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Welcome to Medford ...

The city of Medford is located in Steele County<1>.

The pronunciation of Medford: MED-fuhrd<2>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Medford, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1855.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Medford has a population of 1,257 people<3> (see below for details).

Medford is 1,100 feet [335 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Medford lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Medford: 507 & 924<5>

The ZIP code for Medford: 55049<6>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Medford had an population of 1,257 people. This is an increase of 1.45% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 27.74% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Medford had a population of 1,239 people. This makes Medford the county's 3rd most populous community.

The population of Medford represents 0.02% of the population of Minnesota (which has 5,303,925 people), making it the state's 325th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 1,239 people, the population of Medford increased 25.91% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 984 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Medford.

Communities Also Named Medford ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 14 communities that are also named Medford - they are located in Arkansas, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Brunswick, New Jersey, New York, Nova Scotia, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Medford.

Communities near Medford ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Medford.

  • Owatonna
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Faribault
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Waseca
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Waseca. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<8>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waseca
    • Waseca is located in Waseca County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,835 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waseca <7>
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Waseca
    • From Medford to Waseca
  • Rice Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rice Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
    • Rice Lake is located in Steele County
  • Waterville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waterville have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterville
    • Waterville is located in Le Sueur County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,870 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waterville <7>
  • Kenyon
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Dundas
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dundas have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundas
    • Dundas is located in Rice County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,652 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dundas <7>
  • Morristown
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • West Concord
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Claremont
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Claremont have been provided by the GNIS.<9> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
    • Claremont is located in Dodge County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 534 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Claremont <7>

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Medford. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Medford.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Medford. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Medford.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Medford. See our Newspapers Page for Medford.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Medford ...

Looking for more information about Medford? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Medford, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Medford.

Adding Medford to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Medford in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Medford was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<10>

X2X - From that list, the Medford post office opened in 1855.

We also found Medford in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Medford.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Medford. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Steele County: www.co.steele.mn.us/

The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Minnesota's counties, including Steele, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Medford. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Medford.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Medford - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 507 code has been Overlayed with the 924 area code. New phone numbers in the Medford area will be assigned with one of these codes: 507 or 924. As a result, placing a call in the Medford area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<6>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Medford). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Medford or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<7>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<8>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<9>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<10>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025