county

Clearwater County, MN

Demographic and economic profile of Clearwater County, MN, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Clearwater County is a small rural Minnesota county of 8,579 residents with an economy centered on agriculture and natural-resource industries, reflected in a low foreign-born share of 1.2% and an 81.1% homeownership rate that signals a deeply rooted, owner-occupier workforce. The labor pool is modest, with only 18.3% holding a bachelor's degree or higher, a 58.4% labor force participation rate, and median worker earnings of $39,869, keeping labor costs well below state norms. The county faces headwinds from a -2.6% five-year population decline and a 7.4% unemployment rate, though housing remains accessible at a $177,100 median home value and $740 median monthly rent.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

8,579

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$64,475

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

41.6 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-2.6% since 2018

Clearwater County lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone7,229 (83.9%)
  • American Indian & Alaska Native Alone585 (6.8%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races569 (6.6%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race112 (1.3%)
  • Asian Alone69 (0.8%)
  • Some Other Race Alone34 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.German or other West Germanic235
  2. 2.Spanish69
  3. 3.Other Indo-European31
  4. 4.Russian, Polish, or other Slavic8
  5. 5.Vietnamese8

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

25.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

54.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

20.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

1.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

591

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

$34,685

Data USA · as of 2023

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$32,682

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

7.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

11.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance970
  2. 2.Construction (Group)470
  3. 3.Retail Trade (Group)369
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)361
  5. 5.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services268

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations1,152
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations644
  3. 3.Service Occupations607
  4. 4.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations594
  5. 5.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations577

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting, & Mining (LQ 3.17×)182
  2. 2.Construction (LQ 1.93×)482
  3. 3.Other Services (LQ 1.24×)211
  4. 4.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.16×)977
  5. 5.Transportation, Warehousing, & Utilities (LQ 1.02×)214

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$177,100

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$740/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

80.1%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,999342 (12.8%)
  • $200,000 to $249,999328 (12.3%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999302 (11.3%)
  • $100,000 to $124,999232 (8.7%)
  • $175,000 to $199,999189 (7.1%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999182 (6.8%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

18.3%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

88.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

58.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$39,869

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

25.9 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

7.7%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone2,638 (75.3%)
  • Carpooled405 (11.6%)
  • Worked At Home266 (7.6%)
  • Walked148 (4.2%)
  • Other21 (0.6%)
  • Public Transit13 (0.4%)

Data USA · as of 2024

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Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.