County · Minnesota

Pope County, Minnesota

Pope County, Minnesota. Pope County had 11,420 residents in 2025 by the Census Bureau's estimate, up 1.0% since 2020, slower than Minnesota (+2.2%). It holds 30 places (10 cities, villages and boroughs and 20 towns and townships) and 4 census tracts. GEOID 27121.

Residents, July 2025 estimate

11,420

Census Bureau estimate (no margin published)
2020 Census count: 11,308 · ACS 2020-2024: 11,418

Median household income

$76,220

±$1,806 (90% margin)
Minnesota: $89,062

Median home value

$255,100

±$14,719 (90% margin)
Minnesota: $329,300

Median gross rent

$902

±$53 (90% margin)
Minnesota: $1,280

How many people live in Pope County, and is it growing?

The 2020 Census counted 11,308 residents in Pope County. The Census Bureau estimates 11,420 for July 1, 2025, up 1.0% since 2020, slower than Minnesota (+2.2%). The 2020-2024 American Community Survey puts the population at 11,418 over 675 square miles of land.

July 2020→2021 +88 (11,415)
2021→2022 +6 (11,421)
2022→2023 −14 (11,407)
2023→2024 +57 (11,464)
2024→2025 −44 (11,420)

Pope County in Minnesota. Boundaries: Census Bureau 2024.

Counts, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates, with the change from 2015-2019
Measure	Pope County	Minnesota	Change since 2015-2019
Total population	11,418	5,739,445	+370
Households	4,958±139	2,307,955	no clear change
Average household size	2.27±0.06	2.43	no clear change
Housing units	6,424±72	2,545,030	−189

Pope County's population since 2000

From 11,236 in 2000 to 11,420 in 2025: up 1.6%. The 2000, 2010 and 2020 figures are census counts. The 2005 figure is the Census Bureau's intercensal estimate, revised to fit the 2000 and 2010 counts and drawn on 2010 boundaries; 2015 and 2025 are July 1 estimates made from the census before them.

2000 Census 11,236
2005 (estimate) 11,142
2010 Census 10,995
2015 (estimate) 10,930
2020 Census 11,308
2025 (estimate) 11,420

Source: The 2000, 2010 and 2020 Census counts and the Census Bureau's population estimates (intercensal 2000-2010, Vintage 2020, Vintage 2025) · Census population estimates

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); PEP Vintage 2025 (CO-EST2025); 2020 Census · Check it at data.census.gov

What cities and towns are in Pope County?

Pope County holds 30 places: 10 cities, villages and boroughs (incorporated places) and 20 towns and townships (county subdivisions with their own government). The largest is Glenwood with 2,631 residents (2025 estimate). Places that cross a county line are listed with the share of their 2020 residents who live in this county.

Places in Pope County, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Ring: estimate with a coefficient of variation over 40%.

