Anoka County, Minnesota
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox U.S. county
Anoka County (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is the fourth-most populous county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, its population was 363,887.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat and namesake of the county is the city of Anoka,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which is derived from the Dakota word Template:Lang, meaning "on (or from) both sides", referring to its location on both banks of the Rum River.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The county's largest city is Blaine, the tenth-largest city in Minnesota and sixth-largest Twin Cities suburb.
Anoka County comprises the north portion of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul statistical area, the state's largest metropolitan area and the 16th-largest in the United States, with about 3.64 million residents.
The county is bordered by the counties of Isanti on the north, Chisago and Washington on the east, Hennepin and Ramsey on the south, Sherburne on the west, and the Mississippi River on the southwest. The Rum River cuts through the county and was the site of many early European settlements. It was a common route to the Mille Lacs Lake, the spiritual homeland of the Ojibwe people. Father Louis Hennepin traveled the river in his first exploration of the region.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The area became a center of fur trade and logging as French and French Canadian communities grew in Anoka and Centerville.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Organized in 1857, the county's southern border eventually met Minneapolis and has become a predominantly suburban area since Interstate 35W was built. The county is home to destinations such as the Heights Theater in Columbia Heights and Northtown Mall and the National Sports Center in Blaine.
History
Anoka County was organized by an act of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature on May 23, 1857, the year before Minnesota's admission to the Union. It was formed from parts of Ramsey County and Benton County; the Rum River previously formed the line between the two counties. The boundaries were mainly the same as they are now, except for a small part of the southeastern tip along the Mississippi River and at the south, formerly known as Manomin County. It was a small portion that connected to Ramsey and occupied one-third of the congressional township. It was attached to Anoka County by constitutional amendment on November 2, 1869, and became known as Fridley in 1879.
The first European descendants to explore what is now Anoka County were Franciscan friar Louis Hennepin and his party. Fur traders soon began to settle the area that is now Ramsey County. They settled on the Rum River and more people were attracted to the area now called Anoka.
Geography
The Mississippi River flows southeasterly along the county's southwestern boundary. The Rum River flows southerly through the western part of the county, discharging into the Mississippi at the county's southwestern boundary. The terrain consists of low, rolling, wooded hills.<ref name="ACM">Anoka County MN Google Maps (accessed March 4, 2019)</ref> The terrain slopes to the south and east; its highest point is a small hillock Template:Convert east of the county's northwest corner, at Template:Convert ASL.<ref>Anoka County High Point, Minnesota. PeakBagger.com (accessed May 4, 2019)</ref> Otherwise the terrain's highest point is along the western part of the north boundary line, at Template:Convert ASL.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county has an area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (5.2%) are covered by water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Lakes
- Baldwin Lake
- Bunker Lake
- Cedar Lake
- Centerville Lake
- Coon Lake
- Crooked Lake
- George Watch Lake
- Golden Lake
- Ham Lake
- Laddie Lake
- Lake George
- Marshan Lake
- McKay Lake
- Moore Lake
- Peltier Lake
- Reshanau Lake
- Rice Lake
- Round Lake
- Sherman Lake
- Spring Lake
- Smith Lake
- Wards Lake
Waterways
- Cedar Creek
- Coon Creek
- Crooked Brook
- Ford Brook
- Hardwood Creek
- Mahoney Brook
- Mississippi River
- Rice Creek
- Rum River
- Sand Creek
- Seelye Brook
- Trott Brook
- Pheasant creek
Major highways
- File:I-35.svg Interstate 35
- File:I-35E.svg Interstate 35E
- File:I-35W.svg Interstate 35W
- File:I-694.svg Interstate 694
- File:US 10.svg US Highway 10
- File:US 169 (MN).svg US Highway 169
- File:MN-47.svg Minnesota State Highway 47
- File:MN-65.svg Minnesota State Highway 65
- File:MN-97.svg Minnesota State Highway 97
- File:MN-610.svg Minnesota State Highway 610
- List of county roads
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Adjacent counties
- Isanti County - north
- Chisago County - northeast
- Washington County - east
- Ramsey County - southeast
- Hennepin County - southwest
- Sherburne County - northwest
Protected areas
- Bethel Wildlife Management Area
- Boot Lake Scientific and Natural Area
- Bunker Hills Regional Park
- Carl E Bonnell Wildlife Management Area
- Carlos Avery State Wildlife Management Area
- Cedar Creek Conservation Area
- Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park
- East Bethel Booster Park
- Gordie Mikkelson Wildlife Management Area
- Helen Allison Savanna Scientific and Natural Area
- Lake George Regional Park
- Martin Island-Linwood Lakes Regional Park
- Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (part)
- Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Park Preserve
- Robert and Marilyn Burman Wildlife Management Area
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Climate and weather
