Stearns County, Minnesota

Stearns County is a located in the  of, founded in 1855. As of 2000, the population was 133,166. Its is. It was named after, a local politician.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 3,600 (1,390 ). 3,482 km² (1,345 sq mi) of it is land and 118 km² (45 sq mi) of it (3.27%) is water.

Adjacent counties

 * and (north)
 * and (east)
 * (southeast)
 * and (south)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 133,166 people, 47,604 households, and 32,132 families residing in the county. The was 38/km² (99/sq mi). There were 50,291 housing units at an average density of 14/km² (37/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 95.99%, 0.83% or , 0.26% , 1.58% , 0.03% , 0.47% from , and 0.82% from two or more races. 1.37% of the population were or  of any race. 56.9% were of and 9.4%  ancestry according to.

There were 47,604 households out of which 35.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.30% were living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.50% were non-families. 23.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.15. In the county the population was spread out with 25.70% under the age of 18, 16.10% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 19.10% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 101.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,426, and the median income for a family was $51,553. Males had a median income of $34,268 versus $23,393 for females. The for the county was $19,211. About 4.30% of families and 8.70% of the population were below the, including 6.70% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns
† Although mainly in Stearns County, the city extends into a neighboring county. ‡ These cities are based in an adjacent county, but extend into Stearns County.