Glenwood	city	2,657	2,633±54	$42,188	$179,400	18.4%	100%
Starbuck	city	1,365	1,235±121	$72,583	$168,300	10.3%	100%
Glenwood Township	township	1,169	1,053±144	$87,448	$367,300	5.6%	100%
Leven Township	township	536	495±99	$91,250	$385,500	5.3%	100%
Minnewaska Township	township	513	533±118	$120,833	$450,000	1.9%	100%
White Bear Lake Township	township	469	512±93	$107,875	$316,700	5.5%	100%
Reno Township	township	431	410±62	$122,273	$445,500	2.4%	100%
Long Beach	city	338	318±71	$92,361	$367,300	5.7%	100%
Lowry	city	334	348±62	$80,000	$177,100	5.6%	100%
Cyrus	city	305	355±51	$57,083	$105,200	12.2%	100%
Grove Lake Township	township	271	304±78	$88,580	$288,500	4.6%	100%
Ben Wade TownshipGEOID 2712105302	township	262	250±64	$110,000	$338,900	6.8%	100%
Westport TownshipGEOID 2712169646	township	237	267±50	$77,188	$342,500	5.8%	100%
Villard	city	225	236±60	$56,000	$152,400	15.7%	100%
Chippewa Falls Township	township	218	284±53	$98,125	$346,200	8.5%	100%
Gilchrist Township	township	213	222±53	$73,750	$379,700	14.0%	100%
Nora Township, Pope CountyGEOID 2712146456	township	203	191±39	$105,625	$287,500	0.5%	100%
Walden Township, Pope CountyGEOID 2712167702	township	185	159±38	$69,875	$325,000	1.3%	100%
New Prairie Township	township	181	233±45	$110,000	$350,000	6.4%	100%
Blue Mounds TownshipGEOID 2712106760	township	177	188±65	$96,136	$267,000	4.8%	100%
Langhei Township	township	171	251±70	$133,750	$346,900	10.8%	100%
Bangor TownshipGEOID 2712103502	township	164	141±34	$88,750	$295,500	9.9%	100%
Hoff TownshipGEOID 2712129456	township	162	248±71	$110,000	$341,700	1.2%	100%
Barsness TownshipGEOID 2712103754	township	137	115±42	$120,313	$383,300	2.6%	100%
Lake Johanna TownshipGEOID 2712134586	township	124	169±49	$67,019	$250,000	9.5%	100%
Rolling Forks TownshipGEOID 2712155240	township	118	148±45	$98,750	$330,000	8.5%	100%
FarwellGEOID 2720690	city	56	43±18	$59,792	$126,800	14.0%	100%
WestportGEOID 2769628	city	44	37±21	$84,375	$108,900	8.1%	100%
SedanGEOID 2759188	city	43	40±15	$61,042	$85,000	25.0%	100%
Brooten	city	626	602±72	$48,250	$144,000	18.4%	0%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); 2020 place-by-county parts · Check it at data.census.gov

Who lives in Pope County?

The median resident of Pope County is 45.3 years old; 21.4% are under 18 and 25.5% are 65 or older. The largest group is non-Hispanic white residents at 93.7%, then non-Hispanic residents of two or more races at 2.6%. 1.1% of residents were born outside the United States.

Age, origin and education, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Race groups are non-Hispanic; Hispanic includes any race.
Measure	Pope County	Minnesota	Change since 2015-2019
Median age	45.3±0.4	38.8	no clear change
Under 18 years	21.4%±0.2 pts	22.9%	–
65 years and over	25.5%±0.4 pts	17.3%	–
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	2.1%	6.4%	+0.5 pts
White alone, not Hispanic	93.7%±0.6 pts	75.9%	−2.3 pts
Black or African American alone, not Hispanic	0.6%±0.2 pts	6.9%	–
Asian alone, not Hispanic	0.7%±0.1 pts	5.1%	no clear change
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic	0.1%±0.1 pts	0.7%	–
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic	0.0%±0.2 pts	0.0%	–
Two or more races, not Hispanic	2.6%±0.6 pts	4.5%	–
Some other race alone, not Hispanic	0.3%±0.2 pts	0.5%	–
Born outside the United States	1.1%±0.3 pts	8.7%	no clear change
Speak a language other than English at home (age 5+)	2.7%±0.5 pts	12.4%	–
Civilian veterans (age 18+)	7.9%±1.0 pts	5.9%	–
With a disability	13.5%±1.2 pts	11.6%	–
No health insurance coverage	3.0%±0.8 pts	4.7%	no clear change
High school graduate or higher (age 25+)	95.7%±1.0 pts	93.9%	–
Bachelor's degree or higher (age 25+)	23.9%±1.9 pts	39.4%	no clear change
Graduate or professional degree (age 25+)	7.0%±1.2 pts	13.8%	–
Moved from another state in the past year	0.5%±0.3 pts	1.8%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profiles DP02, DP05) · Check it at data.census.gov

What do households in Pope County earn?

Half of Pope County's 4,958 households earn less than $76,220 a year (±$1,806), against $89,062 in Minnesota. In 2015-2019 it was $75,411 in 2024 dollars; the margins of error cannot tell the two periods apart. 9.4% of residents live below the poverty line.

Income and poverty in 2024 dollars, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Pope County	Minnesota	Change since 2015-2019
Median household income	$76,220±$1,806	$89,062	no clear change
Mean household income	$94,724±$3,759	$118,304	–
Per capita income	$41,437±$1,724	$48,237	no clear change
People below the poverty line	9.4%±1.6 pts	9.3%	+2.2 pts
Children under 18 below the poverty line	10.2%±4.2 pts	10.3%	no clear change
Households receiving SNAP	7.1%±1.8 pts	7.9%	–
Households with a broadband subscription	88.3%±1.7 pts	91.6%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What does housing cost in Pope County?

