Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,281,565, and was estimated to be 1,284,784 in 2025, the most populous city in Minnesota and the 46th-most populous city in the United States. The county is named for the 17th-century explorer Louis Hennepin. It extends from Minneapolis to the suburbs and outlying cities in the western part of the county. Its natural areas are covered by extensive woods, hills, and lakes. It contains over 21.98% of the state's population. It is included in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul–Bloomington metropolitan statistical area.

History

19th century

The Territorial Legislature of Minnesota established Hennepin County on March 6, 1852, and two years later Minneapolis was named the county seat. Louis Hennepin's name was chosen because he originally named Saint Anthony Falls and recorded some of the earliest accounts of the area for the Western world. In January 1855, the first bridge over the Mississippi River was built over St. Anthony Falls.

Waterpower built the city of Minneapolis and Hennepin County. The water of streams and rivers provided power to grist mills and sawmills throughout the county. By the late 1860s, more than a dozen mills were churning out lumber near St. Anthony Falls and the county's population had surpassed 12,000.

The falls' power was the vital link between the central city and the farmsteads throughout the county. Farms produced vegetables, fruits, grains and dairy products for city dwellers, while Minneapolis industries produced lumber, furniture, farm implements and clothing.

By 1883, railroads united Minneapolis with both the East and West coasts, and technical developments, especially in flour milling, brought rapid progress to the area. The major Minneapolis millers were Washburn, Pillsbury, Bell, Dunwoody and Crosby.

20th century

For a decade, the "Mill City" was the flour-milling capital of the world and one of the largest lumber producers. Minneapolis, with a population of 165,000 by 1890, had become a major U.S. city, and by 1900, was firmly established as the hub of the Upper Midwest's industry and commerce.

Hennepin County's farm economy was also substantial. In 1910, farmland in the county totaled 284,000 acres, about 72% of its area. The principal crops were wheat, corn, garden vegetables, and apples. The number of acres in production remained high for the next 30 years. By 1950, the amount of land devoted to agriculture had declined to 132,000 acres as development progressed in the suburbs.

During the 1950s and 1960s, many suburbs grew rapidly as housing developments, shopping centers, large school systems and growing industrialization replaced much of the open farmland. By 1970, Hennepin County's suburban population outnumbered the cities for the first time. Minneapolis's population declined by 10 percent from 1960 to 1970, while the suburban population grew by nearly 50 percent.

Another wave of immigration—which began after the Vietnam War in the mid-1970s—marked a major change in the county's ethnic makeup. This wave peaked in the 1980s when hundreds of refugees from Southeast Asia, often aided by local churches, resettled in Hennepin County. Its population surpassed one million in 1989.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (8.69%) is water. It is the 60th largest county in Minnesota by total area.

Hennepin is one of 17 Minnesota counties with more savanna soils than either prairie or forest soils, and one of two Minnesota counties with more than 75% of its area in savanna soils (the other is the adjacent Wright County).

The highest waterfall on the Mississippi River, Saint Anthony Falls (discovered by Louis Hennepin), is in Hennepin County next to downtown Minneapolis, but in the 19th century, the falls were converted to a series of dams. Barges and boats now pass through locks to move between the parts of the river above and below the dams.

Adjacent counties

  • Anoka County (northeast)
  • Ramsey County (east)
  • Dakota County (southeast)
  • Scott County (south)
  • Carver County (southwest)
  • Wright County (northwest)
  • Sherburne County (north)

National protected areas

  • Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge (part)
  • Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (part)

Demographics

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Like most urban counties nationwide, Hennepin County is a Democratic stronghold. It has voted Democratic in every election since 1964, except for 1972, when Richard Nixon won the county as part of a national landslide. It is also a state bellwether county, having voted for Minnesota's statewide winner in every election since 1964, the longest such streak in the state. In 2020, Joe Biden won 70% of the vote in the county, the largest percentage for any candidate since 1904. At the state level, the county is no less Democratic. For governor and U.S. Senate, the last Republicans to win the county were Arne Carlson in 1994 and David Durenberger in 1988, respectively.

