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County growth rate to remain high BY KEN FRANCIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER ` Despite a slowdown in the real estate market, Sherburne County is expected to see a big increase in the number of new households over the next 10 tc 25 years. Minnesota State Demographic Center projec- tions show 161,700 new house- holds will be added in the 11 counties of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro area by 2015. That is about two-thirds of the state's total projected increase and represents a 14% increase in the area. Scott County tops the list in projected growth at 58% with Sherburne County next at 48%, followed by Wright and Chisago counties. Household types will also change. While the number of households with children is expected, to rise slightly in Sherburne County each year, households without children are expected to triple by 2030. In 2005, over 35% of house- holds in the county were mar- ried couples with children. By 2030, those households will make up just 26% of the total, although that total is still high- er than the projected state average of 18%. At the same time, single family households in the county are expected to increase from 4,570 to 13,770 and the number of senior households will jump from 3,307 to 15,330. The changes reflect both the aging popula- tion and changes in social cus- toms and lifestyles. A study completed this summer by students at St. Cloud State shows the median age in the county has increased from 24.9 years to 31.1 years between 1960 and 2006. The county had 84,966 people in County Population by Age 7% 21°, 43% ^ 0-19 ^ 20-44 ^ 45-65 ®6S+ 2006, of which 23,870 were under the age of 19. There were 5,800 people over the age of 65 compared to 1,427 in 1960. The majority of the pop- ulation, 43%, was between the ages of 20 and 44. Diversity Although the number of foreign-born people is increas- ing in the Twin Cities area, the trend towards increasing diversity has not followed at the same pace in Sherburne County. In 1960, 98.36% of the county's population was white. That number was 96.4%in 2005, and 95.7% of the population spoke English at home. Only 1.5% of the population in the county was foreign-born. Two percent of the popula- tion reports speaking Spanish as their other language. Spanish and Russian were the two languages most frequently asked to be translated. Income Although the median household income in 2000 was $65,650, Sherburne County still had its share of people liv- ing in poverty. In 1999, 2.3% of families were considered at or below poverty level. That number was 15% when the female was head of household and no hus- band was present. In 2005, 4.9% of all indi- viduals were in poverty and 3.5% were under the age of 18. For seniors living alone, 10.1% were at or below the poverty level. Overall Numbers The county's population has increased 516% since 1940, and every city has seen an increase in population. The biggest percentage increase (692%) has occurred in Becker, where the population jumped from 601 in 1940 to 4,164 in 2006. Zimmerman was next at 508% (1,074 to 5,465), followed by Big Lake at 415% (2,210 to 9,194) and Elk River at 326% (6,785 to , 22,125.)