Becker County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,183. Its county seat is Detroit Lakes. Part of the White Earth Indian Reservation extends into the county. The county was created in 1858 and organized in 1871.

History

Becker County became a county on March 18, 1858. It was named for George Loomis Becker, one of three men elected to Congress when Minnesota became a state. Since Minnesota could only send two, Becker elected to stay behind, and he was promised to have a county named after him.

Colonel George Johnston founded the city of Detroit Lakes in 1871. It grew quickly with the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Johnston led settlers from New England to settle in this region. An 1877 election decided that Detroit Lakes, then known as Detroit, would become the county seat. Detroit won the election by a 90% majority. Frazee, Lake Park, and Audubon were also in the running.

In 1884, Detroit Lakes had many businesses, including two hotels, a bank, a newspaper, and an opera house. The first courthouse was built that year. In 1885, the first county fire department was constructed. In 1903, the Soo Line Railroad built a line through the county.

Detroit Lakes hosts a park dedicated to the Grand Army of the Republic. The city rededicated the park on April 15, 2015, marking the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War and the death of President Lincoln. Colonel Tom Mortenson and his wife, Pam, sponsored the rededication, representing the Women's Relief Corps, which spearheaded community support for the effort that included new signage for the park and a time capsule to be opened on the 200th anniversary.

Geography

The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, tree-covered and dotted with lakes and ponds. The terrain slopes to the west and north. Its highest point is a hill 2.1 miles (3.4 km) northeast of Wolf Lake, the site of the USFS Wolf Lake lookout tower, at 1,861 ft (567 m) ASL. The next highest point is near its northwest corner, at 1,631 ft (497 m) ASL. The county has an area of 1,445 square miles (3,740 km), of which 1,315 square miles (3,410 km) is land and 130 square miles (340 km) (9.0%) is water.

Becker County has diverse topography. It is home to several hundred lakes, many acres of fertile farm land, and forested areas. Much of the land consists of hills and deciduous trees.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Climate and weather

Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.8     19 −2     0.5     26 3     1.1     37 17     1.9     56 32     3.5     69 45     4.4     78 55     3.8     82 60     3     81 58     3.6     71 47     3.1     56 35     1.2     38 21     0.7     23 5 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: The Weather Channel
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     20     −7 −19     13     −3 −16     27     3 −8     47     13 0     89     21 7     113     26 13     97     28 16     75     27 14     91     22 8     77     13 2     30     3 −6     18     −5 −15 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

In recent years, average temperatures in Detroit Lakes have ranged from a low of −2 °F (−19 °C) in January to a high of 82 °F (28 °C) in July; a record low of −46 °F (−43 °C) was recorded in February 1936 and a record high of 107 °F (42 °C) was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 0.53 inches (13 mm) in February to 4.44 inches (113 mm) in June.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	386		—
1870	308		−20.2%
1880	5,218		1,594.2%
1890	9,401		80.2%
1900	14,375		52.9%
1910	18,840		31.1%
1920	22,851		21.3%
1930	22,503		−1.5%
1940	26,562		18.0%
1950	24,836		−6.5%
1960	23,959		−3.5%
1970	24,372		1.7%
1980	29,336		20.4%
1990	27,881		−5.0%
2000	30,000		7.6%
2010	32,504		8.3%
2020	35,183		8.2%
2023 (est.)	35,283		0.3%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

2020 Census

Becker County Racial Composition

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	29,645	84.3%
Black or African American (NH)	200	0.6%
Native American (NH)	2,417	6.9%
Asian (NH)	156	0.44%
Pacific Islander (NH)	9	0.02%
Other/Mixed (NH)	2,181	6.2%
Hispanic or Latino	575	1.6%

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 30,000 people, 11,844 households, and 8,184 families in the county. The population density was 22.8 per square mile (8.8/km). There were 16,612 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5.0/km). The racial makeup of the county was 89.35% White, 0.19% Black or African American, 7.52% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 2.32% from two or more races. 0.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 32.2% were of German, 26.0% Norwegian and 5.2% Swedish ancestry.

There were 11,844 households, of which 31.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.1% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.02.

The county population contained 26.6% under age 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% 65 or older. The median age was 39. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 97.8 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,797, and the median income for a family was $41,807. Males had a median income of $29,641 versus $20,693 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,085. About 8.5% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.4% of those under 18 and 11.8% of those 65 and over.