Transportation

Transit

  • Maple Grove Transit
  • Metro Transit
  • Minnesota Valley Transit Authority
  • Plymouth Metrolink
  • Southwest Transit
  • Hawthorne Transportation Center
  • Flixbus
  • Greyhound Lines
  • Jefferson Lines

Major highways

  • 23px Interstate 35W
  • 20px Interstate 94
  • 23px Interstate 394
  • 23px Interstate 494
  • 23px Interstate 694
  • 20px US Highway 12
  • 20px US Highway 52
  • 20px US Highway 169
  • 20px US Highway 212
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 5
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 7
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 41
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 47
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 55
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 62
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 65
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 77
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 100
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 101
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 121
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 252
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 610
  • 20px Hennepin County Road 17 (France Avenue)
  • 20px Hennepin County Road 61
  • 20px Hennepin County Road 81
  • 20px Hennepin County Road 122
  • Other county roads

Airports

  • Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) serves the Twin Cities area. It is the 17th-busiest airport in the United States by passenger traffic and serves as a hub for Delta Air Lines.
  • Crystal Airport (MIC) is a public airport in Crystal.
  • Flying Cloud Airport (FCM) is a public airport in Eden Prairie.

Economy

Major companies and employers

As the economic center of Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, Hennepin County is home to many major companies in a diverse section of industries. As of the 2018 estimate, there are twelve Fortune 500 companies headquartered in Hennepin County, five of which are located in Minneapolis.

{| class="wikitable"

|+Fortune 500 Companies in Hennepin County

!Company name

!National Rank

!Revenue ($millions),

2018 Estimate

!Headquarters City

!Industry

|-

|UnitedHealth Group

|5

|201,159

|Minnetonka

|Managed Healthcare

|-

|Target

|39

|71,879

|Minneapolis

|General Retailing

|-

|Best Buy

|72

|42,151

|Richfield

|Electronics Retailing

|-

|U.S. Bancorp

|122

|23,996

|Minneapolis

|Banking and Finance

|-

|SuperValu

|180

|16,009

|Eden Prairie

|Food Distribution and Retailing

|-

|General Mills

|182

|15,619.8

|Golden Valley

|Food Processing

|-

|C.H. Robinson

|193

|14,869.4

|Eden Prairie

|Transportation

|-

|Ameriprise Financial

|252

|12,075

|Minneapolis

|Financial Services

|-

|Xcel Energy

|266

|11,404

|Minneapolis

|Electricity and Natural Gas Utility

|-

|Thrivent Financial

|343

|8,527.9

|Minneapolis

|Financial Services

|-

|Mosaic

|382

|7,409.4

|Plymouth

|Fertilizer Manufacturing

|-

|Polaris

|496

|5,504.8

|Medina

|Snowmobile Manufacturing

|}

alt=From 2014 to 2015, employment in Hennepin County, MN grew at a rate of 2.61%, from 664,619 employees to 681,944 employees. The most common employment sectors for those who live in Hennepin County, MN, are Healthcare & Social Assistance, Manufacturing, and Retail trade. This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Hennepin County, MN, though some of these residents may live in Hennepin County, MN and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.|thumb|390x390px|Tree Map of Employment by Industries in Hennepin County (2015)

Hennepin County is also home to several major private companies such as Carlson and Cargill, both located in Minnetonka, the latter of which is the largest privately owned company in the United States.

Along with these major companies, Hennepin County also contains several large employers, as listed below. According to the 2016 American Community Survey, the largest overall industries in Hennepin County are healthcare and social assistance (96,511 workers), manufacturing (80,324), and retail trade (75,861).

{| class="wikitable"

|+Largest employers in Hennepin County

!Employer

!Number of employees

!Industry

|-

|University of Minnesota

|18,000

|Education

|-

|Target Stores Inc

|10,000

|Retail

|-

|Pharmacy at Park Nicollet

|9,000

|Healthcare

|-

|Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital

|8,200

|Healthcare

|-

|Park Nicollet Clinic

|8,000

|Healthcare

|-

|M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center

|8,000

|Healthcare

|-

|M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital

|7,658

|Healthcare

|-

|Ameriprise Financial Inc

|7,000

|Financial Services

|-

|Park Nicollet Urgent Care

|7,000

|Healthcare

|-

|Best Buy Inc

|6,000

|Electronics Retail

|}

Economic indicators

According to the 2016 American Community Survey, the average household income in Hennepin County is $71,200. The GINI Index for 2016 was 0.461, lower than the national average of 0.485.

