Mahnomen County (/məˈnoʊmən/ mə-NOH-mən) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,411. Its county seat is Mahnomen.

The county is part of the White Earth Indian Reservation. It is the only county in Minnesota entirely within an Indian reservation. Mahnomen, East Polk, and Becker counties constitute one of northwestern Minnesota's biggest cattle-raising areas.

The county was created from the east half of Norman County on December 27, 1906, with Mahnomen, a former railway station town, as the county seat. The county was named for the town, the name of which is one spelling of the Ojibwe word for "wild rice".

From 1857 to 1858, similarly named Manomin County existed in Minnesota, which merged into Anoka County.

The Wild Rice River enters the county from Clearwater County and flows west through the central part of the county. The White Earth River originates from White Earth Lake on the county's southern border and flows northwest to its confluence with the Wild Rice near Mahnomen. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, carved with drainages. The eastern part of the county is dotted with lakes and ponds and largely wooded. All non-wooded areas are devoted to agriculture where possible. The county slopes to the west and north, with its highest point near the middle of the east border, at 1,825 ft (556 m) ASL. The county has an area of 583 square miles (1,510 km), of which 558 square miles (1,450 km) is land and 25 square miles (65 km) (4.3%) is water. Mahnomen is one of 17 Minnesota savanna region counties with more savanna soils than either prairie or forest soils.

• U.S. Highway 59
• Minnesota State Highway 113
• Minnesota State Highway 200

• Mahnomen County Airport (3N8) - south of Mahnomen

Source:

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	3,249		—
1920	6,197		90.7%
1930	6,153		−0.7%
1940	8,054		30.9%
1950	7,059		−12.4%
1960	6,341		−10.2%
1970	5,638		−11.1%
1980	5,535		−1.8%
1990	5,044		−8.9%
2000	5,190		2.9%
2010	5,413		4.3%
2020	5,411		0.0%
2023 (est.)	5,280		−2.4%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2020

Mahnomen County Racial Composition

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	2,278	42.1%
Black or African American (NH)	8	0.1%
Native American (NH)	2,256	41.7%
Asian (NH)	7	0.13%
Pacific Islander (NH)	0	0.%
Other/Mixed (NH)	708	13.1%
Hispanic or Latino	154	2.84%

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,190 people, 1,969 households, and 1,366 families in the county. The population density was 9.3 per square mile (3.6/km). There were 2,700 housing units at an average density of 4.84 per square mile (1.87/km). The racial makeup of the county was 62.85% White (3,262 people) 0.13% Black or African American (7 people), 28.55% Native American (1,482 people), 0.06% Asian (3 people), 0.31% from other races (16 people), and 8.09% (420 people) from two or more races. 0.89% of the population (46 people) were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 29.4% (1525 people) were of German and 17.0% (882 people) Norwegian ancestry.

There were 1,969 households, out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.60% were married couples living together, 11.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.60% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.14.

The county population contained 29.20% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 23.50% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 16.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 102.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,053, and the median income for a family was $35,500. Males had a median income of $23,614 versus $21,000 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,438. About 11.80% of families and 16.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.30% of those under age 18 and 15.30% of those age 65 or over.

• Bejou
• Mahnomen (county seat)
• Waubun

• Mahkonce

For several decades, Mahnomen County voters have tended to vote Democratic. As of 2020, the county has selected the Democratic candidate in six of the past nine presidential elections. However, since 2016, the county has trended Republican, voting for Donald Trump both times, with Trump increasing his voteshare in 2020. The county also voted Republican by a wider margin in the 2022 Midterm Elections, potentially signifying a realignment.

United States presidential election results for Mahnomen County, Minnesota

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	1,142	49.57%	1,112	48.26%	50	2.17%
2016	991	47.46%	930	44.54%	167	8.00%
2012	871	39.92%	1,276	58.48%	35	1.60%
2008	843	35.98%	1,436	61.29%	64	2.73%
2004	1,132	45.14%	1,339	53.39%	37	1.48%
2000	1,122	50.45%	921	41.41%	181	8.14%
1996	877	39.70%	1,026	46.45%	306	13.85%
1992	854	35.75%	1,035	43.32%	500	20.93%
1988	1,051	44.57%	1,277	54.16%	30	1.27%
1984	1,328	51.14%	1,241	47.79%	28	1.08%
1980	1,275	48.39%	1,175	44.59%	185	7.02%
1976	905	34.63%	1,590	60.85%	118	4.52%
1972	1,246	46.30%	1,397	51.91%	48	1.78%
1968	893	34.28%	1,508	57.89%	204	7.83%
1964	648	24.74%	1,967	75.11%	4	0.15%
1960	880	32.01%	1,864	67.81%	5	0.18%
1956	875	36.58%	1,513	63.25%	4	0.17%
1952	1,220	45.86%	1,436	53.98%	4	0.15%
1948	579	20.86%	2,125	76.58%	71	2.56%
1944	748	33.10%	1,494	66.11%	18	0.80%
1940	1,069	35.14%	1,959	64.40%	14	0.46%
1936	474	18.00%	2,025	76.88%	135	5.13%
1932	264	12.76%	1,734	83.81%	71	3.43%
1928	606	29.90%	1,378	67.98%	43	2.12%
1924	629	33.69%	122	6.53%	1,116	59.78%
1920	1,076	71.97%	215	14.38%	204	13.65%
1916	262	36.39%	411	57.08%	47	6.53%
1912	68	10.88%	293	46.88%	264	42.24%
1908	265	53.64%	143	28.95%	86	17.41%

County Board of Commissioners

Position		Name	District	Next Election
	Commissioner and Vice Chair	Darvin Schoenborn	District 1	2024
	Commissioner and Chairperson	David Geray	District 2	2026
	Commissioner	Larry Olson	District 3	2024
	Commissioner	Karen Ahmann	District 4	2026
	Commissioner	John Darco	District 5	2024

State Legislature (2018-2020)

Position		Name	Affiliation	District
	Senate	Steve Green	Republican	District 2
	House of Representatives	Matt Bliss	Republican	District 2B

U.S Congress (2022-2025)

Position		Name	Affiliation	District
	House of Representatives	Pete Stauber	Republican	8th
	Senate	Amy Klobuchar	Democrat	N/A
	Senate	Tina Smith	Democrat	N/A

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Mahnomen County, Minnesota
• USS Mahnomen County (LST-912)

• County of Mahnomen website http://www.co.mahnomen.mn.us/

47°20′N 95°49′W / 47.33°N 95.81°W / 47.33; -95.81