Itasca County (/aɪˈtæskə/ eye-TASS-kə) is a county located in the Iron Range region of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,014. Its county seat is Grand Rapids. The county is named after Lake Itasca, which is in turn a shortened version of the Latin words veritas caput, meaning 'truth' and 'head', a reference to the source of the Mississippi River. Portions of the Bois Forte and Leech Lake Indian reservations are in the county.

The boundary of Itasca County was first formed in 1849, upon the creation of the Minnesota Territory. It was originally a much larger county, which covered many of today's northeastern Minnesota counties. The original Itasca County stretched over Cook, Lake, Saint Louis, Koochiching, eastern Lake of the Woods, eastern Beltrami, Itasca, northern Aitkin, and northern Carlton counties, today in Minnesota.

Itasca County was originally named for Lake Itasca (no longer in the county's present borders), which was determined to be the true source of the Mississippi River. After many disputes over finding the source of the Mississippi River, Henry Schoolcraft set out to find its true source in 1832. Once he came upon its true source, he decided to name this 'Lake Itasca.' The Mississippi River flows from its small beginnings at Lake Itasca, where it can be crossed on foot. It flows past Bemidji, through Itasca County, and continues to the Gulf of Mexico.

The terrain of Itasca County is hilly, heavily wooded, and studded with lakes and ponds. It generally slopes to the east, with its highest areas on its upper west border, at 1,437 ft (438 m) ASL. The county has a total area of 2,928 square miles (7,580 km), of which 2,668 square miles (6,910 km) is land and 260 square miles (670 km) (8.9%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Minnesota by land area.

The landscape in Itasca County varies greatly. The low plains, rolling hills, and wetlands occur where there was glacial activity in the past. This area is known greatly for being forested, and has been for centuries. The different forests are made up of trees such as pines, spruces, hardwoods, cedar, and tamarack. The many large forests in the area make forestry and logging major sectors in the economy.

In Itasca County there are many different bodies of water from big lakes, to small creeks, to major rivers. Over 1400 lakes are located within the county. These bodies of water help support many different wildlife species such as different birds and small mammals. Major bodies of water in the county include Lake Winnibigoshish, Pokegama Lake, Deer Lake, the Mississippi River, Bowstring Lake, and the Blandin Paper Mill Reservoir.

Source:

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	97		—
1860	51		−47.4%
1870	96		88.2%
1880	124		29.2%
1890	743		499.2%
1900	4,573		515.5%
1910	17,208		276.3%
1920	23,876		38.7%
1930	27,224		14.0%
1940	32,996		21.2%
1950	33,321		1.0%
1960	38,006		14.1%
1970	35,530		−6.5%
1980	43,069		21.2%
1990	40,863		−5.1%
2000	43,992		7.7%
2010	45,058		2.4%
2020	45,014		−0.1%
2023 (est.)	45,365		0.8%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

Itasca County Racial Composition

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	40,166	89.23%
Black or African American (NH)	174	0.4%
Native American (NH)	1,497	3.33%
Asian (NH)	145	0.32%
Pacific Islander (NH)	2	0.004%
Other/Mixed (NH)	2,412	5.4%
Hispanic or Latino	618	1.4%

As of the census of 2000, there were 43,992 people, 17,789 households, and 12,381 families in the county. The population density was 16.5 per square mile (6.4/km). There were 24,528 housing units at an average density of 9.19 per square mile (3.55/km). The racial makeup of the county was 94.64% White, 0.16% Black or African American, 3.40% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.16% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races. 0.60% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.6% were of German, 13.8% Norwegian, 7.7% Finnish, 7.2% Swedish, 6.2% Irish, 5.0% United States or American and 5.0% English ancestry.

There were 17,789 households, out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.30% were married couples living together, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.40% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.91.

The county population contained 24.40% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 24.40% from 25 to 44, 26.70% from 45 to 64, and 16.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 99.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,234, and the median income for a family was $44,025. Males had a median income of $37,066 versus $22,327 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,717. About 7.70% of families and 10.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.60% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.

• Ball Club
• Inger

Itasca County voters tended to vote strongly Democratic for about 80 years following the Great Depression, selecting the Democratic nominee in every election from 1932 through 2012, along with fellow Iron Range counties St. Louis County, Carlton County, and Lake County. However, in 2016, the county swung hard towards Donald Trump, voting Republican for the first time since 1928 and doing so by giving him a healthy majority of 54.1%. In 2020, it voted for Trump once again, giving him an increased vote share of 57.4%, making it the first time the county had voted Republican two elections in a row since 1924 and 1928.

United States presidential election results for Itasca County, Minnesota

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	15,863	59.10%	10,467	39.00%	510	1.90%
2020	15,239	57.37%	10,786	40.61%	536	2.02%
2016	12,920	54.10%	9,015	37.75%	1,945	8.14%
2012	10,501	43.90%	12,852	53.73%	566	2.37%
2008	10,309	42.26%	13,460	55.18%	626	2.57%
2004	10,705	43.93%	13,290	54.54%	372	1.53%
2000	9,545	43.96%	10,583	48.74%	1,586	7.30%
1996	6,506	31.78%	10,706	52.29%	3,261	15.93%
1992	5,952	28.56%	9,621	46.17%	5,265	25.27%
1988	8,358	43.87%	10,517	55.20%	178	0.93%
1984	9,306	44.42%	11,455	54.68%	187	0.89%
1980	8,368	37.65%	12,134	54.59%	1,726	7.76%
1976	6,646	32.77%	12,979	64.00%	656	3.23%
1972	7,558	45.58%	8,683	52.36%	342	2.06%
1968	4,898	30.22%	10,512	64.86%	796	4.91%
1964	4,137	25.49%	12,054	74.27%	40	0.25%
1960	6,615	38.00%	10,761	61.82%	32	0.18%
1956	6,408	42.22%	8,737	57.56%	33	0.22%
1952	6,573	41.65%	9,128	57.84%	81	0.51%
1948	4,334	29.45%	9,653	65.60%	729	4.95%
1944	4,227	32.28%	8,787	67.10%	81	0.62%
1940	5,196	34.06%	9,899	64.89%	159	1.04%
1936	3,594	28.04%	8,896	69.40%	329	2.57%
1932	3,782	36.94%	5,616	54.86%	839	8.20%
1928	5,103	58.95%	3,122	36.07%	431	4.98%
1924	4,961	60.10%	496	6.01%	2,798	33.89%
1920	3,973	58.31%	1,930	28.33%	910	13.36%
1916	1,163	36.89%	1,504	47.70%	486	15.41%
1912	446	16.59%	699	25.99%	1,544	57.42%
1908	1,883	63.15%	684	22.94%	415	13.92%
1904	1,796	77.02%	293	12.56%	243	10.42%
1900	770	63.32%	413	33.96%	33	2.71%
1896	826	52.91%	724	46.38%	11	0.70%
1892	520	40.66%	686	53.64%	73	5.71%

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

• Itasca County government’s website
• Minnesota Department of Transportation map of Itasca County (southeastern portion, northwestern portion, northeastern portion)

47°31′N 93°38′W / 47.51°N 93.63°W / 47.51; -93.63