Scottish Population in Big Stone County, MN by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

In Big Stone County, MN, Scottish residents total 56 across the county. Of that, 41 live in Ortonville, while Graceville reports none. This points to a partially concentrated presence centered in Ortonville, with the rest likely residing in unincorporated parts of Big Stone County or smaller incorporated cities not captured in this ranking. The section below explores how this distribution plays out across the county and similar regions within Minnesota.

Top 5 cities with the largest Scottish population in Big Stone County

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  • 1
    Ortonville
    Scottish population in Ortonville is 41
    2.08% of Ortonville population is Scottish
  • 2
    Graceville
    Scottish population in Graceville is 0
    - of Graceville population is Scottish

Overview of Scottish population in Big Stone County

  • Population Count and Percentage: American Community Survey data shows Big Stone County contains 56 Scottish residents (1.1% of 5,152 total county population), ranking the jurisdiction at the 9th percentile nationally among counties and 13th percentile within Minnesota for Scottish demographic concentrations across both absolute and proportional measures.
  • Comparison to State and National Averages: Census Bureau's ACS records show Big Stone County's Scottish population of 1.1% aligns with Minnesota's state average while remaining below the national average of 1.6%, placing both the county and state below typical U.S. demographic concentration levels.
  • Share of Total State Population: Official American Community Survey data indicates Big Stone County contains 56 Scottish residents, representing less than 1% of Minnesota's total Scottish population of 62,986.
  • Population Density per Square Mile: U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey documents Big Stone County with 0.11 Scottish Americans per square mile, below Minnesota's average of 0.79 per square mile, placing the county among the least concentrated jurisdictions within the state.
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Big Stone County Cities by Scottish Population

View Methodology
ACS demographic data [1] documents 41 Scottish residents in Ortonville — one of the two incorporated cities in the county included in this analysis*. The following table provides complete population breakdowns, demographic concentrations, density statistics for both cities in Big Stone County, MN.
cities in Big Stone County, MN ranked by Scottish population count
Rank by Scottish Population
City
Scottish Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Big Stone County Scottish Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Ortonville 41 2.08% 73.21%
2 Graceville 0 - -
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Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in Big Stone County, MN by their Scottish population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Scottish population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Scottish ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Scottish alone, while others identify as Scottish along with another race (such as Scottish and German).
  • We’ve used the “Scottish alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Scottish population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Scottish alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Scottish .
  2. % of Total Big Stone County Scottish Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Scottish population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Scottish populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Scottish population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Scottish populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.