2025

Cities in Cass County, MN ranked by Black Population

This list ranks the 66 cities in Cass County based on their Black or African American population, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. It also highlights population changes in these cities over the past five years.
Updated Jan 24, 2025

Top 5 cities with the largest Black population in Cass County

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  • 1
    Backus
    Black population in Backus is 61
    17.38% of Backus population is Black
  • 2
    Ponto Lake township
    Black population in Ponto Lake township is 50
    6.05% of Ponto Lake township population is Black
  • 3
    Pike Bay township
    Black population in Pike Bay township is 33
    1.43% of Pike Bay township population is Black
  • 4
    Gould township
    Black population in Gould township is 29
    11.28% of Gould township population is Black
  • 5
    Turtle Lake township
    Black population in Turtle Lake township is 25
    2.92% of Turtle Lake township population is Black

List of 66 cities in Cass County, MN by Black Population

View Methodology
Rank by Black Population
City
Black Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total Cass County Black Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 Backus 61 17.38% 14.52%
2 Ponto Lake township 50 6.05% 11.90%
3 Pike Bay township 33 1.43% 7.86%
4 Gould township 29 11.28% 6.90%
5 Turtle Lake township 25 2.92% 5.95%
6 Crooked Lake township 24 3.90% 5.71%
7 Wilkinson township 23 3.76% 5.48%
8 20 0.66% 4.76%
9 18 2.36% 4.29%
10 16 1.38% 3.81%
10 16 1.05% 3.81%
11 15 1.50% 3.57%
12 14 1.32% 3.33%
13 13 2.43% 3.10%
14 12 2.20% 2.86%
15 11 1.12% 2.62%
16 6 1.13% 1.43%
16 6 0.96% 1.43%
17 4 0.71% 0.95%
17 4 0.75% 0.95%
18 3 0.54% 0.71%
18 3 3.23% 0.71%
18 3 1.68% 0.71%
18 3 0.54% 0.71%
18 3 2.88% 0.71%
19 2 0.22% 0.48%
20 1 0.53% 0.24%
20 1 0.52% 0.24%
20 1 0.50% 0.24%

List of cities with no Black Population in Cass County, MN

According to data from the United States Census Bureau, the following cities in Cass County have no recorded Black population*:
  • Bena
  • Boy River
  • Chickamaw Beach
  • East Gull Lake
  • Hackensack
  • Longville
  • Pillager
  • Remer
  • Motley
  • Motley
  • Ansel township
  • Becker township
  • Beulah township
  • Blind Lake township
  • Boy Lake township
  • Boy River township
  • Bull Moose township
  • Byron township
  • Deerfield township
  • Hiram township
  • Home Brook township
  • Loon Lake township
  • McKinley township
  • Meadow Brook township
  • Moose Lake township
  • Otter Tail Peninsula township
  • Pine Lake township
  • Pine River township
  • Poplar township
  • Powers township
  • Rogers township
  • Slater township
  • Smoky Hollow township
  • Thunder Lake township
  • Torrey township
  • Wabedo township
  • Lima township
* These cities were not included in the ranking above, as they do not meet the population criteria. It is possible that a small population exists but was not reported or captured due to limitations or variations in Census data collection and reporting.

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks cities in Cass County, MN by their Black or African American population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census Defines Black Population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their race, meaning individuals can choose one or more racial categories when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as Black, whether alone or in combination with another race.
Here are a few important things to know about how race is reported:
  • Some people identify as Black alone, while others identify as Black along with another race (such as Black and White).
  • Hispanic / Latino origin is reported separately from race, so someone can be both Hispanic and Black .
  • We’ve used the “Black alone or in combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Black population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Black alone or in combination in cities. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Black .
  2. % of Total Cass County Black Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Black population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Black populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • Cities that don’t have any reported Black population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Black populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.