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According to the 2000 Census, the average resident of the city of Paynesville is a 40-year-old, white, married female of German ancestry who graduated from high school and now works outside her home. She speaks English, drives an average of 21 minutes to work, contributes to a household income of $34,000, pays $733 for her mortgage each month, and owns a home worth $72,500.

In Paynesville Township, the average resident is a 40-year-old, white, married male of German ancestry with a high school diploma and a household income of $49,792. He speaks English, drives an average of 23 minutes to work, pays $972 for his mortgage each month, and owns a home worth $127,600.

In addition to the general demographic information from the 2000 Census, released in 2001, this summer's economic, housing, and social characteristics have been released from the most recent census, giving greater depth of information about the make-up of the community, the state, and the nation. Census Profile

The city of Paynesville (population 2,267) is 53.1 percent female, 61 percent married, and 99 percent white. Fifteen percent are veterans, 56 percent live in the same house as 1995, and 97 percent were born in the United States. Of the 55 people not born in the United States, 22 were born in Europe, 13 in Latin America, and 11 in North America.

Paynesville Township is 52 percent male, 70 percent married, and 99 percent white. Thirteen percent are veterans, 73 percent live in the same house as five years ago, and 99 percent were born in the United States.

Compared to the state and the country, Paynesville is older, whiter, and more European in background.

The median age for both the city of Paynesville and Paynesville Township is around 40 years, while the median age for the United States and Minnesota is 35 years. While Paynesville is 99 percent white, Minnesota is 89 percent white, and the country is 77 percent white.

Leading ancestries in the city of Paynesville are German (59.6 percent), Norwegian (16.2), English (5.4), Swedish (5.3), French (5.2), and Irish (5.0). In Paynesville Township, 65.6 percent have German ancestry, 16.3 percent have Norwegian ancestry, 11.5 have Irish ancestry, and 7.3 percent have Swedish ancestry.

German is the leading ancestry in the state (36.7 percent) and the country (15.2 percent). Paynesville and Minnesota are inordinately populated with Norwegians, who comprise only 1.6 percent of the total U.S. population.

In education and income, the city and township showed differences. Paynesville Township compared favorably with state averages, with 87.6 percent having graduated from high school (of those 25 and over) and with a median income of $49,792. The state average is 87.9 percent having graduated from high school and a median income of $47,111.

The city of Paynesville had only 76.5 percent of its residents (of at least 25 years of age) with high school diplomas and a median household income of $34,000. The national averages are 80 percent with high school diplomas and a median income of $42,000.

The median income of a house in Paynesville Township is $127,600, which is higher than both the state ($122,400) and the national ($119,600) medians. The median value of a house in the city of Paynesville was only $72,500.

Twenty percent of the residents (age 25 and older) have college degrees in Paynesville Township, while 13 percent of the city residents have college degrees. The state average is 27 percent and the national average is 24 percent.
Gender

The city of St. Martin is the only other local entity to have more females than males. The city of Paynesville has 53.1 percent females and St. Martin (population 278) has 51.8 percent.

Leading in male percentage is the city of Lake Henry (population 90) at 56.7 percent, Lake Henry Township (population 330) at 54.8 percent, and Manannah Township (population 610) at 53.4 percent.
Age

The city of St. Martin and St. Martin Township (population 472) have the youngest populations, with median ages of just over 31 years. Lake Henry Township (34.6), Manannah Township (34.7), Roseville Township (35.1 for a population of 570), and the city of Roscoe (35.5 for a population of 116) had median ages around 35.

The city of Regal (population 40) with a median age of 44.5 and Irving Township (population 787) with a median age of 42.8 were the oldest communities on average.
Race

Nearly all the communities in the Paynesville area are nearly snow-white. Racial composition in every community was at least 97 percent white.
Ancestry

German ancestry was the most common in the area, being the most common ancestry in every entity in the Paynesville area. Eighty-five percent of the population in the city of St. Martin listed German ancestry in the census, and 82 percent of the population in St. Martin Township did as well. Other percentages of German ancestry were: the city of Regal (77 percent), Lake Henry Township (76 percent), Zion Township (72 percent), Munson Township (67 percent), the city of Lake Henry (66 percent), Eden Lake Township (66 percent), and Manannah Township (60 percent).

Irving Township was the only entity not to have a majority of people with German ancestry. Forty percent of Irving Township was German, 34 percent Norwegian, and 18 percent Swedish, creating a Scandinavian majority.

Other townships south of Paynesville (Roseville Township in Kandiyohi County and Union Grove Township in Meeker) had sizable Scandinavian populations. Union Grove had 24 percent Norwegian ancestry and 12 percent Swedish, while Roseville had a quarter of its population with Norwegian ancestry, including Norwegian (19 percent), Swedish (five percent), and Danish (three percent).

Other notable ancestries were 11 percent Irish in Manannah Township, 10 percent Danish in the city of Roscoe, and nine percent polish in the city of Regal and eight percent in the city of Lake Henry.
Education

Leading in education was Irving Township with 93.5 percent of its population (of those over 25 years of age) having a high school diploma and 17 percent having a college degree. Eden Lake Township, Munson Township, Paynesville Township, the city of Regal, Roseville Township, St. Martin Township, Union Grove Township, and Zion Township all had high school graduation percentages over 80 percent. The city of Regal, at 24 percent, led in the percentage of college degrees, while Paynesville Township was second at 20 percent.
Household income

Median household incomes were generally higher in the townships than in the cities, led by Paynesville ($49,792), Munson ($49,539), Eden Lake ($48,295), Irving ($47,188), Zion ($45,769), and Union Grove ($44,732). Roscoe led area cities with a median household income of $45,714.
Housing

The median housing values were also higher in area townships, led by Irving Township at $139,400. Paynesville Township ($127,600), Munson Township ($120,000), and Eden Lake Township ($108,600) all had median house values over $100,000.

Lake Henry Township, at $39,200, had the lowest median value among area townships, while the city of Regal was the lowest overall at $34,400.

The city of St. Martin ($78,000) and the city of Paynesville ($72,500) led in median housing values for area cities.
More information

Census infomation can be obtained at www.census.org. Detailed information for Eden Lake Township, Irving Township, the city of Lake Henry, Lake Henry Township, Manannah Township, Munson Township, the city of Paynesville, Paynesville Township, the city of Regal, the city of Roscoe, Roseville Township, the city of St. Martin, St. Martin Township, Union Grove Township, and Zion Township are also available by clicking here.