Itasca County, Minnesota

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Itasca County, Minnesota
Map
Map of Minnesota highlighting Itasca County
Location in the state of Minnesota
Map of the U.S. highlighting Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded October 27, 1849 [1]
Seat Grand Rapids
Largest city Grand Rapids
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

2,928 sq mi (7,583 km²)
2,665 sq mi (6,902 km²)
263 sq mi (680 km²), 8.97%
Population
 - (2000)
 - Density

43,992
16/sq mi (6/km²)
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website: www.co.itasca.mn.us
Named for: Two Latin words for "truth" and "head"

Itasca County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is named after Lake Itasca, which is in turn a shortened version the Latin words veritas caput, meaning true head, a reference to the source of the Mississippi River. As of 2000, the population was 43,992. Its county seat is Grand Rapids[1]. Portions of the Bois Forte and Leech Lake Indian reservations are in the county.

Contents

[edit] History

The county was first formed in 1849, upon the creation of Minnesota Territory, from the Minnesota portion of La Pointe County, Wisconsin. Originally much larger, the original Itasca County covered what today are Cook, Lake, St. Louis, Koochiching, eastern Lake of the Woods, eastern Beltrami, Itasca, northern Aitkin and northern Carlton counties of Minnesota.

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,928 square miles (7,583 km²), of which, 2,665 square miles (6,902 km²) of it is land and 263 square miles (680 km²) of it (8.97%) is water.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent counties

[edit] Demographics

Age pyramid of county residents based on 2000 U.S. census data.
Age pyramid of county residents based on 2000 U.S. census data.

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 43,992 people, 17,789 households, and 12,381 families residing in the county. The population density was 16 people per square mile (6/km²). There were 24,528 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.64% White, 0.16% Black or African American, 3.40% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.16% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races. 0.60% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.6% were of German, 13.8% Norwegian, 7.7% Finnish, 7.2% Swedish, 6.2% Irish, 5.0% United States or American and 5.0% English ancestry.

There were 17,789 households out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.30% were married couples living together, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.40% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.40% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 24.40% from 25 to 44, 26.70% from 45 to 64, and 16.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 99.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,234, and the median income for a family was $44,025. Males had a median income of $37,066 versus $22,327 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,717. About 7.70% of families and 10.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.60% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Cities and towns

Cities Townships Unincorporated communities Unorganized territories
  • Alvwood
  • Ball Club
  • Bass Lake
  • Bear River
  • Bergville
  • Blackberry
  • Bowstring
  • Dora Lake
  • Dunbar
  • Goodland
  • Gratten
  • Gunn
  • Houpt
  • Inger
  • Jaynes
  • Jessie Lake

[edit] References

  1. ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 47°31′N 93°38′W / 47.51, -93.63