Owners occupy 83.5% of Pope County's occupied homes and renters 16.5%. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $255,100 by its owner (±$14,719). The median renter pays $902 a month including utilities, and 50.1% of renters pay 35% or more of their income on rent.

Housing, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Pope County	Minnesota	Change since 2015-2019
Median home value (owner-occupied)	$255,100±$14,719	$329,300	+$40,590
Median gross rent	$902±$53	$1,280	+$153
Renters paying 35% or more of income on rent	50.1%±8.3 pts	38.4%	+24.2 pts
Median monthly owner costs, with a mortgage	$1,593±$57	$1,947	–
Owner-occupied homes	83.5%±2.2 pts	72.2%	+6.0 pts
Housing units	6,424±72	2,545,030	−189
Homeowner vacancy rate	0.4%±0.3 pts	0.6%	–
Rental vacancy rate	8.3%±6.5 pts	5.3%	–
Single-family detached homes	84.4%±2.1 pts	66.0%	–
Mobile homes	2.7%±0.6 pts	2.9%	–
Built 2020 or later	1.1%±0.4 pts	1.9%	–
Built 1939 or earlier	23.8%±2.2 pts	15.6%	–

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP04) · Check it at data.census.gov

How many new homes is Pope County building?

Builders took permits for 33 new housing units across Pope County in 2025 (31 single-family), 2.9 per 1,000 residents.

2019 35 units
2020 40 units
2021 65 units
2022 35 units
2023 42 units
2024 37 units
2025 33 units

Source: Building Permits Survey, annual county files 2019-2025, U.S. Census Bureau · Census Building Permits Survey

How do people in Pope County get to work?

72.8% of Pope County's workers drive alone and 11.7% work from home. The average trip to work takes 22.7 minutes. The unemployment rate in 2020-2024 averaged 1.3%.

Work and commuting, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure	Pope County	Minnesota	Change since 2015-2019
In the labor force (age 16+)	62.7%±1.5 pts	68.1%	–
Unemployment rate	1.3%±0.4 pts	4.1%	−1.0 pts
Drove alone to work	72.8%±2.5 pts	68.9%	–
Carpooled	9.2%±1.8 pts	7.5%	–
Public transportation	0.5%±0.3 pts	1.8%	–
Walked	4.6%±1.8 pts	2.5%	–
Worked from home	11.7%±1.5 pts	17.6%	+5.7 pts
Mean travel time to work	22.7 min±1.4	22.7 min	+3.2 min

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What are Pope County's census tracts?

Pope County is divided into 4 census tracts. Among those with a reliable estimate, median household income runs from $57,212 (Tract 9704) to $89,837 (Tract 9703).

Census tracts of Pope County, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates; sort by any column

Tract 970127121970100	Villard (7%)	2,322	2,282±168	$75,734	$268,400	$1,111	7.7%
Tract 970227121970200	Starbuck (34%)	2,931	2,915±143	$82,155	$240,200	$1,016	6.8%
Tract 970327121970300	Cyrus (5%)	2,598	2,788±144	$89,837	$320,000	$769	6.4%
Tract 970427121970400	Glenwood (69%)	3,457	3,433±168	$57,212	$211,400	$865	15.3%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) · Check it at data.census.gov

How does Pope County compare with Minnesota's other counties?

Pope County's rank among Minnesota's counties with a reliable estimate (1 = highest)
Measure	Rank
Population	64th of 87
Growth 2020-2025	39th of 87
Residents per square mile	62nd of 87
Median household income	33rd of 87
Median home value	32nd of 87
Median gross rent	43rd of 87
Poverty rate	52nd of 87
Bachelor's degree or higher	51st of 87
Median age	18th of 87

Every county in Minnesota

Source: PlainCities ranks from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) and PEP Vintage 2025 · How ranks are computed

How these figures are made: methodology and release checks · reading a margin of error · every state · corrections

Not on this page: crime, weather and schools for Pope County are other agencies' records. Crime: the FBI's Crime Data Explorer · climate: NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals · schools: the National Center for Education Statistics' school search.