Template:See also Template:Climate chart Anoka County has a hot-summer humid continental climate zone (Dfa in the Köppen climate classification),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> typical of southern parts of the Upper Midwest, and is situated in USDA plant hardiness zone 4b.<ref>Normals, Means, and Extremes for Minneapolis/Saint Paul (1971–2000) Template:Webarchive: Mean of Extreme Mins for January</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As is typical in a continental climate, the difference between average temperatures in the coldest winter month and the warmest summer month is great: Template:Convert. In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Anoka have ranged from Template:Convert in January to Template:Convert in July. A record low of Template:Convert was recorded in January 2019 and a record high of Template:Convert in July 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from Template:Convert in February to Template:Convert in July.<ref name=WX/>
Demographics
2020 census
| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> | Pop 2020<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref> | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 281,929 | 276,205 | 85.22% | 75.90% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 14,282 | 28,378 | 4.32% | 7.80% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 1,994 | 1,912 | 0.60% | 0.52% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 12,796 | 19,158 | 3.87% | 5.27% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 91 | 93 | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Some other race alone (NH) | 378 | 1,401 | 0.11% | 0.39% |
| Mixed/multiracial (NH) | 7,354 | 17,234 | 2.22% | 4.74% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 12,020 | 19,506 | 3.63% | 5.36% |
| Total | 330,844 | 363,887 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, 330,844 people were in the county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, 298,084 people, 106,428 households, and 79,395 families resided in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. The 108,091 housing units had an average density of Template:Convert.
At the time of the 2000 Census, the racial makeup of the county was 93.64% White, 1.60% African American, 0.70% Native American, 1.69% Asian, 0.67% from other races, and 1.71 percent from two or more races; 1.66% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. The 2000 Census found 30.2% were of German, 14.3% Norwegian, 9.0% Swedish, 7.3% Irish, and 5.9% Polish ancestry.
Of the 106,428 households, 39.9% had children under 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were not families. About 19.3% were made up of individuals, and 5.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.77, and the average family size was 3.19.
The county's age distribution was 28.9% under 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.1% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.10 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 99.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $57,754, and for a family was $64,261. Males had a median income of $41,527 versus $30,534 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,297. About 2.90% of families and 4.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.90% of those under age 18 and 4.50% of those age 65 or over.
Government and politics
Anoka County was once one of the most Democratic suburban counties in any metropolitan area nationwide and is one of the few to have trended Republican in the 21st century. On a national level, Anoka County has voted for the Republican presidential nominee since 2000, though with the margins remaining within 3% outside of 2004, 2016, and 2024. Incumbent Democratic-Farmer-Labor Senator Amy Klobuchar defeated Jim Newberger by over 20,000 votes there in the 2018 midterms; Klobuchar also won the county in 2006, 2012, and 2024.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Republican nominee Karin Housley narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Tina Smith in the concurrent Senate special election in 2018; Smith won the election by over 10 points. Incumbent Democratic-Farmer-Labor Governor Tim Walz also won Anoka County in his 2018 gubernatorial bid by fewer than 300 votes, but the county flipped to Republican in the 2022 gubernatorial election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
County commissioners
As of April 2023:
- District 1 - Matt Look
- District 2 - Julie Braastad
- District 3 - Jeff Reinert
- District 4 - Scott Schulte
- District 5 - Mike Gamache
- District 6 - Julie Jeppson
- District 7 - Mandy Meisner
National elections
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Communities
Cities
- Andover
- Anoka
- Bethel
- Blaine (partially in Ramsey County)
- Centerville
- Circle Pines
- Columbia Heights
- Columbus
- Coon Rapids
- East Bethel
- Fridley
- Ham Lake
- Hilltop
- Lexington
- Lino Lakes
- Nowthen
- Oak Grove
- Ramsey
- Saint Francis (partially in Isanti County)
- Spring Lake Park (partially in Ramsey County)
Township
Census-designated place
Unincorporated community
Education
School districts include:<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>
- Anoka-Hennepin School District
- Centennial Public School District
- Columbia Heights Public School District
- Elk River School District
- Forest Lake Public School District
- Fridley Public School District
- Spring Lake Park Public Schools
- St. Francis Area Schools
- White Bear Lake School District
See also
- Anoka County History Center
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Anoka County, Minnesota
- List of Minnesota placenames of Native American origin
References
External links
- Anoka County government's website
- Anoka County Historical Society Digital Collection, Minnesota Reflections
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