Hibbing was founded in 1893 by the town's namesake, Frank Hibbing. Hibbing was born in Hanover, Germany on December 1, 1856 and was christened Frans Dietrich Von Ahlen. His mother, who died when he was still in infancy, was of English birth, and it was her name, Hibbing, which he assumed when he set out to seek his fortune in the New World. He first settled in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin where he worked on a farm and in a shingle mill. After deciding he was not familiar enough with the English language to make a legal career possible, he turned to timber cruising. In 1887, Mr. Hibbing settled in Duluth where he established a real estate business and began explorations on the Vermilion Range. In 1892, he headed a party of thirty men at Mountain Iron and cut a road through the wilderness to Section 22, 58-20. An expert iron ore prospector, he soon discovered the surface indication which led him to believe in the existence of extensive ore deposits.

In July 1893, the townsite of Hibbing was laid out and named in honor of him. Feeling personally responsible as Hibbing's creator, he took deepest pride in its development and by his generous aid made its progress possible. He used his personal means to provide a water plant, electric light plant, the first roads, hotel, sawmill and bank building. For the last ten years of his life, Mr. Hibbing made his home in Duluth where many of his business interests were centered. He retained close contact with the community which bore his name, until he died of appendicitis on July 30, 1897 at age forty.

In 1914 two men, Carl Wickman and Andrew "Bus Andy" Anderson, started a bus line between Hibbing and Alice, Minnesota which would eventually become Greyhound Lines, the world's largest bus company.

The town is the home to the world's largest iron ore mine, which was discovered by Leonidas Merritt. Hibbing grew rapidly in its early years as the huge iron ore mines such as the Mahoning, Hull Rust, Sellers and Burt provided the raw material for America's industrial revolution. In fact, the mines encroached on the village from the east, north and south and it was determined that some of the ore body actually went under the town whose population had hit 20,000 by 1915.

Negotiations between the Oliver Mining Company and the village finally brought about a plan whereby the entire city would relocate to a site two miles south near the small hamlet of Alice. The company, for its part, agreed to develop the downtown buildings with low interest loans that could be paid off over the years by the retailers. New civic structures such as Hibbing High School, the Androy Hotel, the Village Hall and the Rood Hospital were also constructed with mining company money. In all, about 200 structures were moved down the First Avenue Highway, as it was called, to the new city. These included a store and even a couple of large hotels. Only one structure didn't make it. A hotel tumbled off the rollers and crashed to the ground leaving, as one witness said, "an enormous pile of kindling". The move started in 1919, and the first phase was completed in 1921. North Hibbing remained as a business and residential center through the 1930s when the mining companies bought the remaining structures. The last house was moved in 1968.[citation needed]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 186.5 square miles (483.1 km²) and is the largest city in Minnesota by area and the 40th largest city, by area, in the United States. 181.7 square miles (470.5 km²) of it is land and 4.8 square miles (12.5 km²) of it (2.60%) is water. McCarthy Beach State Park is nearby.

The Northern Divide intersects the Eastern Continental Divide near Hibbing, with waters draining to the Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes.

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,071 people, 7,439 households, and 4,597 families residing in the city. The population density was 94.0 people per square mile (36.3/km²). There were 8,037 housing units at an average density of 44.2/sq mi (17.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.33% White, 0.46% Black, 0.73% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.68% of the population. 17.1% were of German, 12.4% Finnish, 10.5% Norwegian, 9.4% Italian, 6.4% Irish and 5.9% Swedish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 7,439 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.4 males.