Regional Workforce Analysis · IRRRB Service Area

Northeast Minnesota
County Labor Force Overview

U.S. Census ACS 2019–2023  ·  MN DEED Projections  ·  75% Participation Scenario
Note: Data reflect the IRRRB service area portions of each county — not full county boundaries where the entire county is not within the IRRRB.
Itasca Lake N. St. Louis Aitkin / Crow Wing Cook
Demographics  (U.S. Census ACS 2019–2023)
Metric Itasca Lake N. St. Louis Aitkin/Crow Wing Cook
Total population (2023) 45,141 10,911 200,056 83,043 5,633
Median age 46.949.641.348.552.3
Population change 2020–2024 +0.28% +0.06% −0.09% +1.49% +0.59%
Labor Force Conditions
Metric Itasca Lake N. St. Louis Aitkin/Crow Wing Cook
Overall labor force participation rate 55.2%61.5%68.7%54.6%71.3%
Dual-caregiver participation rate 66.4%67.5%66.1%78.0%94.5%
Unemployment rate 4.9%4.0%3.2%5.1%4.0%
75% Participation Scenario  (State Average Target)
Metric Itasca Lake N. St. Louis Aitkin/Crow Wing Cook
Target participation rate (state avg) 75%75%75% Already above Already above
Participation gap to close +9.0 pts +7.0 pts +9.0 pts
Potential new workers if gap closed 206 43 547 0 0

Potential New Workers by County

If labor force participation reaches the 75% state average target (IRRRB service area)
N. St. Louis
547
Itasca
206
Lake
43
Aitkin / Crow Wing
✓ Already above 75% target
Cook
✓ Already above 75% target
Total potential new workers (region)
if participation gap fully closed
796