Carlton is a city and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Carlton County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 948 at the
2020 census.
The town sits on the northwestern edge of Jay Cooke State Park.
Minnesota State Highways
45 and
210 and County Roads 1 and 3 are four of Carlton's main routes. It is five miles south of
Cloquet and 21 miles southwest of
Duluth
Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...
.
History
In 1870, the
Northern Pacific Railroad
The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...
finished a stretch of track that linked
Duluth
Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...
to
St. Paul. Temporary shacks were erected for the workmen at the place that was soon known as "Northern Pacific Junction". In 1881, this settlement was incorporated as Carlton. It takes its name from former State Senator Reuben B. Carlton.
Thomson merged with Carlton in 2015.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has an area of , of which is land and is water.
The
Saint Louis River is nearby. Carlton is the home of Black Bear Casino Resort.
Thomson Dam, Thomson Reservoir, and
Jay Cooke State Park are also nearby, and the
Willard Munger Bicycle Trail runs through the city of Carlton.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 862 people, 337 households, and 175 families living in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 355 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.0%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.5%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 4.3%
Native American, 0.3%
Asian, 0.5% from
other races, and 2.4% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 1.5% of the population.
There were 337 households, of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.6% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 48.1% were non-families. 43.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 25.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.82.
The median age in the city was 44.2 years. 18% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.2% were from 25 to 44; 21.4% were from 45 to 64; and 27.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 44.8% male and 55.2% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 810 people, 306 households, and 179 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 325 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.19%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 3.46%
Native American, 0.12% from
other races, and 1.23% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 0.62% of the population. 25.1% were of
German, 15.3%
Norwegian, 12.4%
Finnish, 9.8%
Swedish, 6.0%
Polish and 5.5%
Irish ancestry according to
Census 2000.
There were 306 households, out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.5% were non-families. 37.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.5% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 28.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,477, and the median income for a family was $44,792. Males had a median income of $32,614 versus $21,167 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $15,586. About 6.3% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 13.1% of those under 18 and 8.8% of those 65 or over.
Festival
''Carlton Daze'' is the name of the city of Carlton's celebration that is usually held annually in late July.
Education
Most of Carlton is in the
Carlton School District while a small section is in the
Esko Public School District.
References
External links
City of Carlton, MN website
{{Coord, 46, 39, 50, N, 92, 25, 30, W, type:city_region:US-MN, display=title
Cities in Carlton County, Minnesota
Cities in Minnesota
County seats in Minnesota