Communities

Cities

Townships

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Lakes

• Big Cormorant Lake (Minnesota)
• Middle Cormorant Lake
• Upper Cormorant Lake
• Little Cormorant lake
• Nelson lake
• Erickson Lake
• Lake Melissa
• Detroit Lake
• Lake Sallie
• Lake Maud

Government and politics

From its inaugural election in 1872 to 1928, Becker County voted Republican all but twice and never voted Democrat; the only two occasions it backed a non-Republican in that span were in 1912 when former Republican president turned Progressive candidate Theodore Roosevelt carried the county and in 1924 when Progressive Robert M. La Follette narrowly carried the county, edging out incumbent Republican president Calvin Coolidge by just 151 votes in the county. Following Black Tuesday and the onset of the Great Depression, Becker County proceeded to voted Democrat in nearly every election for the next half-century, only backing the Republican nominee in nationwide Republican landslides in 1952 and 1972 by Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon respectively in the elections from 1932 to 1976, though the Democrat margin of victories were typically modest outside of their nationwide landslides. Beginning in 1980, Becker County has backed the Republican nominee in every presidential election except for the reelection of Bill Clinton in 1996, and never by huge margins up to and including 2012. However, in 2016, Donald Trump attained the highest percentage of the vote and margin of victory for either party in the county since 1936 and the highest for a Republican since 1920.

United States presidential election results for Becker County, Minnesota

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	12,438	64.11%	6,589	33.96%	374	1.93%
2016	10,880	63.18%	5,208	30.24%	1,134	6.58%
2012	9,204	56.18%	6,829	41.69%	349	2.13%
2008	8,851	52.17%	7,687	45.31%	427	2.52%
2004	9,795	58.30%	6,756	40.21%	250	1.49%
2000	8,152	56.88%	5,253	36.65%	928	6.47%
1996	5,461	40.83%	5,911	44.20%	2,002	14.97%
1992	5,430	39.63%	4,958	36.18%	3,314	24.19%
1988	6,738	53.26%	5,787	45.74%	126	1.00%
1984	7,553	57.65%	5,456	41.65%	92	0.70%
1980	6,848	52.14%	5,221	39.75%	1,065	8.11%
1976	5,611	44.65%	6,597	52.50%	358	2.85%
1972	6,033	55.43%	4,695	43.14%	156	1.43%
1968	4,728	46.37%	4,875	47.81%	593	5.82%
1964	3,751	36.70%	6,453	63.14%	16	0.16%
1960	5,090	48.99%	5,257	50.60%	42	0.40%
1956	4,608	49.81%	4,619	49.93%	24	0.26%
1952	5,815	55.84%	4,539	43.59%	60	0.58%
1948	3,495	35.93%	5,885	60.50%	347	3.57%
1944	3,803	43.46%	4,889	55.87%	58	0.66%
1940	4,292	39.68%	6,432	59.47%	92	0.85%
1936	2,683	28.34%	6,473	68.38%	310	3.27%
1932	2,299	28.00%	5,547	67.56%	364	4.43%
1928	4,273	55.47%	3,253	42.23%	177	2.30%
1924	2,936	45.51%	429	6.65%	3,087	47.85%
1920	4,811	75.78%	901	14.19%	637	10.03%
1916	1,761	50.44%	1,453	41.62%	277	7.93%
1912	509	16.76%	732	24.10%	1,796	59.14%
1908	2,058	64.39%	728	22.78%	410	12.83%
1904	1,872	79.49%	310	13.16%	173	7.35%
1900	1,790	64.62%	771	27.83%	209	7.55%
1896	1,479	58.81%	985	39.17%	51	2.03%
1892	853	55.43%	266	17.28%	420	27.29%

County Board of Commissioners

Position		Name	District	Term Ends
	Commissioner	Erica Jepson	District 1	2026
	Commissioner	David Meyer	District 2	2026
	Commissioner	John Okeson	District 3	2024
	Commissioner	Richard Vareberg	District 4	2024
	Commissioner	Barry Nelson	District 5	2024

State Legislature (2023-2025)

Position		Name	Affiliation	District
	Senate	Steve Green	Republican	District 2
	Senate	Rob Kupec	Democrat	District 4
	Senate	Paul Utke	Republican	District 5
	House of Representatives	Matt Bliss	Republican	District 2B
	House of Representatives	Jim Joy	Republican	District 4B

U.S Congress (2022-2025)

Position		Name	Affiliation	District
	House of Representatives	Michelle Fischbach	Republican	7th
	Senate	Amy Klobuchar	Democrat	N/A
	Senate	Tina Smith	Democrat	N/A

In popular culture

Becker County is the setting of the 2006 independent film Sweet Land, though it was filmed in Chippewa County.

A popular YouTube channel, CBOYSTV films, is headquartered in Becker County. CBoysTV is an American comedy and motorsports channel run by five men. The channel has amassed over a million subscribers.

Images

• 
  The County Public Works Center for Becker County in Detroit Lakes
• 
  Highway Department building for Becker County

See also

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