Chisago County, Minnesota Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Chisago County
U.S. county
Old Chisago County Courthouse originally in Center City, Minnesota, moved in 1990 to Almelund, Minnesota.
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	September 1, 1851
Named for	Chisago Lake
Seat	Center City
Largest city	North Branch
Area
• Total	442 sq mi (1,140 km²)
• Land	415 sq mi (1,070 km²)
• Water	28 sq mi (70 km²) 6.2%%
Population (2020)
• Total	56,621
• Estimate (2021)	57,469
• Density	136.4/sq mi (52.7/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	8th

Chisago County ( shi-SAH-goh) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 56,621. Its county seat is Center City.

Chisago County is part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Geography
Climate and weather
Demographics
- 2010 census
Communities
Arts and culture
Education
See also

History

Chisago County was organized in 1851. It took its name from Chisago Lake.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 442 square miles (1,140 km²), of which 415 square miles (1,070 km²) is land and 28 square miles (73 km²) (6.2%) is water. Examples of native vegetation in the county: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wild_River_State_Park_New_Wiki_Version.jpg

Major highways

Interstate 35
US Highway 8
US Highway 61
Minnesota State Highway 95
Minnesota State Highway 243
List of county roads

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway (part)

Climate and weather

Weather chart for Center City, Minnesota

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temperatures in °F
precipitation totals in inches
source: The Weather Channel

Metric conversion

J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
23 -4 -17	23 -1 -14	41 6 -7	72 15 1	94 21 7	114 26 13	112 29 16	99 27 14	90 22 9	72 16 3	47 6 -6	29 -3 -13
temperatures in °C • precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Center City have ranged from a low of 2 °F (−17 °C) in January to a high of 84 °F (29 °C) in July, although a record low of −38 °F (−39 °C) was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) was recorded in July 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 0.89 inches (23 mm) in January to 4.48 inches (114 mm) in June.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	1,743	—
1870	4,358	150.0%
1880	7,982	83.2%
1890	10,359	29.8%
1900	13,248	27.9%
1910	13,537	2.2%
1920	14,445	6.7%
1930	13,189	−8.7%
1940	13,124	−0.5%
1950	12,669	−3.5%
1960	13,419	5.9%
1970	17,492	30.4%
1980	25,717	47.0%
1990	30,521	18.7%
2000	41,101	34.7%
2010	53,887	31.1%
2020	56,621	5.1%
2021 (est.)	57,469	6.6%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

Age pyramid of county residents based on 2000 census data

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 53,887 people, 19,470 households, and 14,389 families in the county. The population density was 130/sqmi (50.1/km²). There were 21,172 housing units at an average density of 51.0/sqmi (19.7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.80% White, 1.20% Black or African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.90% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. 1.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 19,470 households, out of which 37.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.00% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.10% were non-families. 20.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.09.

The county population contained 25.70% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 28.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 101.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.50 males. The per capita income for the county was $29,293. About 6.20% of the population was below the poverty line.

Communities

Cities

Townships

Amador Township
Chisago Lake Township
Fish Lake Township
Franconia Township
Lent Township
Nessel Township
Rushseba Township
Shafer Township
Sunrise Township
Wyoming Township (former, now defunct)

Unincorporated communities

Arts and culture

Chisago County is, like many other counties in Minnesota, strongly influenced by the German, Swedish and Norwegian immigrants that settled there in the middle of the 19th century. It provided the setting for much of Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg's The Emigrants suite of novels in the 1950s, and Moberg engaged in both archival and oral history research in preparation for his books to recreate the early Swedish immigration in the area. Sculptor Ian Dudley's bronze statue of the author, holding his bicycle as if ready to ride away, stands on a stepped platform in Chisago City’s town park. His fictional characters Karl-Oskar and Kristina Nilsson from Ljuder parish in Småland settled around the Lake Ki-Chi-Saga (from the Ojibwe language Ki-chi-saga-igun (Gichi-zaaga'igan in the contemporary spelling) meaning "Big Lake-with-an-outlet," which was later shortened to Lake Chisago). The heritage of the early settlers is still honored by the annual Karl Oskar Days in Lindström.