Itasca County, MN

County Profile

45,275 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Itasca County, MN.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

54out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 32% of 1,453 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 13 sources
Opportunity1,292nd of 1,463 counties measured32
Schools979th of 1,377 counties measured34
GrowthTop 11% of 1,453 counties measured73
Housing affordability1,095th of 1,462 counties measured67
Climate1,453rd of 1,463 counties measured45
Physical resilienceTop 16% of 1,463 counties measured83
Access1,357th of 1,463 counties measured46
Economic stabilityTop 47% of 1,463 counties measured63
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable counties measured: unemployment is 6.1% and the Opportunity signal places Itasca County in the bottom 12%.

In the public schools here, 47% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.8 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 297 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 168% on the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
45,275
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$68,603
Top 40% nationally
Density
17/sq mi
2,667.5 sq mi of land
Median age
46.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Itasca County
Minnesota
Nearest major airport
DLH
80 mi · Duluth Intl
Median home value
$225,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 6.1% — higher than in all but 6% of the 1,467 measured US counties.

Employment fell 2.6% over the past year, to 19,864 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsfiling years 2022–2023$74,46277th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftfiling years 2022–2023$60,33057th percentileof 1,417filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,0972024 ACS 5-Year$68,603Top 40%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,3662024 ACS 5-Year$37,533Top 36%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income2023$54,147Bottom 43%of 1,3892023
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year11.8%Top 41%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year25.2 minTop 47%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year25.9%Top 35%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year76.3%41st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202619,864Bottom 31%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−0.5%Bottom 43%of 1,467July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−2.6%Bottom 12%of 1,467July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202621,16232nd percentileof 1,467July 2026
Labor force participation ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year75.3%Bottom 48%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year1.0%86th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.4%Bottom 20%of 1,467July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20266.1%Bottom 6%of 1,467July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year9.5%58th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/078.62.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 6.1% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202469k58k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $68,603 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

47% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 61% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.8 students for every full-time teacher across 20 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
23
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.8
across 20 of them
Math proficiency
46.9%
Bottom 15% in Minnesota
Reading proficiency
60.6%
Top 49% in Minnesota
The 12 largest of 23 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Grand Rapids Senior HighGRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT1,09119.847%66%
Robert J. Elkington Middle SchoolGRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT76417.455%64%
East Rapids ElementaryGRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT63916.8——
West Rapids ElementaryGRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT61217.5——
Deer River SecondaryDEER RIVER PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT42510.933%52%
King ElementaryDEER RIVER PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT3908.752%57%
Vandyke ElementaryGREENWAY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT37713.067%57%
Keewatin-Nashwauk Elementary SchoolNASHWAUK-KEEWATIN SCHOOL DISTRICT31312.547%52%
Cohasset ElementaryGRAND RAPIDS PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT31218.467%62%
Greenway Senior HighGREENWAY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT27113.622%72%
Greenway MiddleGREENWAY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT24416.349%61%
Nashwauk SecondaryNASHWAUK-KEEWATIN SCHOOL DISTRICT22813.442%52%

48.0% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Minnesota’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Minnesota is up 43% over five years, and up 3.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,945 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.86% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,074, some 9% above the $988 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,074 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $43,000 a year, about 63% of the median household income here of $68,603.

The typical renter household here spends 33% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $988 a month.

A median home at $225,200 costs 3.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $76,116, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
33.2%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,074
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$988
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$225,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Itasca County’s median household income of $68,603, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Minnesota’s figure2026 Q2+3.8%57th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Minnesota’s figure2026 Q2+42.5%37th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Minnesota’s figure2026 Q2+88.5%39th percentileof 1,4312026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year3.0Bottom 30%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year83.0%92nd percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1152024 ACS 5-Year25,67971st percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$860Top 36%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,401Top 38%of 1,423FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,074Top 37%of 1,423FY2026
Median gross rent ±$482024 ACS 5-Year$988Bottom 32%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$6,2152024 ACS 5-Year$225,20065th percentileof 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$662024 ACS 5-Year$1,94563rd percentileof 3,1722024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,5542024 ACS 5-Year$76,116Bottom 49%of 3,2182024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.04%2024 ACS 5-Year0.86%55th percentileof 3,1262024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year33.2%Bottom 9%of 3,2172024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±3532024 ACS 5-Year6,02195th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year23.4%94th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.3%10th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3802024 ACS 5-Year7,13886th percentileof 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

73/ 100
Top 11% of 1,453 published county profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2022 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 1% since 2020, reaching 45,442 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before: 247 units authorized in 2025, up 104% on the prior year.

Federal tax returns show Itasca County gained about 0.6% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $74,462, above the $60,330 of households that moved out.

At 6.6 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US counties.

Units permitted
297
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
6.6
Top 18% nationally
Year over year
+168%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
57.6%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202446k45k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.6%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
32%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$74,462
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$60,330
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. St. Louis County, MN 284 people · 18% of arrivals
  2. Hennepin County, MN 98 people · 6.3% of arrivals
  3. Aitkin County, MN 78 people · 5.0% of arrivals
  4. Cass County, MN 74 people · 4.8% of arrivals
  5. Ramsey County, MN 46 people · 3.0% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. St. Louis County, MN 276 people · 21% of departures
  2. Hennepin County, MN 86 people · 6.6% of departures
  3. Aitkin County, MN 55 people · 4.2% of departures
  4. Cass County, MN 43 people · 3.3% of departures
  5. Beltrami County, MN 41 people · 3.1% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202220232024202524796
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+157%).

Weather & climate

4 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 77°F and January a low of -5°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 31.1 inches, including 64.1 inches of snow.

-20°0°20°40°60°80°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station MARCELL 5NE, 9.9 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals31.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals64.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals-5°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals77°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals41991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals61°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

83 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and strong wind, with inland flooding alone responsible for 45% of it. cold wave and strong wind are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 84% of measured US counties.

Inland floodingElevated

Low or minimal exposure: cold wave, strong wind, landslide, heat wave, lightning, winter weather, hail, wildfire, drought, tornado, ice storm, earthquake, avalanche, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). These are FEMA’s own figures for this county rather than a value derived from surrounding geographies. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Itasca County records 0.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 12.7 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 10.1 per 100,000 residents in Itasca County.

Homicide
0.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
12.7
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
10.1
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
16.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe Itasca County as a whole. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

1 major airport lies within 100 miles, the nearest Duluth Intl at 80 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year88.5%Top 38%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle80 miBottom 9%of 1,463NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle1Bottom 3%of 1,463NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year8.6%Top 36%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Duluth IntlDLH80 mi10,591 ft
Hector IntlFAR155 mi9,001 ft
Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-ChamberlainMSP181 mi11,006 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
54
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated September 26, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

Cities in Itasca County, MN

ZIP areas

Only ZIP areas whose income or home value differ from their city’s by at least ten percent get a profile of their own, so this is a selection rather than every ZIP code in the county.