County outline
Where Beltrami County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 82% of Beltrami County’s measured area and water for 18%. Its combined area converts to 7,912.8 square kilometers or approximately 1,955,283 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 2,504.662 | 6,487.045 | 1,602,983.7 |
| Water | 550.468 | 1,425.706 | 352,299.5 |
| Total | 3,055.13 | 7,912.75 | 1,955,283.2 |
How Beltrami County compares
By original Census land area, Beltrami County ranks #4 of 87 in Minnesota and #218 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 3.713 times the Minnesota county-equivalent median of 674.6 square miles. It accounts for 3.1% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Minnesota ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Beltrami County
The Census Bureau estimates that 47,055 people lived in Beltrami County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,064 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #21 of 87 in Minnesota. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 46,220, the population has grown by 835 (+1.8%), compared with +2.2% for Minnesota as a whole.
With 2,504.7 square miles of land, that is 19 people per square mile (7.3 per km²), placing Beltrami County #2,363 nationally for density and #57 in Minnesota. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Minnesota median is 27. Put another way, there are about 34 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 46,232 | 46,473 | 46,687 | 46,570 | 46,779 | 47,055 |
| Change | — | +241 | +214 | −117 | +209 | +276 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Beltrami County
Beltrami County is divided into 55 municipalities and townships. In Minnesota, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents; a few are unorganized areas without their own government.
The most populous is Bemidji city, with 15,770 residents (33.5% of the county). The largest by land is Upper Red Lake UT, at 694.8 mi², or 27.7% of the county’s land. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Bemidji township grew fastest since then (+38.4%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bemidji cityCounty seat | 15,770 | +2.3% | 17.4 | 0.7% |
| Lower Red Lake UT | 5,223 | −3.6% | 140.9 | 5.6% |
| Bemidji townshipCounty seat | 4,031 | +38.4% | 20.4 | 0.8% |
| Northern township | 3,701 | +1.2% | 22.7 | 0.9% |
| Grant Valley township | 2,346 | −4% | 33.9 | 1.4% |
| Eckles township | 1,945 | −3.1% | 30.9 | 1.2% |
| Frohn township | 1,582 | +4.9% | 32.4 | 1.3% |
| Turtle Lake township | 1,258 | −4% | 28.8 | 1.1% |
| Turtle River township | 1,194 | −2.1% | 31.5 | 1.3% |
| Ten Lake township | 1,092 | +2% | 22.5 | 0.9% |
| Blackduck city | 815 | −4.1% | 2.326 | 0.1% |
| Port Hope township | 721 | −4% | 28.5 | 1.1% |
| Liberty township | 717 | −3.5% | 33 | 1.3% |
| Hines township | 596 | −4% | 29.7 | 1.2% |
| Lammers township | 573 | −4% | 34.9 | 1.4% |
Show the other 40 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hagali township | 340 | −3.1% | 33.2 |
| Buzzle township | 299 | −3.5% | 34.9 |
| Nebish township | 277 | −3.5% | 34.3 |
| Wilton city | 267 | −1.1% | 2.947 |
| Jones township | 262 | −3.3% | 35.2 |
| Brook Lake UT | 261 | −3.3% | 25.4 |
| Kelliher city | 246 | −3.5% | 2.2 |
| Moose Lake township | 245 | −3.5% | 31 |
| Summit township | 241 | −4% | 35 |
| Durand township | 220 | −3.9% | 15.1 |
| Roosevelt township | 210 | −4.1% | 34.2 |
| Sugar Bush township | 208 | −4.1% | 29.4 |
| Hornet township | 203 | −3.8% | 35.3 |
| Langor township | 201 | −3.8% | 36.1 |
| Cormant township | 196 | −3.9% | 36.4 |
| Shooks township | 181 | −4.2% | 36.4 |
| Alaska township | 180 | −4.3% | 32.4 |
| Tenstrike city | 179 | −3.8% | 3.307 |
| Kelliher township | 122 | −3.9% | 33.5 |
| Maple Ridge township | 108 | −4.4% | 34.2 |
| Taylor township | 106 | −5.4% | 32.1 |
| Benville township | 94 | −4.1% | 34.4 |
| Birch township | 91 | −4.2% | 34.2 |
| Waskish township | 91 | −3.2% | 65.1 |
| Turtle River city | 82 | −3.5% | 1.067 |
| Woodrow township | 78 | −1.3% | 35.9 |
| Quiring township | 76 | −3.8% | 23.8 |
| Solway city | 72 | −4% | 1.03 |
| Battle township | 47 | −4.1% | 13.8 |
| Spruce Grove township | 47 | −4.1% | 34.6 |
| O'Brien township | 44 | −4.3% | 35.8 |
| Lee township | 38 | −5% | 36.2 |
| Shotley township | 32 | −3% | 32.7 |
| North Beltrami UT | 29 | −3.3% | 215.5 |
| Shotley Brook UT | 28 | −3.4% | 35.6 |
| Steenerson township | 24 | −4% | 36.1 |
| Minnie township | 21 | −4.5% | 34.9 |
| Hamre township | 19 | −5% | 35.9 |
| Upper Red Lake UT | 14 | −6.7% | 694.8 |
| Funkley city | 12 | 0% | 0.756 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Beltrami County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Beltrami County is a central county of the Bemidji, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area. Beltrami County is the area’s only county equivalent, so the micro area has the same 2,504.7 square miles of land. By combined land it ranks #61 of 542 micropolitan areas, and #248 by population.
