In order to estimate the incidence rate of esophageal carcinoma in a defined populat;on, all cases in bona fide residents of Olmstead County, Minnesota, newly diagnosed from 1935 through 1971 were identified and reviewed. There were 33 confirmed cases. The mean annual incidence was 2.6/100,000 men and 0.8/100,000 women. The age-adjusted incidence rates in this population are lower than those reported recently from other populations. Of the 27 patients whose disease was diagnosed before death, only 1 survived more than 6 years after initial diagnosis of the esophageal carcinoma, and all had died before the end of the study.