Clearwater County is a county in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,524. Its county seat is Bagley.

Clearwater County is home to Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi River. Parts of the Red Lake and White Earth Indian reservations extend into the county.

Geography

The Red Lake River flows west out of Red Lake across the top of Clearwater County on its way to discharge into the Red River at Grand Forks, North Dakota. The Clearwater River flows west-southwest across the central part of the county on its way to discharge into the Red Lake River. The county terrain consists of wooded rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds. The terrain slopes to the north, with the highest point on the lower west boundary, at ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (3.0%) is water. thumb|right|Soils of Clearwater County The county's high point, just south of Scoop Lake, is one of a few places to exceed 2000 feet in Minnesota, rising to 2005 feet at 47.2318°N, -95.5034°W.

Major highways

  • 20px U.S. Highway 2
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 1
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 92
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 113
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 200
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 223

Adjacent counties

  • Beltrami County - northeast
  • Hubbard County - southeast
  • Becker County - south
  • Mahnomen County - southwest
  • Polk County - west
  • Pennington County - northwest

Protected areas

  • Bagley Lake State Wildlife Management Area
  • Clearwater State Wildlife Management Area
  • Iron Springs Bog SNA
  • Itasca State Park (part)
  • Jackson Lake State Wildlife Management Area
  • Little Pine State Wildlife Management Area
  • Lower Rice Lake State Wildlife Management Area
  • Old Red Lake Trail State Wildlife Management Area
  • Upper Rice Lake State Wildlife Management Area

In recent years average temperatures in Bagley have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, with a record low of recorded in February 1996 and a record high of recorded in August 1976. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in December 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)

|8,107

|7,653

|7,507

|7,537

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7,151

|92.54%

|92.10%

|89.13%

|86.68%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |83.89%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|2

|2

|16

|30

|style='background: #ffffe6; |19

|0.02%

|0.02%

|0.19%

|0.35%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.22%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|627

|628

|704

|752

|style='background: #ffffe6; |752

|7.16%

|7.56%

|8.36%

|8.65%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8.82%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|7

|10

|21

|21

|style='background: #ffffe6; |23

|0.08%

|0.12%

|0.25%

|0.24%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.27%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|x

|x

|0

|1

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2

|x

|x

|0.00%

|0.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|2

|0

|0

|1

|style='background: #ffffe6; |22

|0.02%

|0.00%

|0.00%

|0.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.26%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|x

|x

|110

|233

|style='background: #ffffe6; |454

|x

|x

|1.31%

|2.68%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.33%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|16

|16

|65

|120

|style='background: #ffffe6; |101

|0.18%

|0.19%

|0.77%

|1.38%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.18%

|-

|Total

|8,761

|8,309

|8,423

|8,695

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8,524

|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 8,524. The median age was 42.3 years. 24.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 102.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.1 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 84.4% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 8.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.4% from some other race, and 5.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.2% of the population.

There were 3,487 households in the county, of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.2% were married-couple households, 20.0% 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 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. It was the best Republican performance in the county's history outside of its inaugural election in 1904 for Theodore Roosevelt.

<!-- PresRow should be -->

{| class="wikitable"

|+County Board of Commissioners

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!District

!Next Election

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Mark Titera

|District 1

|2026

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Dean Newland

|District 2

|2024

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Stuart Dukek

|District 3

|2026

|-

|

|Commissioner

|John Nelson

|District 4

|2024

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Mark Larson

|District 5

|2026

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+State Legislature (2018-2020)

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!Affiliation

!District

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Paul Utke

|Republican

|District 2

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Matt Grossell

|Republican

|District 2A

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Steve Green

|Republican

|District 2B

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+U.S Congress (2018-2020)

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!Affiliation

!District

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Collin Peterson

|Democrat

|7th

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Amy Klobuchar

|Democrat

|N/A

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Tina Smith

|Democrat

|N/A

|}

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Clearwater County MN

References

  • Clearwater County government website
  • City of Bagley website