Youth Demographics of Chisago County, MN

Prepared for the Citizen’s Review Panel

Peter M. Grund

Purpose

  • To provide a snapshot of the youth demographics of Chisago County, MN using data from the 2020 Census and most recent American Community Survey (ACS) 1 and 5-year estimates.
  • To compare these demographics to the youth demographics of the state of Minnesota and the United States.
  • To elicit a conversation about the implications of these demographics for the Citizen’s Review Panel and child welfare.

Definitions

  • Youth: Individuals aged 0-17 years.

Overview

  • There were 13,052 youth in Chisago County in 2020.
    • ACS estimate of 12,837 in 2022.

Change over time

  • As Chisago County’s total population has grown, so has the number of youth.
  • The number of youth has ticked down slightly since 2010.

Change over time

By division

Change over time (percent)

  • The more dramatic change is in the percentage of the population that is under 18.
  • The percent has declined from 38% to 23% since 1970.
    • 22.6% in 2022.

Change over time (percent)

Age distribution

  • This decline is reflected in the age distribution of Chisago County’s youth.
  • The number of children under 11 is noticeably smaller than the number of teenagers.

Age distribution

Race/ethnicity

Age distribution by race/ethnicity

  • Chisago’s youth population is slightly more diverse than the county’s adult population.
  • About 1,000 of adults are inmates at the state prison in Rush City, mostly between the ages of 18 and 45.

Age distribution by race/ethnicity (%)

  • Youth of two or more races (usually white + Hispanic or Native American) make up the largest non-white group.

State and national comparisons

  • A similar share of Minnesota residents are under 18 compared to the U.S. as a whole.
  • The share of Minnesotans who are under 18 has been decreasing in recent years, and is projected to continue to decrease over the next three decades.

State and national comparisons

State and national comparisons

  • Chisago County is less racially diverse than the state of Minnesota and the U.S. as a whole.

Household and family

  • Total households with youth: 6614 ± 414
    • Married-couple households with youth: 4900 ± 314 (23.4% ± 1.5)
  • Women aged 15-50 who had a birth in the past year: 723 ± 166
  • Average family size: 3.03 ± 0.05
    • This value can be misleading because it doesn’t parse out single-parent households, of which there are 874 ± 198.

Socioeconomics

  • Median income for families: $112,631 ± $3,700.
  • Households receiving SNAP benefits: 5.4%
  • Families with children under 18 in poverty: 6.8% ± 2.1%
  • Families making less than 35,000k/year: 8% ± 2%

Health and well-being

  • Percent of total population w/ health insurance: 96.1%
  • Number of youth without health insurance: 379