Traverse County, Minnesota Demographics

Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.

Traverse County, MN Population Density Map and Area Scores

Area Score

Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.

  • B
    Health Around average
    Less healthy than 84% of counties in Minnesota
  • B
    Income Around average
  • D
    Education Well below average

Source: Map AI Methodology

Traverse County
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Population density, people per sq mi

Population: density and quick facts

Metric Traverse County Minnesota Avg U.S. Average
Population 3,243 5,724,000 337,468,954
Population density (per sq mi) 5.5 65.8 86.4
Population growth (%/yr) -0.57% 0.64% 0.59%
Median age 46.4 37.1 37.3
Households 1,311 2,299,361 130,235,071

Population in Traverse County declined by 12.0% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 3,243 in 2024.

Population Growth 2009–2024

Year Traverse County

Race & Ethnicity

Group Share

Age & Sex

The largest generation in Traverse County is Boomers, aged 61–79, at 21.1% of residents. That is 4.6 points above Minnesota as a whole.

Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below Minnesota, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.

Male and female share

Women are 50.3% of the people living in Traverse County and men 49.7%.

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3,243

100% of everyone living in Traverse County

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Economy

Traverse County has a the economy index of B, which means it is quite prosperous.

Metric Traverse County Minnesota Avg U.S. Average
Median household income $62,029 $89,852 $80,455
Income growth (%/yr) 2.78% 4.43% 4.80%
Unemployment rate 4.5% 4.1% 5.2%

The median household income in Traverse County is about 31% lower than in Minnesota.

Detailed wealth and income breakdown →

Housing

Metric Traverse County Minnesota Avg U.S. Average
Median home price $47,777 $236,718 $248,835
Median rent $615 $1,280 $1,407
Homeownership rate 81.8% 72.2% 65.2%

The median home price in Traverse County is about 6.5 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $615 per month for that long.

Full housing market analysis →

Commute Time & Mobility

Commuters in Traverse County spend about 25 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 103 hours, about 4.3 full days, spent commuting.

Metric Traverse County Minnesota Avg U.S. Average
One-way commute (min) 12.4 20.3 22.4
Round-trip commute (min) 24.8 40.6 44.8
Yearly time spent (hours) 103 169 187
Estimated yearly cost $3,198 $5,249 $5,790
Work from home 16.8% 17.6% 15.0%
Highway traffic (vehicles/day) 1,343 7,066 8,813
Local road traffic (vehicles/day) 193 854 1,355

Fastest commutes among counties in Minnesota: Brown County (10.6 min), Pennington County (10.8 min), Cottonwood County (10.9 min).
Slowest: Chisago County (30.9 min), Wright County (28.8 min), Sherburne County (28.8 min).

The average commute time in Traverse County is 12 minutes, shorter than the 20 minutes in Minnesota.

Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.

Commute and transport details →

Education & Households

Traverse County has a education index of D, which means it is barely educated.

Metric Traverse County Minnesota Avg U.S. Average
Bachelor's degree or higher 15.8% 35.5% 31.6%
Average household size 2.39 2.43 2.53

Highest education index among counties in Minnesota: Hennepin County (0.4), Olmsted County (0.4), Carver County (0.4).
Lowest: Nobles County (0.2), Mahnomen County (0.2), Watonwan County (0.2).

Health

Traverse County has a health index of B, which means it is quite healthy.

Metric Traverse County Minnesota Avg U.S. Average
Life expectancy (years) 78.0 80.8 78.3
Self-rated poor health 14.3% 13.0% 16.3%
Smokers 17.6% 18.5% 19.0%

Highest health index among counties in Minnesota: Carver County (0.8), Washington County (0.8), Stevens County (0.8).
Lowest: Mahnomen County (0.8), Clearwater County (0.8), Beltrami County (0.8).

Full health data →

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Traverse County, Minnesota.

How big is Traverse County, Minnesota by population?

About 3,243 people live in Traverse County, Minnesota, in 1,311 households of 2.4 people on average. The median age is 46.4, so residents are older than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 9 years.

Is Traverse County, Minnesota urban or rural?

Averaged over its land area, Traverse County, Minnesota has 6 people per square mile, a density typical of rural areas. That is about 6% of the U.S. average of 86.

Can a typical household afford a home in Traverse County, Minnesota?

The median home costs 0.8 times the median household income ($47,777 against $62,029), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $615 a month takes about 12% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.

How common is a college degree in Traverse County, Minnesota?

15.8% of adults in Traverse County, Minnesota hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 6), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.

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