Polk County, Minnesota

Polk County, Minnesota
Location in the state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
Founded	July 20, 1858 [1]
Named for	President James Knox Polk
Seat	Crookston
Largest city	East Grand Forks
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	1,997.81 sq mi (5,174 km²) 1,970.37 sq mi (5,103 km²) 27.44 sq mi (71 km²), 1.37%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	31,600 16/sq mi (6/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.polk.mn.us

Polk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was at 31,600 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Crookston, and the largest community is East Grand Forks. Polk County and Grand Forks County, North Dakota, make up the "Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area" or "Greater Grand Forks".

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 1,997.81 square miles (5,174.3 km²), of which 1,970.37 square miles (5,103.2 km²) (or 98.63%) is land and 27.44 square miles (71.1 km²) (or 1.37%) is water.

Major highways

U.S. Highway 2 U.S. Highway 59 U.S. Highway 75 Minnesota State Highway 9

Minnesota State Highway 32 Minnesota State Highway 92 Minnesota State Highway 102 Minnesota State Highway 220

Adjacent counties

• Marshall County (north)
• Pennington County (northeast)
• Red Lake County (northeast)
• Clearwater County (east)
• Mahnomen County (southeast)
• Norman County (south)
• Traill County, North Dakota (southwest)
• Grand Forks County, North Dakota (west)

See also: List of counties bordering eight counties

National protected areas

• Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge
• Rydell National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

Historical populations
Year	Pop.
1860	240
1870	0
1880	11,433
1890	30,192
1900	35,429
1910	36,001
1920	37,090
1930	36,019
1940	37,734
1950	35,900
1960	36,182
1970	34,435
1980	34,844
1990	32,498
2000	31,369
2010	31,600
2010 Est	31,640
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 31,369 people, 12,070 households, and 8,050 families residing in the county. The population density was 16 people per square mile (6/km²). There were 14,008 housing units at an average density of 7 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.18% White, 0.33% Black or African American, 1.30% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.57% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. 4.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 41.7% were of Norwegian, 19.7% German and 5.8% French ancestry according to Census 2000.

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

There were 12,070 households out of which 32.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.90% were married couples living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.30% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.90% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 24.80% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 17.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,105, and the median income for a family was $44,310. Males had a median income of $31,472 versus $21,535 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,279. About 7.30% of families and 10.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.30% of those under age 18 and 10.90% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Cities	Townships		Unincorporated
Beltrami Climax Crookston East Grand Forks Erskine Fertile Fisher Fosston Gully Lengby McIntosh Mentor Nielsville Trail Winger	Andover Township Angus Township Badger Township Belgium Township Brandsvold Township Brandt Township Brislet Township Bygland Township Chester Township Columbia Township Crookston Township Eden Township Esther Township Euclid Township Fairfax Township Fanny Township Farley Township Fisher Township Garden Township Garfield Township Gentilly Township Godfrey Township Grand Forks Township Grove Park-Tilden Township Gully Township Hammond Township Helgeland Township Higdem Township Hill River Township	Hubbard Township Huntsville Township Johnson Township Kertsonville Township Keystone Township King Township Knute Township Lessor Township Liberty Township Lowell Township Nesbit Township Northland Township Onstad Township Parnell Township Queen Township Reis Township Rhinehart Township Roome Township Rosebud Township Russia Township Sandsville Township Scandia Township Sletten Township Sullivan Township Tabor Township Tynsid Township Vineland Township Winger Township Woodside Township	Cisco Dugdale Greenview Maple Bay

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Polk County, Minnesota

External links

• Polk County official website