Map
|- class="hiddenStructure"
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" |
Location in the state of
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background:#E0E0E0;" | Statistics
|-
!style="background:#efefef;"| Formed
|
|-
!style="background:#efefef;"| Seat
|
|-
!style="background:#efefef;"| License plate
|
|-
!style="background:#efefef;"| Area - Total - Land - Water
|
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,972 km² (1,920 mi²). 4,501 km² (1,738 mi²) of it is land and 471 km² (182 mi²) of it (9.48%) is water.
As of the census² of 2000, there were 36,835 people, 14,693 households, and 10,270 families residing in the county. The population density was 8/km² (21/mi²). There were 19,646 housing units at an average density of 4/km² (11/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.58% White, 0.11% Black or African American, 0.87% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.42% from other races, and 1.70% from two or more races. 1.64% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 14,693 households out of which 30.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.60% were married couples living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.50% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 25.40% from 25 to 44, 29.30% from 45 to 64, and 13.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 100.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,803, and the median income for a family was $37,930. Males had a median income of $32,504 versus $21,086 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,263. About 11.90% of families and 15.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.20% of those under age 18 and 10.20% of those age 65 or over.
