Chisago County, Minnesota
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Chisago County is a
county located in the
U.S. state of
Minnesota. As of 2000, the population was 41,101. Its
county seat is
Center City6.
Chisago County is, like many other counties in Minnesota, strongly influenced by the Swedish immigrants that settled there in the middle of the
19th century. It was here
Vilhelm Moberg made his research for his trilogy
The Emigrants in the
1950s. His fictional characters Karl-Oskar and Kristina Nilsson from
Ljuder parish in
Småland settled around the lake
Ki-Chi-Saga (which was later renamed Lake
Chisago). The heritage of the early settlers is still honoured by the annual
Karl Oskar Days in
Lindstrom.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,146
km² (442
mi²). 1,082 km² (418 mi²) of it is land and 64 km² (25 mi²) of it (5.62%) is water.
Adjacent counties
*
Pine County, Minnesota (north)
*
Burnett County, Wisconsin (northeast)
*
Polk County, Wisconsin (east)
*
Washington County, Minnesota (south)
*
Anoka County, Minnesota (southwest)
*
Isanti County, Minnesota (west)
*
Kanabec County, Minnesota (northwest)
As of the
census² of 2000, there were 41,101 people, 14,454 households, and 11,086 families residing in the county. The
population density was 38/km² (98/mi²). There were 15,533 housing units at an average density of 14/km² (37/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.21%
White, 0.51%
Black or
African American, 0.45%
Native American, 0.70%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.31% from
other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. 1.15% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 14,454 households out of which 41.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.50% were
married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.30% were non-families. 18.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the county the population was spread out with 30.20% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 32.20% from 25 to 44, 20.70% from 45 to 64, and 9.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 103.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $52,012, and the median income for a family was $57,335. Males had a median income of $40,743 versus $27,653 for females. The
per capita income for the county was $21,013. About 3.20% of families and 5.10% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 5.40% of those under age 18 and 8.00% of those age 65 or over.
*
Chisago County government's website*
Chisago County DFL website*
Chisago County Historical Society website