Appleton is a city in Swift County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 1,412 at the 2010 census. The town is home to a vacant medium-security prison, the Prairie Correctional Facility, which is wholly owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America. Appleton also includes a plant-protein factory operated by Eat Just, Inc.

Swift County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,838. Its county seat is Benson.