  • Anoka-Hennepin School District 11
  • Bloomington Public School District
  • Brooklyn Center School District
  • Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Public Schools
  • Delano Public School District
  • Edina Public Schools
  • Elk River School District
  • Eden Prairie Public School District
  • Hopkins Public Schools
  • Minneapolis Public Schools
  • Minnetonka Public School District
  • Orono School District
  • Osseo Area School District 279
  • Richfield Public Schools
  • Robbinsdale Public School District
  • Rockford Area Schools
  • St. Anthony-New Brighton School District
  • St. Louis Park Public School District
  • Waconia Public Schools
  • Watertown-Mayer Public School District
  • Wayzata Public Schools
  • Westonka Public School District

Public libraries

Hennepin County Library (which Minneapolis Public Library merged into)

Recreation

thumb|Minnehaha Falls is the main attraction and namesake of [[Minnehaha Park (Minneapolis)|Minnehaha Park.]]

Parks

Hennepin County, and particularly Minneapolis, is renowned for its expansive and high-quality park system. The Minneapolis park system has been called the best-designed, best-financed, and best-maintained in America and is run by the independently elected Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. It has been named the top park system in the country by the Trust for Public Land for five consecutive years as of 2017. Many of Minneapolis's parks are linked by the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway, a series of interconnected parks and paths that extends for 51 miles. The byway is divided into seven districts: Downtown Riverfront, Mississippi River, Minnehaha, Chain of Lakes, Theodore Wirth, Victory Memorial, and Northeast. The byway includes many major destinations in Minneapolis, including Nicollet Island, St. Anthony Falls, Stone Arch Bridge, Mill Ruins Park, Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, Minnehaha Creek, Minnehaha Park, Lake Hiawatha, Lake Nokomis, Lake Harriet, Bde Maka Ska, Lake of the Isles, Cedar Lake, and Theodore Wirth Park.

Outside Minneapolis, Hennepin County is also served by the Three Rivers Park District, a park system containing 20 parks and 10 trails spanning the Twin Cities metro area. Three Rivers is overseen by seven commissioners, five of whom are elected by residents and two of whom are appointed by Hennepin County commissioners.

Culture

Numerous art institutions in Minneapolis make Hennepin County a national center for the arts. It contains some of the country's largest and best-known centers for art, including the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Walker Art Center, Weisman Art Museum, and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Major art centers include Northeast Minneapolis and the Minneapolis neighborhood of North Loop. Minneapolis is home to many important artist organizations, such as the Traffic Zone Center for Visual Art, the Handicraft Guild, and the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association.

Hennepin County is also home to a thriving theater scene, highlighted by the Guthrie Theater in downtown Minneapolis. It is home to many theater companies, such as Mixed Blood, Skewed Visions, Brave New Workshop, and Children's Theatre Company. Other notable theaters include the Orpheum Theatre, the State Theatre, and the Pantages Theatre. Additionally, many other cities in the county are home to local community theaters, such as Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Orono, Osseo, and Plymouth.

thumb|[[U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings, was constructed in 2016, and was the site of Super Bowl LII.]]

Sports

Of the "Big Four" sports leagues in the US, three are located in Minneapolis: the Minnesota Twins play in Target Field, the Minnesota Timberwolves play in Target Center, and the Minnesota Vikings play in U.S. Bank Stadium. Additionally, among major sports leagues, the Minnesota Lynx also play in Target Center.

Cities

  • Bloomington
  • Brooklyn Center
  • Brooklyn Park
  • Champlin
  • Chanhassen (partial)
  • Corcoran
  • Crystal
  • Dayton (partial)
  • Deephaven
  • Eden Prairie
  • Edina
  • Excelsior
  • Golden Valley
  • Greenfield
  • Greenwood
  • Hanover (partial)
  • Hopkins
  • Independence
  • Long Lake
  • Loretto
  • Maple Grove
  • Maple Plain
  • Medicine Lake
  • Medina
  • Minneapolis (county seat and largest municipality)
  • Minnetonka
  • Minnetonka Beach
  • Minnetrista
  • Mound
  • New Hope
  • Orono
  • Osseo
  • Plymouth
  • Richfield
  • Robbinsdale
  • Rockford (partial)
  • Rogers
  • Shorewood
  • Spring Park
  • St. Anthony (partial)
  • St. Bonifacius
  • St. Louis Park
  • Tonka Bay
  • Wayzata
  • Woodland

Unorganized territory

  • Fort Snelling

See also

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

References

Notes

  • Hennepin County Library website
  • Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau
  • Minneapolis Northwest Convention & Visitors Bureau