Pennington County, Minnesota


Pennington County is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,992. Its county seat is Thief River Falls.
WWW co.pennington.mn.us

History

The Wisconsin Territory was established by the federal government effective July 3, 1836, and existed until its eastern portion was granted statehood in 1848. The federal government set up the Minnesota Territory in the remaining territory, effective March 3, 1849. The newly organized territorial legislature created nine counties across the territory in October of that year. One of those original counties, Pembina, had its lower portion partitioned in 1858 by the newly organized Minnesota State legislature to create Polk County. On December 24, 1896, the legislature partitioned the northern portion of Polk to create Red Lake County. Then on November 23, 1910, the northern part of Red Lake was sectioned off to create Pennington County, the penultimate Minnesota county to be created. The county was named for Edmund Pennington, a longtime Minnesota railroad executive, who was serving as president of the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Sault Ste. Marie Railway when the county was formed. Thief River Falls, the area's major settlement, was specified as the county seat.

Geography

The Red Lake River flows westward into the county from Beltrami County through Pennington's central portion. Near Thief River Falls it is joined by the Thief River, flowing southward into the county from Marshall County. The combined flow exits Pennington County toward the south, then swings west- and northwestward as it moves to its confluence with the Red River near Grand Forks, North Dakota. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, lightly wooded, with all available areas devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the west and south, with its highest point near the lower east border, at ASL. The county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Pennington is one of 17 Minnesota savanna region counties with more savanna soils than either prairie or forest soils.

Major highways

Airports

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 13,992. The median age was 39.8 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.5 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 88.9% White, 1.3% Black or African American, 1.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.9% from some other race, and 5.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.8% of the population.
63.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 36.4% lived in rural areas.
There were 6,077 households in the county, of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 43.8% were married-couple households, 22.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 6,639 housing units, of which 8.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.8% were owner-occupied and 28.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.2%.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,584 people, 5,525 households, and 3,552 families in the county. The population density was. There were 6,033 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the county was 97.02% White, 0.21% Black or African American, 0.82% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. 1.24% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 49.0% were of Norwegian, 15.4% German and 7.2% Swedish ancestry.
There were 5,525 households, out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.70% were married couples living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.70% were non-families. 29.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.95.
The county population contained 24.50% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,216, and the median income for a family was $43,936. Males had a median income of $30,771 versus $21,078 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,346. About 7.70% of families and 11.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.70% of those under age 18 and 14.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Politics

In the first five elections after its founding, Pennington County had mixed results in presidential elections, voting for four different parties at least once in that span. From 1932 to 1996, the county voted Democratic, typically by moderately healthy margins, in every election save for three nationwide Republican landslides, Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in both 1980 and 1984. Beginning in 2000, Pennington County has favored Republicans in six of the seven elections, with the exception being Barack Obama winning the county in 2008 by a fairly small margin of about 2%.