Beltrami County, Minnesota

Beltrami County is a county in Minnesota, United States, in the north-central part of the
state, roughly 200 miles north-northwest of Minneapolis. It had a population of 46,228 at the
2020 census, an estimated 47,055 by 2025, and covers 2,505 square miles of land (6,490 km2),
centred near 48°01′N 94°55′W.

Bemidji is the county seat and the county’s only city of any size; its postal code is 56601.
The county holds 8 cities, 4 census-designated places and dozens of smaller unincorporated
communities across 45 organized townships and 5 unorganized territories, and it runs on Central
Time. Its FIPS code is 27007.

Towns & Villages in Beltrami County

Beltrami County has 51 named places on record: 8 incorporated cities, 4 census-designated
places (CDPs) inside the Red Lake Indian Reservation, and 39 smaller unincorporated communities
with no local government of their own. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers
hamlets, resort settlements and mobile-home parks with no formal boundary.

Wilton and Turtle River share Bemidji’s 56601 ZIP even though both are separately
incorporated cities; their post office service comes out of Bemidji rather than a local office.
Nebish and Puposky, both unincorporated, share the 56667 ZIP centred on Puposky’s post office.
Little Rock, the largest CDP outside the Red Lake reservation villages, has no ZIP of its own and
is served by surrounding rural routes.

Townships

Beltrami County has 45 organized civil townships plus five unorganized territories in the
Red Lake Indian Reservation area. Most are lightly populated and unnamed on maps beyond their own
borders; the table below covers the ones with a documented population count and a named
settlement.

Northern Township incorporated as the new city of Northern in February 2026, splitting off
from unincorporated status; its first mayoral and council elections are set for November 2026,
which will trim the county’s township count once the change is final.

ZIP Codes

• 56601 — Bemidji (also serves Wilton and Turtle River, both unincorporated cities
  without a ZIP of their own)
• 56630 — Blackduck (also serves Funkley) and 56663, Blackduck’s second ZIP
• 56650 — Kelliher
• 56666 — Ponemah
• 56667 — Puposky (also serves Nebish)
• 56670 — Redby
• 56671 — Red Lake
• 56683 — Tenstrike
• 56685 — Waskish

Little Rock and most of the smaller unincorporated communities in the table above have no ZIP
code of their own; mail there is delivered under whichever incorporated town’s code covers
that rural route.

Geography

Beltrami County covers 3,056 square miles in all, of which 2,505 are land and 551 are water
— about 18 percent of the county’s area, the fourth-highest land total of any Minnesota
county. Red Lake, the largest lake entirely within Minnesota, occupies much of the county’s
northeast quarter and gives the Red Lake Indian Reservation its name. The northernmost stretch of
the Mississippi River flows through the county’s southern townships, near its source at Lake
Itasca just across the county line.

Nine counties border Beltrami. Lake
of the Woods County lies to the north, Koochiching
County to the northeast, Itasca County
to the east, Cass County to the
southeast, Hubbard County to the south,
Clearwater County to the
southwest, Pennington County and
Marshall County to the west,
and Roseau County to the northwest.

Demographics

Beltrami County had a population of 46,228 at the 2020 census, and Census Bureau estimates put
the county near 46,512 residents by 2024. Bemidji, with 14,574 residents, is by far the largest
community; Red Lake, at 1,786, is the largest of the reservation villages. Median household
income runs $68,975 (2024 estimate), below Minnesota’s statewide figure of $85,086 (2023
ACS). The county’s poverty rate, 16.1 percent as of 2024, is well above the national average.
Population density works out to roughly 18 people per square mile of land — sparse even by
northern Minnesota standards, reflecting the county’s large share of lake, reservation and
forest land.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector, with about
4,361 workers, followed by retail trade at 2,719 and educational services at 2,638. Sanford
Health’s Bemidji hospital campus is the single largest employer in the county, with about
2,200 workers, ahead of Bemidji Public Schools (975) and Bemidji State University (555). Beltrami
County government itself employs about 325 people. Bemidji State University and Northwest
Technical College, both in Bemidji, anchor the county’s higher-education base. The Paul
Bunyan Winter Carnival, held in Bemidji each winter, is the county’s best-known annual
event, alongside summer festivals such as Art in the Park and the Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon.

History

The Minnesota Legislature created Beltrami County on 28 February 1866 and organized it in 1896.
It was named for Giacomo Costantino Beltrami, an Italian explorer who traveled through the area
in 1825 while searching for the source of the Mississippi River. Bemidji was incorporated as the
county seat the same year the county organized, on 20 May 1896.

Much of northeastern Beltrami County lies within the Red Lake Indian Reservation, home to the
Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, one of the few reservations in the United States held as
tribal land rather than divided into individual allotments. On 21 March 2005, a student at Red
Lake Senior High School shot and killed his grandfather and the grandfather’s companion at
home, then killed five students, a teacher and a security guard at the school before killing
himself — one of the deadliest school shootings in US history at the time. The Red Lake
community and its schools have since rebuilt with new tribal-run facilities.

Getting There

US Route 2 crosses the county east-west through Bemidji, and US Route 71 runs north-south
through the county from Bemidji to Waskish. No interstate highway reaches Beltrami County;
Minnesota Highways 89, 92, 197 and 371 fill in the rest of the network.

• Fargo, ND — about 100 miles southwest
• Duluth — about 140 miles east-southeast
• Grand Forks, ND — about 105 miles west
• Minneapolis — about 200 miles south-southeast

Bemidji Regional Airport, on the city’s north side, offers passenger service on Delta
Connection and Sun Country Airlines. The nearest Amtrak station is Detroit Lakes, roughly 70 miles
southwest on the Empire Builder line between Chicago and Seattle/Portland.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Beltrami County located?
It sits in north-central Minnesota, about 200 miles north-northwest of Minneapolis, bordered by
nine counties including Lake of the Woods, Koochiching and Itasca.

What is the population of Beltrami County?
46,228 at the 2020 census, with an estimated 46,512 residents by 2024.

How big is Beltrami County?
3,056 square miles in total, of which 2,505 square miles are land — the fourth-largest land
area of any Minnesota county.

What is the county seat of Beltrami County?
Bemidji is the county seat and largest city, incorporated in 1896.

How many towns and villages are in Beltrami County?
Eight incorporated cities — Bemidji, Blackduck, Funkley, Kelliher, Solway, Tenstrike, Turtle
River and Wilton — plus four census-designated places on the Red Lake reservation and dozens
of smaller unincorporated communities.

What ZIP codes does Beltrami County use?
56601 for Bemidji, Wilton and Turtle River; 56630 and 56663 for Blackduck; 56650 for Kelliher;
56666 for Ponemah; 56667 for Puposky and Nebish; 56670 for Redby; 56671 for Red Lake; 56683 for
Tenstrike; and 56685 for Waskish.

What is Beltrami County known for?
Red Lake, the largest lake entirely within Minnesota, and the Red Lake Indian Reservation, one of
the few reservations in the country held as undivided tribal land.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Minnesota.