According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,623 square miles (4,200 km2), of which 1,621 square miles (4,200 km2) is land and 2.3 square miles (6.0 km2) (0.1%) is water.[4]
As of the 2010 census, there were 2,890 people, 1,233 households, and 810 families living in the county. The population density was 1.8 inhabitants per square mile (0.69/km2). There were 1,470 housing units at an average density of 0.9 units per square mile (0.35 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.4% white, 0.6% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.1% black or African American, 0.2% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 53.0% were German, 24.8% were Irish, 12.1% were Norwegian, 10.6% were English, 5.3% were Scotch-Irish, and 0.4% were American.
Of the 1,233 households, 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 5.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.3% were non-families, and 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.88. The median age was 42.9 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $52,529 and the median income for a family was $64,500. Males had a median income of $41,570 versus $30,000 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,819. About 5.7% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.
