As of the census of 2000, there were 39,858 people, 14,337 households, and 9,261 families residing in the county. The population density was 47 people per square mile (18/km2). There were 15,277 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile (7/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 96.08% White, 0.34% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 2.13% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. 0.84% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 39.3% were of German, 22.6% Norwegian and 5.1% Irish ancestry. 95.7% spoke English, 1.6% Spanish and 1.5% Hmong as their first language.