Winona is also a major college town with a large number of people who are 18 years or older and attending college. As is often the case in college towns, the many students that live in Winona have a strong influence on the local culture and entertainment scene, which may seem dormant by comparison in the summer months when much of the student population is away. In the fall, the return of students has a reinvigorating effect on the community. Because colleges are lasting institutions, they have a stabilizing effect on the economy by providing direct local benefits such as jobs for faculty and staff and spending by students. Winona’s economy is one such example of this.
One of the benefits of Winona is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 15.29 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.
The population of Winona is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 21.84% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 34.77% of adults in Winona have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree.
The per capita income in Winona in 2022 was $34,197, which is lower middle income relative to Minnesota, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $136,788 for a family of four. However, Winona contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
Winona is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Winona home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Winona residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Winona include German, Norwegian, Irish, Polish, and English.
The most common language spoken in Winona is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Miao/Hmong.
