Benton County, Minnesota

Benton County, Minnesota
Seal
Location in the state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
Founded	October 27, 1849 [1]
Named for	Thomas Hart Benton, a U.S. senator from Missouri from 1821 to 1851.
Seat	Foley
Largest city	Sauk Rapids
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	413.00 sq mi (1,070 km²) 408.28 sq mi (1,057 km²) 4.72 sq mi (12 km²), 1.14%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	38,451 84/sq mi (32/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.benton.mn.us

Benton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 38,451.^[1] Its county seat is Foley^[2]. Established in 1849, the county is one of the earliest in Minnesota [2].

Benton County is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 413.00 square miles (1,069.7 km²), of which 408.28 square miles (1,057.4 km²) (or 98.86%) is land and 4.72 square miles (12.2 km²) (or 1.14%) is water.^[3]

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^[4]

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)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1850	418		—
1860	627		50.0%
1870	1,558		148.5%
1880	3,012		93.3%
1890	6,284		108.6%
1900	9,912		57.7%
1910	11,615		17.2%
1920	14,073		21.2%
1930	15,056		7.0%
1940	16,106		7.0%
1950	15,911		−1.2%
1960	17,287		8.6%
1970	20,841		20.6%
1980	25,187		20.9%
1990	30,185		19.8%
2000	34,226		13.4%
2010	38,451		12.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 34,226 people, 13,065 households, and 8,518 families residing in the county. The population density was 84 people per square mile (32/km²). There were 13,460 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile (13/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 according to Census 2000.

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.

In the county the population was spread out with 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.

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

On ePodunk : Benton County & Benton Cty. ancestry :
German - 42%; Polish - 13%; Norwegian - 9% (2000)

Cities and towns

Cities	Townships	Unincorporated communities		Ghost towns
Foley Gilman Rice Royalton † Sartell † Sauk Rapids St. Cloud †	Alberta Township Gilmanton Township Glendorado Township Graham Township Granite Ledge Township Langola Township Mayhew Lake Township Maywood Township Minden Township Sauk Rapids Township St. George Township Watab Township	Brennyville Bushville Duelm Fruitville Glendorado Granite Ledge Jakeville Mayhew North Benton	Novak's Corner Oak Park Parent Popple Creek Ronneby Rum River Silver Corners Watab	East St. Cloud ‡ Esteville †† Minden

† Only partly in Benton County.
‡ Annexed by St. Cloud.
†† Extended into Mille Lacs County.

Climate and weather

Foley, Minnesota
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.7   21 2     0.6   27 7     1.6   39 20     2.6   56 33     3   69 44     4.2   78 54     3.3   82 59     3.8   80 56     3.5   70 47     2.5   57 35     1.4   39 22     0.8   25 7 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel[6]
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     17   -6 -17     16   -3 -14     39   4 -7     65   13 1     75   21 7     106   26 12     84   28 15     96   27 13     88   21 8     63   14 2     35   4 -6     21   -4 -14 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm

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.^[6]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Benton County, Minnesota

References

1. ^ "2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST05&prodType=table. Retrieved 25 April 2011. 
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
4. ^ "United States Census Bureau 2007 TIGER/Line Shapefiles". http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/tgrshp2007/tgrshp2007.html. 
5. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Monthly Averages for Foley, Minnesota". The Weather Channel. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USMN0266. Retrieved 2011-11-06. 

External links

• Benton County Government’s website
• Minnesota DOT's official highway map of Benton County
• Benton County Fair
• Benton County Historical Society and Museum - Located in Sauk Rapids, MN
• Sartell Historical Society - Sartell, MN
• MNGenUSGen Web Site for Benton County, Minnesota - Genealogy
• Sauk Rapids and Benton County - Images of America Series - Approximately 200 vintage photographs
• Benton County Map

Coordinates: 45°42′N 94°00′W / 45.70°N 94.00°W / 45.70; -94.00