County Maps US

Carlton County, Minnesota

A county in Minnesota, ranked 29 of 87 by population.

CountyFIPS 27017

Within Minnesota
Carlton County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks Carlton, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
36,711
+521 (+1.4%) since 2020
Land area
861.2
square miles. A further 1.6% of the total area is water
Population density
42.6
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
Carlton
Seat of county government.
Established
1857
168 years ago
Largest city
Cloquet city
Population 12,399.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Carlton County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Carlton County, Minnesota from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 559 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Carlton County ranks

Position among the 87 counties of Minnesota, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn MinnesotaNationally
Population36,71129th of 871,276th of 3,144
Land area861.2 sq mi28th of 87963rd of 3,144
Population density42.6 per sq mi32nd of 871,617th of 3,144
Median household income$80,57320th of 87561st of 3,143

Full data for Carlton County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population36,711Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 202036,190Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?36,200Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area861.2 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area14.0 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area875.2 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?42.6 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$80,573American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$245,100American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age41.4American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households14,090American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units15,896American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
-119
330 births, 449 deaths
Net migration
+104
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 4 areas bordering Carlton County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
St. Louis CountyMinnesota43 mi200,518
Pine CountyMinnesota36 mi30,472
Aitkin CountyMinnesota24 mi16,252
Douglas CountyWisconsin17 mi43,990

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 87 counties of Minnesota

Open the interactive Minnesota county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.