The ancestral makeup of the city is 44.6% German, 21.3% Norwegian, 13.2% Irish, 5.2% English, 5.1% Swedish, and 4.6% French.

Bus service in Waseca is provided by Southern Minnesota Area Rural Transit (SMART).

Waseca has a charter school, TEAM Academy,[18] hosting students from kindergarten to grade 6.

Most of its former campus continues to operate as the research facility Southern Research and Outreach Center, which includes 926 acres of research-oriented farmland, a community garden, and the Hodgson Memorial Arboretum.

[19] Waseca is home to a frozen-vegetable packing plant for fresh peas and corn, owned by ConAgra Brands.

[22] Waseca completed an eight-foot-wide asphalt bike path surrounding Clear Lake in 2014.

Waseca was platted in July 1867 where the railroad system established a stop.

Within a year it was a major shipping hub for wheat, and the city had 129 buildings and 700 people.

[24] In 1912 the University of Minnesota purchased 246 acres of swampland and established an experimental farm called Southeast Station.

It operated as a boarding school, with a six-month term scheduled around farming activities.

[25] In 1971 it became the University of Minnesota Waseca, a two-year technical college, and served nearly 20,000 students before closing in 1992.

[30] In the mid-1900s, three companies were founded in Waseca with national markets: Brown Printing, EF Johnson Technologies Inc., and Herter's Outgoor Gear.

It shared space with a downtown Waseca woodworking shop, and sold radio transmission parts by mail order.

It built its first factory in 1936, and was a major supplier of defense production during World War II.

[31] The Johnsons played a major role in establishing Waseca County Historical Society.

[33] Herter's merchandise is now sold by Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops.

[34] Brown Printing was started in 1949 and grew to include facilities in Illinois and Pennsylvania.