Pennington County, MN

County

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2024 Population

13,791

US Senator

Amy Klobuchar

Democratic(DFL) Party

US Senator

Tina Smith

Democratic(DFL) Party

2024 Median Age

39.6

1.49% 1-year decrease

2024 Poverty Rate

10.5%

5.45% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$77,325

6.57% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$195,500

3.49% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

7,592

2.54% 1-year growth

About

None of the households in Pennington County, MN reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

98.6% of the residents in Pennington County, MN are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Pennington County, MN are Northland Community and Technical College (658 degrees awarded in 2023).

In 2024, the median property value in Pennington County, MN was $195,500, and the homeownership rate was 72.2%.

Most people in Pennington County, MN drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 12.4 minutes. The average car ownership in Pennington County, MN was 2 cars per household.

Pennington County, MN borders Beltrami County, MN, Clearwater County, MN, Marshall County, MN, Polk County, MN, and Red Lake County, MN.

United States Minnesota

Population & Diversity

Pennington County, MN is home to a population of 13.8k people, from which 98.6% are citizens. As of 2024, 3.65% of Pennington County, MN residents were born outside of the country (503 people).

In 2024, there were 31.3 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (12.1k people) in Pennington County, MN than any other race or ethnicity. There were 387 Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic) and 288 Two Races Including Other (Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

98.6%

2024 Citizenship

98.6%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 98.6% of Pennington County, MN residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Pennington County, MN was 98.6%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Pennington County, MN compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Pennington County, MN

White (Non-Hispanic)
12.1k ± 106
Two Races Excluding Other, & Three or More Races (Non-Hispanic)
387 ± 92
Two Races Including Other (Hispanic)
288 ± 145

4.92%

Hispanic Population

678 people

4.92% of the people in Pennington County, MN are hispanic (678 people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Pennington County, MN as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for Minnesota.

Most Common Origin

Mexico
58,764 ± 5,921 people
Somalia
36,253 ± 4,660 people
India
31,836 ± 4,368 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Minnesota was Mexico, the natal country of 58,764 Minnesota residents, followed by Somalia with 36,253 and India with 31,836.

Foreign-Born Population

3.65%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

503 people

3.34%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

463 people

As of 2024, 3.65% of Pennington County, MN residents (503 people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Pennington County, MN was 3.34%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Pennington County, MN compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
255 ± 69
Gulf War (1990s)
112 ± 68
Gulf War (2001-)
91 ± 61

Pennington County, MN has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 2.28 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Pennington County, MN.

Economy

The economy of Pennington County, MN employs 7.59k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Pennington County, MN were Wholesale Trade (1,508 people), Manufacturing (1,254 people), and Retail Trade (1,093 people), and the highest paying industries were Utilities ($96,458), Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($74,808), and Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($64,091).

Employment

Occupations

7.59k

2024 Value

± 456

2.54%

1 Year growth

± 8.38%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Pennington County, MN grew at a rate of 2.54%, from 7.4k employees to 7.59k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Pennington County, MN, are Material Moving Occupations (1,039 people), Sales & Related Occupations (964 people), and Office & Administrative Support Occupations (798 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Pennington County, MN.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Minnesota.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Minnesota (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

7.59k

2024 Value

± 456

2.54%

1 Year growth

± 8.38%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Pennington County, MN grew at a rate of 2.54%, from 7.4k employees to 7.59k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Pennington County, MN, are Wholesale Trade (1,508 people), Manufacturing (1,254 people), and Retail Trade (1,093 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Pennington County, MN, though some of these residents may live in Pennington County, MN and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$54,591

Median earning men ± $3,557

$41,085

Median earning women ± $2,481

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Transportation & Warehousing, & Utilities ($86,250), Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($74,231), and Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance ($72,344).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Construction ($60,833), Public Administration ($49,141), and Manufacturing ($48,099).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Minnesota.

Y-Axis

2.26%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 2.93M people employed in Minnesota. This represents a 2.26% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 13.4%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Minnesota.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

26
Other Services (except Public Administration)
24
Retail Trade
24
Construction

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$268k
Wholesale Trade
$67.4k
Health Care and Social Assistance
$56.3k
Manufacturing

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Minnesota went to Kamala Harris with 50.9% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (46.7%), followed by Robert Kennedy (0.738%).

Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith are the senators currently representing the state of Minnesota. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Minnesota is currently represented by 8 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Presidential Popular Vote Over Time

Voting results are not available for Pennington County, MN. Showing the available data for Minnesota.

2024 Election Results

Kamala Harris (50.9%)
Democratic Party
Donald J. Trump (46.7%)
Republican Party
Robert Kennedy (0.738%)
Independent Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Minnesota went to Kamala Harris with 50.9% of the vote. The runner-up was Donald J. Trump (46.7%), followed by Robert Kennedy (0.738%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Minnesota for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

Senator Elections

US Senators from Minnesota

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Minnesota.

Amy Klobuchar

Senator from Minnesota

Assumed office on January 3, 2007
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is the Minnesota affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party and its members are counted as Democrats.

