Mountain Iron is a city in
Saint Louis County,
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, United States, in the heart of the
Mesabi Range
The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district and mountain range in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iro ...
. The population was 2,878 at the
2020 census.
U.S. Highway 169 serves as a main route in Mountain Iron.
The city's motto is "
Taconite Capital of the World". The local mine, Minntac, is owned by the
United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel).
Mountain Iron is part of the
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a region of five cities (originally Tri-Cities, later four, see #History, History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf (the fifth to be included) in southeaster ...
, with
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
,
Eveleth, and
Gilbert.
History
Mountain Iron was founded in 1892 as a mining village in the former Nichols Township. It was named after the nearby
Mountain Iron Mine.
Mountain Iron was incorporated as a city in 1972.
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 ; is land and is water.
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 2,869 people, 1,336 households, and 796 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 1,442 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.8%
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 ...
, 0.3%
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 ...
, 0.7%
Native American, 0.2%
Asian, and 2.0% 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 0.6% of the population.
There were 1,336 households, of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% 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, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.4% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.72.
The median age in the city was 45.4 years. 20.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.8% were from 25 to 44; 33% were from 45 to 64; and 17.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.8% male and 50.2% 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 2,999 people, 1,326 households, and 847 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,409 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.30%
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 ...
, 0.77%
Native American, 0.23%
Asian, 0.13% from
other races, and 0.57% 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 0.40% of the population. 27.3% were of
Finnish, 11.2%
German, 9.8%
Italian, 8.8%
Norwegian, 6.1%
Swedish and 5.1%
Slovene ancestry.
There were 1,326 households, out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% 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, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,163, and the median income for a family was $52,695. Males had a median income of $41,806 versus $22,837 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 $18,761. About 7.8% of families and 10.7% 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 17.0% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.
References
Further reading
* Beck, J. Robert. ''Well, Here We Are! The Hansons and the Becks''. Lincoln, Nebraska: iUniverse, 2005. . A history of a Swedish-Finnish immigrant family in Mountain Iron and the surrounding area.
External links
City of Mountain Iron��''
Taconite Capital of the World''—The city's official site
{{authority control
Cities in Minnesota
Cities in St. Louis County, Minnesota
Mining communities in Minnesota
Populated places established in 1892
1892 establishments in Minnesota