Chisago County is a
county located in the
U.S. State of
Minnesota. As of
2000, the population is 41,101. Its
county seat is
Center City6.
Chisago County is, like many other counties in Minnesota, very influenced by the Swedish immigrants that settled there in the middle of the 19th century. It was here
Vilhelm Moberg made his research for his trilogy
The Emigrants in the 1950's. His fictional characters Karl-Oskar and Kristina Nilsson from Ljuder parish in
Sm?land[?] settled around the lake
Ki-Chi-Saga[?] (which was later renamed
Lake Chisago[?]). The heritage of the early settlers is still honoured by the annual
Karl Oskar Days[?] in
Lindstrom.
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,146
km² (442
mi²). 1,082 km² (418 mi²) of it is land and 64 km² (25 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.62% water.
As of the
census of
2000, there are 41,101 people, 14,454 households, and 11,086 families residing in the county. The
population density is 38/km² (98/mi²). There are 15,533 housing units at an average density of 14/km² (37/mi²). The racial makeup of the county is 97.21% White, 0.51%
African American, 0.45%
Native American, 0.70%
Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.31% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. 1.15% of the population are
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There are 14,454 households out of which 41.00% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.50% are married couples living together, 8.00% have a female householder with no husband present, and 23.30% are non-families. 18.40% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.40% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.79 and the average family size is 3.18.
In the county the population is spread out with 30.20% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 32.20% from 25 to 44, 20.70% from 45 to 64, and 9.80% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 103.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 101.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county is $52,012, and the median income for a family is $57,335. Males have a median income of $40,743 versus $27,653 for females. The per capita income for the county is $21,013. 5.10% of the population and 3.20% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 5.40% are under the age of 18 and 8.00% are 65 or older.