ZIP codes
18 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Beltrami County; 12 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
566015663056633566475665056652566615666356666566675667056671566765667856683566855672556727
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Beltrami County
Beltrami County shares a land border with 9 county equivalents. It has more land than 7 of them. The largest neighbor is Koochiching County (3,104.7 mi²) and the smallest is Pennington County (616.5 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Beltrami County forms a block of 17,584.3 mi² of land, of which it holds 14.2%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Beltrami | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Koochiching County | 3,104.7 | 1.2× larger | Compare |
| Itasca County | 2,667.5 | 1.1× larger | Compare |
| Cass County | 2,021.5 | 1.2× smaller | Compare |
| Marshall County | 1,775.1 | 1.4× smaller | Compare |
| Roseau County | 1,671.7 | 1.5× smaller | Compare |
| Lake of the Woods County | 1,297.7 | 1.9× smaller | Compare |
| Clearwater County | 999 | 2.5× smaller | Compare |
| Hubbard County | 926 | 2.7× smaller | Compare |
| Pennington County | 616.5 | 4.1× smaller | Compare |
How big is Beltrami County compared with U.S. states?
Beltrami County has more land than 2 of the 50 states. It is about 1.3 times the land area of Delaware (1,948.6 mi²), while Connecticut, the next larger state, has 1.9 times as much land (4,842.5 mi²). Minnesota’s county land could hold about 32 areas the size of Beltrami County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 50 miles (80.5 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Beltrami County?
Beltrami County has more land than 3,004 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Beltrami County at #182 nationally by total area, 36 places closer to the top than its land rank. The water assigned to this geography moves it ahead of some county equivalents with more land.
Its water share is 18%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 16.8 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Beltrami County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #217 | Washington County, Colorado | 2,518.1 | Compare |
| #218 | Beltrami County, Minnesota | 2,504.7 | This county |
| #219 | Stevens County, Washington | 2,477.1 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 47.878892, -94.980236. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 6,487,045,152 m²; AWATER: 1,425,705,747 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Beltrami County?
Beltrami County, Minnesota has 2,504.7 square miles (6,487 km²) of land and 550.5 square miles of water, for a total area of 3,055.1 square miles. It ranks #218 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Beltrami County the largest county in Minnesota?
No. Beltrami County ranks #4 of 87 in Minnesota by land area. The largest is St. Louis County, with 6,248.1 square miles of land.
What counties border Beltrami County?
Beltrami County shares a land border with Clearwater County, Lake of the Woods County, Koochiching County, Itasca County, Marshall County, Hubbard County, Roseau County, Cass County, and Pennington County.
What is the population of Beltrami County?
The Census Bureau estimates Beltrami County had 47,055 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,064 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 19 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Beltrami County?
The county seat of Beltrami County is Bemidji.
What cities and towns are in Beltrami County?
Beltrami County has 55 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Bemidji city, Lower Red Lake UT, Bemidji township, Northern township, and Grant Valley township.
Is Beltrami County part of a metropolitan area?
Yes. It is a central county of the Bemidji, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.
How many ZIP codes are in Beltrami County?
18 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Beltrami County, and 12 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Beltrami County compare with U.S. states?
It has more land than 2 of the 50 states, including Delaware (1,948.6 square miles of land).
How many acres of land are in Beltrami County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 1,602,984 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 1,955,283 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.