North Branch, Minnesota, United States

🇺🇸 North Branch is a city in Chisago County, Minnesota, United States, at the junction of Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highway 95. It is named for the north branch of the Sunrise River, which flows through the city.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 36.04 square miles (93.34 km²), of which, 35.60 square miles (92.20 km²) is land and 0.44 square miles (1.14 km²) is water.

History North Branch became a township in 1861, and incorporated in 1881. In 1901 North Branch split into a village covering the more densely populated downtown area and a township covering the rest of the former village. The township later incorporated as the village of Branch in 1961. The two cities talked about a potential merger for years, beginning in the late 1970s. The first public referendum on the issue was held in 1984, and failed. A second referendum was held on September 13, 1994, and passed. The two cities officially merged on November 14, 1994.

Demographics As of the census of 2020, there were 10,787 people and 3,881 households. 94% of residents had at least a high school education, and 20.5% had attained a Bachelor's degree or higher. 4.9% were veterans.

98.9% of residents were born in the United States, and 80.4% had been born in Minnesota. Among the foreign-born population, 85.0% were naturalized US citizens, the majority of whom were born in Asia. 97.3% of residents spoke only English at home.

The racial makeup of the city was 89.8% White alone (95.0% White alone or in combination), 2.1% Asian, 1.1% Black, 0.7% Native American, and 1.0% some other race. 5.3% were two or more races. The most common ancestries in North Branch were German (30.3%), Swedish (14.5%), Norwegian (13.2%), Irish (7.1%), and Polish (4.1%). Among cities with at least 10,000 people, North Branch has the highest concentration of people with Swedish ancestry in the United States.

Among workers 16 years and older, 81.6% commuted to work via car, 10.6% carpooled, 0.9% used public transit, and 2.4% walked, biked, or used some other method. 5.0% worked from home. The median household income in North Branch was $85,213, slightly above the state average. 9.2% of residents lived below the poverty line, and 2.3% were unemployed. 85.8% of housing in the city was owner-occupied.

The average family size in North Branch was 3.21 persons, and 60.1% of households were married-couple families.

Public schools • Sunrise River Elementary School • North Branch Area Middle School • North Branch Area High School.