46. Morrison County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 19.2% (3,119 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (113 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1978
– National rank: #924

– Total homes built: 16,204

#45. Pennington County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 19.7% (1,331 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (22 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1975
– National rank: #890

– Total homes built: 6,755

#44. Lyon County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 20.0% (2,253 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.4% (47 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1971
– National rank: #869

– Total homes built: 11,252

#43. Blue Earth County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 20.1% (5,945 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 1.4% (416 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1977
– National rank: #861

– Total homes built: 29,544

#42. Wabasha County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 20.7% (2,122 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 1.1% (114 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1977
– National rank: #829

– Total homes built: 10,229

#41. Marshall County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 20.9% (921 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.5% (20 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1971
– National rank: #822

– Total homes built: 4,416

#40. Dodge County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 21.2% (1,778 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.6% (47 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1979
– National rank: #804

– Total homes built: 8,399

#39. Todd County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 21.6% (2,795 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (108 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1974
– National rank: #776

– Total homes built: 12,929

#38. Stevens County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 22.2% (933 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.5% (20 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1967
– National rank: #741

– Total homes built: 4,201

#37. Polk County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 22.4% (3,287 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.1% (10 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1971
– National rank: #734

– Total homes built: 14,670

#36. Waseca County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 23.1% (1,829 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (21 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1970
– National rank: #697

– Total homes built: 7,910

#35. Nobles County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 23.3% (1,956 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (22 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1968
– National rank: #688

– Total homes built: 8,398

#34. Le Sueur County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 23.4% (3,040 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (99 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1973
– National rank: #681

– Total homes built: 12,978

#33. Wilkin County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 24.0% (714 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.5% (15 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1967
– National rank: #654

– Total homes built: 2,977

#32. Goodhue County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 24.4% (5,146 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 1.4% (302 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1974
– National rank: #635

– Total homes built: 21,071

#31. Pope County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 24.6% (1,575 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.2% (15 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1971
– National rank: #627

– Total homes built: 6,411

#30. Mower County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 24.9% (4,221 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.2% (40 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1957
– National rank: #613

– Total homes built: 16,963

#29. Kittson County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 25.4% (578 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (7 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1967
– National rank: #588

– Total homes built: 2,279

#28. Houston County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 25.4% (2,222 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.4% (31 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1970
– National rank: #586

– Total homes built: 8,755

#27. Ramsey County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 25.6% (59,227 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.8% (1,744 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1965
– National rank: #571

– Total homes built: 231,606

#26. Red Lake County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 26.3% (495 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 1.7% (32 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1969
– National rank: #534

– Total homes built: 1,884

#25. Murray County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 26.4% (1,160 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (12 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1963
– National rank: #525

– Total homes built: 4,401

#24. Cottonwood County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 26.7% (1,376 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.4% (23 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1961
– National rank: #510

– Total homes built: 5,163

#23. Freeborn County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 27.0% (3,808 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.1% (15 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1959
– National rank: #491

– Total homes built: 14,116

#22. Grant County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 27.8% (875 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.6% (18 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1964
– National rank: #456

– Total homes built: 3,146

#21. Swift County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 28.3% (1,329 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.1% (4 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1959
– National rank: #425

– Total homes built: 4,697

#20. Redwood County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 28.3% (2,013 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.6% (43 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1963
– National rank: #423

– Total homes built: 7,103

#19. St. Louis County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 28.6% (29,736 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.5% (506 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1962
– National rank: #411

– Total homes built: 103,924

#18. Winona County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 29.1% (6,324 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.6% (122 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1970
– National rank: #389

– Total homes built: 21,763

#17. Traverse County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 29.1% (551 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (6 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1963
– National rank: #387

– Total homes built: 1,896

#16. Pipestone County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 30.1% (1,297 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.1% (4 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1958
– National rank: #348

– Total homes built: 4,316

#15. Norman County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 30.2% (974 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.1% (3 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1961
– National rank: #343

– Total homes built: 3,228

#14. Martin County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 30.7% (2,982 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.1% (8 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1958
– National rank: #319

– Total homes built: 9,715

#13. Sibley County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 30.7% (1,992 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (43 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1962
– National rank: #315

– Total homes built: 6,482

#12. Brown County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 31.1% (3,668 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.4% (53 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1961
– National rank: #304

– Total homes built: 11,802

#11. Chippewa County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 31.5% (1,779 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.2% (10 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1957
– National rank: #290

– Total homes built: 5,649

#10. Watonwan County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 32.2% (1,581 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.0% (1 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1961
– National rank: #260

– Total homes built: 4,904

#9. Renville County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 32.5% (2,243 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.1% (5 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1958
– National rank: #251

– Total homes built: 6,911

#8. Rock County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 33.2% (1,406 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.6% (27 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1958
– National rank: #225

– Total homes built: 4,236

#7. Lincoln County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 33.4% (1,021 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.3% (10 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1960
– National rank: #213

– Total homes built: 3,061

#6. Jackson County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 33.9% (1,665 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.2% (10 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1956
– National rank: #196

– Total homes built: 4,914

#5. Big Stone County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 34.1% (1,018 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 1.3% (38 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1957
– National rank: #183

– Total homes built: 2,984

#4. Fillmore County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 34.8% (3,368 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.7% (64 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1966
– National rank: #159

– Total homes built: 9,669

#3. Yellow Medicine County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 35.8% (1,615 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.0% (2 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1956
– National rank: #138

– Total homes built: 4,512

#2. Faribault County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 37.2% (2,576 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.2% (13 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1952
– National rank: #106

– Total homes built: 6,921

#1. Lac qui Parle County

– Homes built 1939 or earlier: 42.0% (1,460 homes)
– Homes built since 2000: 0.1% (4 homes)
– Median year homes built: 1950
– National rank: #33

– Total homes built: 3,474