Hallock was platted in 1879. The city was named for Charles Hallock, an American writer. Hallock was incorporated as a city in 1887. A post office has been in operation at Hallock since 1879.
At the 2010 census, there were 981 people, 449 households and 256 families living in the city. The population density was. There were 549 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 98.7% White, 0.1% African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.8% of the population. There were 449 households of which 19.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couplesliving together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.0% were non-families. 40.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.04 and the average family size was 2.77. The median age in the city was 51.9 years. 17.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 17% were from 25 to 44; 31.5% were from 45 to 64; and 29.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.2% male and 52.8% female.
2000 census
As of census of 2000, there were 1,196 people, 485 households and 305 families living in the city. The population density was 573.2 per square mile. There were 586 housing units at an average density of 280.9 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 97.91% White, 0.08% African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.59% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.42% of the population. There were 485 households of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.00. 24.8% of the population were under the age of 18, 3.8% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 26.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.3 males. The median household income was $37,063 and the median family income was $46,042. Males had a median income of $31,848 compared with $21,136 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,156. About 3.3% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
Hallock was a main filming location in the Coen brothers' 1996 film Fargo, substituting as a fictional version of Brainerd, Minnesota due to Hallock having a better snowfall than Brainerd during production.
