Langlade lost its northernmost area along the Michigan border to Forest County when it was created in 1885.

[5] The highest point in the county is at the foot of the Basswood Lookout Tower, west of Summit Lake (elev: 1857').

As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 20,740 people, 8,452 households, and 5,814 families residing in the county.

The racial makeup of the county was 97.93% White, 0.15% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.2% from other races, and 0.87% from two or more races.

26.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Beginning in 1952, Langlade County has voted Republican in all but three presidential elections, backing Lyndon B. Johnson in his 1964 landslide, choosing Bill Clinton in 1996 with a prominent third party showing from Ross Perot keeping Clinton from obtaining a majority in the county, and narrowly supporting Barack Obama in 2008 by just 101 votes and less than a 1% margin of victory.