Polk County, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Polk County
U.S. county
Polk County Government Center in Crookston
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	July 20, 1858 (created) 1872 (organized)
Named for	James Knox Polk
Seat	Crookston
Largest city	East Grand Forks
Area
• Total	1,997.791 sq mi (5,174.25 km2)
• Land	1,970.999 sq mi (5,104.86 km2)
• Water	26.792 sq mi (69.39 km2)  1.3%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	31,192
• Estimate  (2023)	30,412
• Density	15.429/sq mi (5.957/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	7th

Polk County is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 31,192 at the 2020 census. Its county seat is Crookston, and the largest community is East Grand Forks.

Polk County is part of the Grand Forks, ND-MN metropolitan statistical area.

History

In one of its early acts as a state entity, the Minnesota Legislature created the county on July 20, 1858, but did not organize it at that time. The county was named for the 11th president of the United States, James Knox Polk, who signed the congressional act that organized the Minnesota Territory. The county was organized in 1872 and 1873, with the newly settled community of Crookston as the county seat.

Geography

Polk County lies on Minnesota's border with North Dakota (across the Red River). The Red Lake River flows west through the upper central part of the county, discharging into the Red at Grand Forks. The county terrain consists of low, rolling hills, devoted to agriculture. The county slopes to the west and north, with its highest point near its southeast corner, at 1,519 ft (463 m) above sea level. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,997.791 square miles (5,174.25 km²), of which 1,970.999 square miles (5,104.86 km²) is land and 26.792 square miles (69.39 km²) (1.3%) is water.

USGS surveys show the county's high point to be 1,575 ft (0.480 km) south of U.S. 2, about 2 km east of Spring Lake, at 47.5197°N, 95.5906°W.

Transit

• Tri-Valley Opportunity Council (T.H.E. Bus)

Major highways

• Polk County State-Aid Highway 21: This is the major connector between Grand Forks and Pennington County, and connects with Pennington County State-Aid Highway 3.
• Polk County State-Aid Highway 9: A major connector between Crookston and the south end of Grand Forks, it connects with Grand Forks County Road 7, and functions as a southside connector between US 75 and US 2 in Crookston.
• Polk County State-Aid Highways 11 & 46: US 2 Truck Bypass of Crookston
• Polk County State-Aid Highway 2: Designated and designed for heavy truck traffic connecting US 2 to Roseau County and Marshall County.

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Demographics

2022 US Census population pyramid for Polk County, from ACS 5-year estimates

As of the first quarter of 2024, the median home value in Polk County was $216,560.

As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 12,472 estimated households in Polk County with an average of 2.39 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $69,540. Approximately 11.6% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Polk County has an estimated 64.9% employment rate, with 26.7% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 93.4% holding a high school diploma.

The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (92.8%), Spanish (2.7%), Indo-European (2.3%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.5%), and Other (1.7%).

The median age in the county was 39.3 years.

Polk County, Minnesota – racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 31,192 people, 12,534 households, and 7,852 families residing in the county. The population density was 15.8 inhabitants per square mile (6.1/km²). There were 14,623 housing units at an average density of 7.42 inhabitants per square mile (2.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.29% White, 3.13% African American, 1.46% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.97% from some other races and 5.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 6.41% of the population. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18, 5.8% were under 5 years of age, and 19.8% were 65 and older.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 31,600 people, 12,704 households, and 8,196 families residing in the county. The population density was 16.0 inhabitants per square mile (6.2/km²). There were 14,610 housing units at an average density of 7.41 inhabitants per square mile (2.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.34% White, 0.85% African American, 1.43% Native American, 0.69% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.57% from some other races and 2.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 5.44% of the population.

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Townships

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Polk (Minnesota) para niños