Tina Smith

Senator from Minnesota

Assumed office on January 3, 2018
Appointed to the seat following the resignation of Al Franken.

Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith are the senators currently representing Minnesota.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in Minnesota over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

Education

In 2023, universities in Pennington County, MN awarded 658 degrees. The student population of Pennington County, MN in 2023 is skewed towards women, with 1,039 male students and 1,438 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Pennington County, MN are White (530 and 81.4%), Black or African American (53 and 8.14%), Hispanic or Latino (25 and 3.84%), and Two or More Races (21 and 3.23%).

The largest universities in Pennington County, MN by number of degrees awarded are Northland Community and Technical College (658 and 100%).

The most popular majors in Pennington County, MN are Liberal Arts & Sciences (122 and 18.5%), Licensed Practical & Vocational Nurse Training (75 and 11.4%), and Registered Nursing (66 and 10%).

Admissions & Enrollments

Enrollments by Gender and Races

In 2023 there were 2,477 students enrolled in Pennington County, MN, 41.9% men and 58.1% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 1,942 records, of which 57.5% were women and 42.5% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Liberal Arts & Sciences
122 degrees awarded
Registered Nursing
66 degrees awarded
General Business
15 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Associates Degree recipients in Pennington County, MN was Liberal Arts & Sciences with 122 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Associates Degree from schools in Pennington County, MN according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Northland Community and Technical College

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

658 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Northland Community and Technical College with 658 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

In 2023, 284 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Pennington County, MN, which is 0.759 times less than the 374 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2023, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 530 degrees mean that there were 10 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Black or African American, with 53 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Public, 2-year ($5,626) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 2-year ($636) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Public, 2-year ($1,000) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Pennington County, MN was $195,500 in 2024, which is 0.588 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $188,900 to $195,500, a 3.49% increase. The homeownership rate in Pennington County, MN is 72.2%, which is higher than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Pennington County, MN have an average commute time of 12.4 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Pennington County, MN is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 10.9% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Pennington County, MN. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator grew 2.84%.

Housing

Property

$195,500

Median Property Value 2024

±$10,083

$4,479

Median Property Taxes

±$341

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Pennington County, MN the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Pennington County, MN compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

72.2%

Homeownership

2024

67.5%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 72.2% of the housing units in Pennington County, MN were occupied by their owner. This percentage grew from the previous year's rate of 71.3%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Pennington County, MN compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$77,325

Median Household Income

± $5,217

6.21k

Number of Households

± 430

In 2024, the median household income of the 6.21k households in Pennington County, MN grew to $77,325 from the previous year's value of $72,561.

The following chart displays the households in Pennington County, MN distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Pennington County, MN is from Minnesota.

0.454

2023 Wage GINI in Minnesota

0.458

2022 Wage GINI in Minnesota

In 2023, the income inequality in Minnesota was 0.454 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.78% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Minnesota was lower than than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Minnesota in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Minnesota across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (74.8%)
Worked At Home (9.9%)
Carpooled (9.4%)

In 2024, 74.8% of workers in Pennington County, MN drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (9.9%) and those who carpooled to work (9.4%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

12.4 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Pennington County, MN have a shorter commute time (12.4 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 0.809% of the workforce in Pennington County, MN have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Pennington County, MN compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Pennington County, MN distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Pennington County, MN have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 10.9% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Pennington County, MN. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator grew 2.84%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the population living with severe housing problems.

Poverty & Diversity

10.5% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Pennington County, MN (1.42k out of 13.5k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is lower than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Males 55 - 64, followed by Males 35 - 44 and then Females 35 - 44.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Pennington County, MN is White, followed by Hispanic and Two Or More.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Children in Poverty

In 2025, 10.6% of the children was living in poverty in Pennington County, MN. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 4.5%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Security

Crimes & Accidents

Indicator

In 2022, the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population was 105 in Pennington County, MN. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator grew 0.143 per 100,000 population.

The graph shows the trend in the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population.

Health

95.2% of the population of Pennington County, MN has health coverage, with 55.4% on employee plans, 11.3% on Medicaid, 14.6% on Medicare, 12.8% on non-group plans, and 1.05% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Pennington County, MN see 1,253 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,253 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1731 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 298 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.8% were men and 50.2% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

1,253 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Pennington County, MN

Primary care physicians in Pennington County, MN see an average of 1,253 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (1,253 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Pennington County, MN in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 21.8% under 18 years, 20.6% between 18 and 34 years, 38.8% between 35 and 64 years, and 18.8% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 49.8% were men and 50.2% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

4.81%

Uninsured

55.4%

Employer Coverage

11.3%

Medicaid

14.6%

Medicare

12.8%

Non-Group

1.05%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Pennington County, MN grew by 21.7% from 3.95% to 4.81%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Pennington County, MN changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Health Indicators

Health Outcomes

Indicator

In 2019, the number of deaths among residents under age 18 per 100,000 population was 76.2 in Pennington County, MN.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Pennington County, MN.

Health Behaviors

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of the adult population (age 18 and older) that reports a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 (age-adjusted) was 30.5% in Pennington County, MN.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Pennington County, MN.