As of the census of 2000, there were 68,978 people, 22,578 households, and 16,572 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,718.1 people per square mile (1,049.5/km²). There were 22,828 housing units at an average density of 1,007.2/sq mi (388.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.22% White, 2.18% African American, 0.67% Native American, 1.60% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 1.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.51% of the population.
There were 22,578 households out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.7% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $55,550, and the median income for a family was $62,260. Males had a median income of $41,195 versus $30,277 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,915. About 3.6% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.6% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.
While commercial traffic on the Mississippi River once passed through Coon Rapids - steamboats could reach as far as St. Cloud under certain conditions - the construction of the dam marked the city as the northern terminus of the navigable portion of the river.
U.S. Route 10 and Minnesota State Highways 47 and 610 are three of the main arterial routes in the city.
The city will have one of the first six stations of the Northstar Corridor commuter rail line connecting the northwest suburbs and downtown Minneapolis; the line is set for completion in late 2009.