Cook County, Minnesota


Cook County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,600, making it Minnesota's seventh-least populous county. Its county seat is Grand Marais. The Grand Portage Indian Reservation is in the county.
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History

Ojibwe people were early inhabitants of this area. The first non-indigenous people to explore the area were French fur traders, a few of whom settled in the area. By the 1830s, the French population was a few dozen. In the 1830s, settlers began arriving from New England and from upstate New York. The completion of the Erie Canal and the settling of the Black Hawk War made migration easier.
Most of Cook County's 1830s settlers came from Orange County, Vermont and Down East Maine. Most were fishermen and farmers. By 1845 the future Cook County contained 350 people of European descent; by 1874 there were about 2,000. They were primarily members of the Congregational Church, Methodist, and Baptist churches. By 1900 there were about 3,000 people in Cook County.
The first decade of the 20th century saw a large influx of Europeans from Germany, Scandinavia, and Ireland. These waves introduced Lutheranism and Catholicism to Cook County.
The county was created on March 9, 1874. It was named for Territorial and State Senator Michael Cook.

Geography

Cook County is a rugged, heavily wooded triangle of land on Minnesota's northeastern tip. It abuts Canada's southern border and is largely surrounded by the northern end of the Great Lakes. It is heavily dotted with lakes, ponds and streams. The state's highest point is in the county, at ASL. The county has an area of, of which is land and is water. It is Minnesota's second-largest county by area. Minnesota's highest natural point, Eagle Mountain at, and the highest lake, Lake Abita at, are in Cook County. Lake Superior is at the county's southern border.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Cook County is in the extreme northeast of the state at the tip of the Arrowhead region; it is adjacent to only one other county by land. Its geographic neighbors are:

Protected areas

Climate

Northern Minnesota offers extreme winter weather. While the averages are low, the extremes provide more details. A third of the year is below freezing. Of those days, 21 are below zero degrees Fahrenheit.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 5,600. The median age was 53.1 years. 15.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 30.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.3 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 83.7% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 8.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.9% from some other race, and 5.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.2% of the population.
<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,711 households in the county, of which 19.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.3% were married-couple households, 22.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 5,936 housing units, of which 54.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 77.8% were owner-occupied and 22.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 16.8%.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,168 people, 2,350 households, and 1,438 families in the county. The population density was. There were 4,708 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 89.45% White, 7.59% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.29% Black or African American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.25% from other races, and 2.05% from two or more races. 0.75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 21.6% were of German, 17.7% Norwegian, 11.5% Swedish, 7.2% Irish and 5.4% English ancestry.
There were 2,350 households, of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.73.
The county population contained 20.4% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.5 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,640, and the median income for a family was $47,132. Males had a median income of $31,211 versus $23,650 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,775. About 8.1% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Unorganized territories

Ghost towns

Government and politics

Cook County was a Republican-leaning bellwether in all but four elections from 1900 to 2000, with the exceptions being 1912, 1960, 1976, and 1988. The county was one of the rare white-majority rural counties to have its margin increase for Joe Biden in 2020 relative to Barack Obama's 2012 margin, with 66 percent of voters choosing the Democratic nominee. In both 2016 and 2020, it was the largest county by area in the contiguous states where Trump lost every precinct, although several counties in Hawaii and county equivalents in western Alaska and the northern Panhandle beat it in both elections. In 2024, the county shifted even further to the left, with Kamala Harris' vote share of over 66% being the highest ever by a Democratic presidential nominee.