Benton County is a county in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,379. Its county seat is Foley.
Benton County is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Combined Statistical Area.
History
Established in 1849 and organized in 1850, the county is one of the oldest in Minnesota. It was named for Thomas Hart Benton, a United States Senator from Missouri. Its county seat for many years was Sauk Rapids, at the confluence of the Sauk and Mississippi Rivers. The county seat moved to Watab in 1856 and returned to Sauk Rapids in 1859. Sauk Rapids became the terminus of a railroad line in 1874, but was destroyed by a tornado in 1886. In 1897 the county seat moved to Foley, where it remains. As St. Cloud expanded into a metropolitan area, the southern part of Benton County became a suburb.
Geography
The Mississippi River flows southeast along Benton County's western border, and the Platte River flows south through the county's northwest corner, discharging into the Mississippi at the county's western border. The terrain consists of low rolling hills, wooded or devoted to agriculture. It generally slopes to the south and east, although its western portion slopes into the river valleys. The county's highest point is a small hill near the midpoint of the northern border, north of Brennyville, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.2%) is water. It is the fifth-smallest county in Minnesota by land area and fourth-smallest by total area. thumb|right|Soils of Benton County
Major highways
- 20px U.S. Highway 10
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 15
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 23
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 25
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 95
Adjacent counties
- Mille Lacs - east
- Sherburne - south
- Stearns - west
- Morrison - north
Lakes
- Donovan Lake (part)
- Graham Lake
- Little Rock Lake
- Mayhew Lake
In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Foley have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1977 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June.
| align-fn = center
| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<br/>1790-1960 1900-1990<br/>1990-2000 2010-2020
!Pop 1990
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020
!% 1980
!% 1990
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|24,887
|29,729
|32,768
|35,939
|style='background: #ffffe6; |35,821
|98.81%
|98.49%
|95.74%
|93.47%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |86.57%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|34
|61
|262
|738
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,991
|0.13%
|0.20%
|0.77%
|1.92%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.81%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|55
|123
|162
|146
|style='background: #ffffe6; |184
|0.22%
|0.41%
|0.47%
|0.38%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.44%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|60
|126
|390
|420
|style='background: #ffffe6; |463
|0.24%
|0.42%
|1.14%
|1.09%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.12%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|16
|4
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8
|x
|x
|0.05%
|0.01%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|39
|7
|33
|15
|style='background: #ffffe6; |109
|0.15%
|0.02%
|0.10%
|0.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.26%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|288
|557
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,587
|x
|x
|0.84%
|1.45%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.84%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|112
|139
|307
|632
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,216
|0.44%
|0.46%
|0.90%
|1.64%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.94%
|-
|Total
|25,187
|30,185
|34,226
|38,451
|style='background: #ffffe6; |41,379
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 41,379. The median age was 36.9 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.8 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 87.4% White, 4.9% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.2% from some other race, and 4.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.9% of the population.
There were 16,479 households in the county, of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.0% were married-couple households, 19.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
<!-- PresRow should be -->
{| class="wikitable"
|+County Board of Commissioners
! colspan="2" |Position
!Name
!District
|-
|
|Commissioner and Chairperson
|Scott Johnson
|District 1
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Ed Popp
|District 2
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Steve Heinen
|District 3
|-
|
|Commissioner and Vice Chair
|Jared J. Gapinski
|District 4
|-
|
|Commissioner and Chairperson
|Beth Schlangen
|District 5
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+State Legislature (2022)
! colspan="2" |Position
!Name
!Affiliation
!District
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|Senate
|Jeff Howe
|Republican
|District 13
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|Senate
|Aric Putnam
|Democrat
|District 14
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|Senate
|Andrew Mathews
|Republican
|District 15
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|House of Representatives
|Tim O'Driscoll
|Republican
|District 13B
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|House of Representatives
|Dan Wolgamott
|Democrat
|District 14B
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|House of Representatives
|Shane Mekeland
|Republican
|District 15B
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+U.S Congress (2022)
! colspan="2" |Position
!Name
!Affiliation
!District
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|House of Representatives
|Tom Emmer
|Republican
|6th
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|Senate
|Amy Klobuchar
|Democrat
|N/A
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|Senate
|Tina Smith
|Democrat
|N/A
|}
See also
- Great River Regional Library
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Benton County, Minnesota
References
External links
- Benton County Government’s website
- Minnesota Department of Transportation's official highway map of Benton County
- Benton County Fair
- Benton County Historical Society and Museum (in Sauk Rapids)
- Sartell Historical Society
- MNGenUSGen Web Site for Benton County, Minnesota - genealogy
- Sauk Rapids and Benton County - Images of America Series - approximately 200 vintage photographs
- Benton County Map