Benton County, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Benton County
U.S. county
Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Gilman, Minnesota.
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	October 27, 1849 (created) 1850 (organized)
Named for	Thomas Hart Benton
Seat	Foley
Largest city	Sauk Rapids
Area
• Total	413 sq mi (1,070 km2)
• Land	408 sq mi (1,060 km2)
• Water	4.8 sq mi (12 km2)  1.2%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	41,379
• Estimate  (2021)	41,459
• Density	97.9/sq mi (37.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	6th

Benton County is a county in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,379. Its county seat is Foley.

Benton County is part of the St. Cloud, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI Combined Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 413 square miles (1,070 km²), of which 408 square miles (1,060 km²) is land and 4.8 square miles (12 km²) (1.2%) is water. It is the fifth-smallest county in Minnesota by land area and fourth-smallest by total area.

Soils of Sartell WMA neighborhood

Lakes

• Donovan Lake - vast majority in Minden Township, west edge in St. Cloud
• Graham Lake - Langola Township
• Little Rock Lake - south half in Watab Township, north half in Langola Township
• Mayhew Lake - Mayhew Lake Township

Source: United States Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 10
• Minnesota State Highway 15
• Minnesota State Highway 23
• Minnesota State Highway 25
• Minnesota State Highway 95

Adjacent counties

• Mille Lacs County (northeast)
• Sherburne County (southeast)
• Stearns County (southwest)
• Morrison County (northwest)

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Foley have ranged from a low of 2 °F (−17 °C) in January to a high of 82 °F (28 °C) in July, although a record low of −43 °F (−42 °C) was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of 107 °F (42 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 0.62 inches (16 mm) in February to 4.17 inches (106 mm) in June.

Demographics

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

As of the 2000 census, there were 34,226 people, 13,065 households, and 8,518 families in the county. The population density was 83.9/sqmi (32.4/km²). There were 13,460 housing units at an average density of 33/sqmi (12.7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.22% White, 0.78% Black or African American, 0.52% Native American, 1.15% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. 0.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 47.8% were of German, 12.1% Polish and 8.8% Norwegian ancestry.

There were 13,065 households, out of which 35.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.10% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.80% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.14.

The county population contained 27.10% under the age of 18, 12.20% from 18 to 24, 31.00% from 25 to 44, 18.70% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,968, and the median income for a family was $51,277. Males had a median income of $33,214 versus $22,737 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,008. About 4.50% of families and 7.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.30% of those under age 18 and 12.60% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

• Foley
• Gilman
• Rice (partial)
• Royalton (partial)
• Sartell (partial)
• Sauk Rapids
• St. Cloud (partial)

Townships

Census-designated place

• Ronneby

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

• East St. Cloud
• Esteville (partial)
• Minden