History

Anoka County was organized by an act of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature on May 23, 1857, the year prior to Minnesota’s admission to the Union. It was formed from parts of Ramsey County and Benton County; the Rum River previously divided the line between the two counties. The boundaries were mainly the same as they are now, except for a small part of the southeastern tip along the Mississippi River and at the south, formerly known as Manomin County. It was a small portion that connected to Ramsey and occupied one-third of the congressional township. It was then attached to Anoka County by constitutional amendment November 2, 1869. It became known as Fridley in 1879.

The first white men to explore what is now Anoka County were the Franciscan friar Louis Hennepin and his party. Fur traders soon began to settle in the area which is now Ramsey County. They settled on the Rum River and more people were attracted to the area. A community was created which is now called Anoka.

Geography

The Mississippi River flows southeasterly along the county’s southwestern boundary. The Rum River flows southerly through the western part of the county, discharging into the Mississippi at the county’s southwestern boundary. The terrain consists of low rolling wooded hills. The terrain slopes to the south and east; its highest point is on the western part of the boundary line, at 1,083′ (330m) ASL.The county has a total area of 446 square miles (1,160 km2), of which 423 square miles (1,100 km2) is land and 23 square miles (60 km2) (5.2%) is water.

Demographics

There were 106,428 households out of which 39.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.70% were married couples living together, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.40% were non-families. Of all households, 19.30% were made up of individuals and 5.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.19.

The county population contained 28.90% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 34.10% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 7.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 101.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $57,754, and the median income for a family was $64,261. Males had a median income of $41,527 versus $30,534 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,297. About 2.90% of families and 4.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.90% of those under age 18 and 4.50% of those age 65 or over.

Cities
Andover
Anoka
Bethel
Blaine
Centerville
Circle Pines
Columbia Heights
Columbus
Coon Rapids
East Bethel
Fridley
Ham Lake
Hilltop
Lexington
Lino Lakes
Nowthen
Oak Grove
Ramsey
Saint Francis
Spring Lake Park