# Koochiching County, Minnesota: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to International Falls Koochiching County is not a build-out site today. It feels the boom through the grid it shares, the utilities that serve it and the work nearby. Koochiching County is home to International Falls, Ranier and Littlefork. Construction employs 159, down 38.1% since 2019. Next door, St. Louis County has 7 data centers. Employers here counted 4,163 jobs in 2025, down 8.0% from 2019. Its power plants have 66 MW of capacity, 79% of it other technologies. -8.0% total jobs since 2019, now 4,163 66 MW of operating power plants, mostly other technologies 15.66¢ per kWh for ALLETE, Inc. residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Koochiching County Koochiching County is home to International Falls, Ranier and Littlefork. International Falls5,481 residents Ranier541 residents Littlefork530 residents Big Falls170 residents Northome155 residents Mizpah51 residents Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Nett Lake. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Koochiching County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Minnesota | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 12,027 | 11,587 | ▼ 3.7% | 62nd of 87 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 4,525 | 4,163 | ▼ 8.0% | 78th of 87 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $45,622 | $56,855 | ▲ 24.6% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 257 | 159 | ▼ 38.1% | 72nd of 72 by growth | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 6.1% | 6.5% | ▲ 0.4pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | ALLETE, Inc. is the largest utility serving Koochiching County, one of 5 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 15.66¢/kWh in 2024, above the 14.36¢ median for Minnesota utilities. Unemployment was 6.5% in August 2026, against 6.1% in 2019. 11,587 people live here, down 3.7% since 2020. ## Who powers Koochiching County ### Utilities with service territory in Koochiching County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | ALLETE, Inc. | Investor Owned | Bundled | 125,896 | 15.66¢ | 14% | | Lake Country Power | Cooperative | Bundled | 47,204 | 17.90¢ | 17% | | Beltrami Electric Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 20,732 | 14.40¢ | 35% | | North Itasca Electric Coop Inc | — | — | — | — | — | | North Star Electric Coop, Inc | — | — | — | — | — | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Other technologies | 52 MW | 79% | | Hydro | 14 MW | 21% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Boise Cascade International Falls | Boise White Paper LLC | Other technologies | 52 MW | 2015 | | International Falls Power | Boise White Paper LLC | Hydro | 14 MW | 1924 | ## The Koochiching County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 4,163 | $56,855 | 1.00 | | Construction | 159 | $74,053 | 0.72 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Koochiching County No data center, local measure or delayed project is on record in Koochiching County. Minnesota has 25 local measures on record statewide. ## Koochiching County and its neighbors Of the 4 counties that border Koochiching County, St. Louis County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Koochiching County | 11,587 | ▼ 8.0% | 66 MW | — | — | — | | Beltrami County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/beltrami-county) | 47,055 | ▲ 2.5% | 51 MW | 50 MW | — | — | | Itasca County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/itasca-county) | 45,404 | ▲ 1.4% | 956 MW | — | — | — | | Lake of the Woods County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/lake-of-the-woods-county) | 3,770 | ▼ 11.5% | — | — | — | — | | St. Louis County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/st-louis-county) | 200,518 | ▼ 3.4% | 269 MW | — | 7 | — | ## More of Minnesota [All Minnesota countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota)[St. Louis County200,518 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/st-louis-county)[Beltrami County47,055 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/beltrami-county)[Itasca County45,404 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/itasca-county)[Lake of the Woods County3,770 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/lake-of-the-woods-county) ## Koochiching County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Koochiching County, Minnesota? 5 utilities have service territory in Koochiching County in the EIA-861 2024 report: ALLETE, Inc., Lake Country Power, Beltrami Electric Coop, Inc, North Itasca Electric Coop Inc. The largest, ALLETE, Inc., charged residential customers 15.66¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Koochiching County? 2 operating plants with 66 MW of capacity. The largest is Boise Cascade International Falls (52 MW, other technologies). ### Are there data centers in Koochiching County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Koochiching County. The nearest activity on record is next door in St. Louis County. ### Is Koochiching County adding jobs? Employers counted 4,163 jobs in 2025 against 4,525 in 2019 (-8.0%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 257 to 159. ### Does Koochiching County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for Koochiching County. Minnesota has 25 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/minnesota/koochiching-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).