Welcome to Bemidji ...
The city of Bemidji is located in Beltrami County<1> and is the County Seat for Beltrami County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Bemidji, you might consider that their post office opened in 1898.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Bemidji has a population of 15,436 people<2> (see below for details).
Bemidji is 1,370 feet [418 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Bemidji lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
The area code for Bemidji: (218)
The ZIP codes for Bemidji: 56601, 56619<4>
The Pronunciation of Bemidji ..
We have heard more than one pronunciation for Bemidji:<5><6>
beh-MID-jee
The name has its origin in the Ojibwe language, as Bemijigamaag, (spelled in the increasingly standard double-vowel orthography for that language).
Pronunciation of the Ojibwe is approximately bay-mee-jee-GUH-maug, though the B, J, and G are so lightly voiced as to shade into P, CH, and K, and the accent on the fourth syllable is more a rise in pitch than an increase in volume.
Bemijigamaag translates to 'where the route crosses obliquely': the Mississippi River enters Lake Bemidji at the southwest corner. To continue down the Mississippi River, you would cross the lake at an oblique angle from southwest to the northeast.
Though not commonly used, the most prevalent demonym is Bemidjian.
Websites for Bemidji ...
Official Website: www.ci.bemidji.mn.us/
Chamber of Commerce: www.bemidji.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Bemidji had an population of 15,436 people. This is an increase of 14.93% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 29.53% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Bemidji had a population of 13,431 people (or 30.13% of the total population of Beltrami County). This makes Bemidji the county's most populous community.
The population of Bemidji represents 0.25% of the population of Minnesota (which has 5,303,925 people), making it the state's 76th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 13,431 people, the population of Bemidji increased 12.7% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 11,917 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Bemidji.
Communities near Bemidji ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Bemidji.
- Cass Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cass Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cass Lake
- Cass Lake is located in Cass County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 764 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cass Lake <8>
- Tenstrike
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenstrike
- Tenstrike is located in Beltrami County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 204 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tenstrike <8>
- Shevlin
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shevlin have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shevlin
- Shevlin is located in Clearwater County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shevlin <8>
- Laporte
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laporte have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laporte
- Laporte is located in Hubbard County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laporte <8>
- Solway
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solway
- Solway is located in Beltrami County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Solway <8>
- Turtle River
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle River
- Turtle River is located in Beltrami County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
- Wilton
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Wilton is located in Beltrami County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 295 people
- Rosby
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Puposky
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puposky
- Puposky is located in Beltrami County
- Pinewood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood
- Pinewood is located in Beltrami County
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Bemidji. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Bemidji.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Bemidji. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bemidji.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Bemidji. Our list includes 25 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Bemidji.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Bemidji ...
Looking for more information about Bemidji? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Bemidji, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Bemidji.
Adding Bemidji to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Bemidji in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Bemidji was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Bemidji post office opened in 1898.
We also found Bemidji on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Minnesota (1932).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Bemidji.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Bemidji: www.ci.bemidji.mn.us/
The official website for Beltrami County: www.co.beltrami.mn.us/
The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Minnesota's counties, including Beltrami, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Bemidji. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Bemidji - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Bemidji). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Bemidji or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <5> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Bemidji. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <6> | Our gratitude to Brian Donovan for his explanation concerning the origin and pronunciation of Bemidji. |
| <7> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <8> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |