Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation

Freeborn County had the highest annual precipitation of 87 counties in 2015, at 41.16 inches. Pennington County had the lowest, at 19.01 inches. The median was 29.86 inches and the figure for Minnesota was 29.46 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest41.16Freeborn County
Median29.8687 counties
Minnesota29.46History

Map of counties, 2015

Aitkin County: 29.86 inchesAnoka County: 34.98 inchesBecker County: 26.13 inchesBeltrami County: 24.77 inchesBenton County: 32.92 inchesBig Stone County: 23.37 inchesBlue Earth County: 36.77 inchesBrown County: 29.69 inchesCarlton County: 30.79 inchesCarver County: 34.49 inchesCass County: 27.46 inchesChippewa County: 27.4 inchesChisago County: 34.82 inchesClay County: 21.7 inchesClearwater County: 24.78 inchesCook County: 36.23 inchesCottonwood County: 33.7 inchesCrow Wing County: 26.66 inchesDakota County: 38.19 inchesDodge County: 38.39 inchesDouglas County: 27.13 inchesFaribault County: 34.72 inchesFillmore County: 35.46 inchesFreeborn County: 41.16 inchesGoodhue County: 38.89 inchesGrant County: 24.42 inchesHennepin County: 35.03 inchesHouston County: 35.78 inchesHubbard County: 27.63 inchesIsanti County: 32.36 inchesItasca County: 28.38 inchesJackson County: 32.52 inchesKanabec County: 33.22 inchesKandiyohi County: 27.77 inchesKittson County: 25.54 inchesKoochiching County: 28.97 inchesLac qui Parle County: 26.11 inchesLake County: 32.25 inchesLake of the Woods County: 26.29 inchesLe Sueur County: 38.53 inchesLincoln County: 29.66 inchesLyon County: 28.48 inchesMcLeod County: 29.54 inchesMahnomen County: 24.87 inchesMarshall County: 21.48 inchesMartin County: 33.42 inchesMeeker County: 28.09 inchesMille Lacs County: 32.56 inchesMorrison County: 28.81 inchesMower County: 40.75 inchesMurray County: 33.19 inchesNicollet County: 33.48 inchesNobles County: 31.47 inchesNorman County: 20.32 inchesOlmsted County: 37 inchesOtter Tail County: 22.99 inchesPennington County: 19.01 inchesPine County: 33.32 inchesPipestone County: 33.12 inchesPolk County: 20.6 inchesPope County: 27.49 inchesRamsey County: 36.74 inchesRed Lake County: 20.42 inchesRedwood County: 27.9 inchesRenville County: 25.76 inchesRice County: 40.71 inchesRock County: 29.95 inchesRoseau County: 26.28 inchesSt. Louis County: 31.14 inchesScott County: 34.94 inchesSherburne County: 33.61 inchesSibley County: 29.62 inchesStearns County: 29.1 inchesSteele County: 40.58 inchesStevens County: 25.78 inchesSwift County: 27.13 inchesTodd County: 27.7 inchesTraverse County: 21.61 inchesWabasha County: 37.73 inchesWadena County: 25.84 inchesWaseca County: 40.57 inchesWashington County: 39.24 inchesWatonwan County: 32.72 inchesWilkin County: 19.19 inchesWinona County: 37.1 inchesWright County: 33.76 inchesYellow Medicine County: 27.2 inches
  • Under 26
  • 26 to 28
  • 28 to 30
  • 30 to 33
  • 33 to 37
  • 37 and over
inches, 2015. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2015

Freeborn County: 41.16 inchesFreeborn County41.16Mower County: 40.75 inchesMower County40.75Rice County: 40.71 inchesRice County40.71Steele County: 40.58 inchesSteele County40.58Waseca County: 40.57 inchesWaseca County40.57Washington County: 39.24 inchesWashington County39.24Goodhue County: 38.89 inchesGoodhue County38.89Le Sueur County: 38.53 inchesLe Sueur County38.53Dodge County: 38.39 inchesDodge County38.39Dakota County: 38.19 inchesDakota County38.19Wabasha County: 37.73 inchesWabasha County37.73Winona County: 37.1 inchesWinona County37.1Olmsted County: 37 inchesOlmsted County37Blue Earth County: 36.77 inchesBlue Earth County36.77Ramsey County: 36.74 inchesRamsey County36.74Cook County: 36.23 inchesCook County36.23Houston County: 35.78 inchesHouston County35.78Fillmore County: 35.46 inchesFillmore County35.46Hennepin County: 35.03 inchesHennepin County35.03Anoka County: 34.98 inchesAnoka County34.98Scott County: 34.94 inchesScott County34.94Chisago County: 34.82 inchesChisago County34.82Faribault County: 34.72 inchesFaribault County34.72Carver County: 34.49 inchesCarver County34.49Wright County: 33.76 inchesWright County33.76Cottonwood County: 33.7 inchesCottonwood County33.7Sherburne County: 33.61 inchesSherburne County33.61Nicollet County: 33.48 inchesNicollet County33.48Martin County: 33.42 inchesMartin County33.42Pine County: 33.32 inchesPine County33.32Kanabec County: 33.22 inchesKanabec County33.22Murray County: 33.19 inchesMurray County33.19Pipestone County: 33.12 inchesPipestone County33.12Benton County: 32.92 inchesBenton County32.92Watonwan County: 32.72 inchesWatonwan County32.72Mille Lacs County: 32.56 inchesMille Lacs County32.56Jackson County: 32.52 inchesJackson County32.52Isanti County: 32.36 inchesIsanti County32.36Lake County: 32.25 inchesLake County32.25Nobles County: 31.47 inchesNobles County31.47Freeborn County: 41.16 inchesFreeborn County41.16Mower County: 40.75 inchesMower County40.75Rice County: 40.71 inchesRice County40.71Steele County: 40.58 inchesSteele County40.58Waseca County: 40.57 inchesWaseca County40.57Washington County: 39.24 inchesWashington County39.24Goodhue County: 38.89 inchesGoodhue County38.89Le Sueur County: 38.53 inchesLe Sueur County38.53Dodge County: 38.39 inchesDodge County38.39Dakota County: 38.19 inchesDakota County38.19Wabasha County: 37.73 inchesWabasha County37.73Winona County: 37.1 inchesWinona County37.1Olmsted County: 37 inchesOlmsted County37Blue Earth County: 36.77 inchesBlue Earth County36.77Ramsey County: 36.74 inchesRamsey County36.74Cook County: 36.23 inchesCook County36.23Houston County: 35.78 inchesHouston County35.78Fillmore County: 35.46 inchesFillmore County35.46Hennepin County: 35.03 inchesHennepin County35.03Anoka County: 34.98 inchesAnoka County34.98Scott County: 34.94 inchesScott County34.94Chisago County: 34.82 inchesChisago County34.82Faribault County: 34.72 inchesFaribault County34.72Carver County: 34.49 inchesCarver County34.49Wright County: 33.76 inchesWright County33.76Cottonwood County: 33.7 inchesCottonwood County33.7Sherburne County: 33.61 inchesSherburne County33.61Nicollet County: 33.48 inchesNicollet County33.48Martin County: 33.42 inchesMartin County33.42Pine County: 33.32 inchesPine County33.32Kanabec County: 33.22 inchesKanabec County33.22Murray County: 33.19 inchesMurray County33.19Pipestone County: 33.12 inchesPipestone County33.12Benton County: 32.92 inchesBenton County32.92Watonwan County: 32.72 inchesWatonwan County32.72Mille Lacs County: 32.56 inchesMille Lacs County32.56Jackson County: 32.52 inchesJackson County32.52Isanti County: 32.36 inchesIsanti County32.36Lake County: 32.25 inchesLake County32.25Nobles County: 31.47 inchesNobles County31.47
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2015
inches
Change on 2014
1Freeborn County41.16+21.1%
2Mower County40.75+13.8%
3Rice County40.71+12.9%
4Steele County40.58+17.8%
5Waseca County40.57+22.7%
6Washington County39.24+5.3%
7Goodhue County38.89+12%
8Le Sueur County38.53+19.2%
9Dodge County38.39+7.8%
10Dakota County38.19+12.9%
11Wabasha County37.73+7.9%
12Winona County37.1-5.1%
13Olmsted County37+2.4%
14Blue Earth County36.77+21.7%
15Ramsey County36.74+6%
16Cook County36.23+9.2%
17Houston County35.78-7.5%
18Fillmore County35.46-5%
19Hennepin County35.03+0.5%
20Anoka County34.98-1.9%
21Scott County34.94-3.6%
22Chisago County34.82-7.2%
23Faribault County34.72+11.8%
24Carver County34.49-4.4%
25Wright County33.76-1.8%
26Cottonwood County33.7+22%
27Sherburne County33.61-6.8%
28Nicollet County33.48+15.1%
29Martin County33.42+17.4%
30Pine County33.32-6.8%
31Kanabec County33.22-17%
32Murray County33.19+21.4%
33Pipestone County33.12+26%
34Benton County32.92-7.9%
35Watonwan County32.72+10.8%
36Mille Lacs County32.56-16%
37Jackson County32.52+22.4%
38Isanti County32.36-12.4%
39Lake County32.25+5.9%
40Nobles County31.47+25.7%
41St. Louis County31.14+8%
42Carlton County30.79-4%
43Rock County29.95+17.4%
44Aitkin County29.86-6.4%
45Brown County29.69+1.6%
46Lincoln County29.66+17.7%
47Sibley County29.62-4.5%
48McLeod County29.54-4.6%
49Stearns County29.1-10.4%
50Koochiching County28.97-2.2%
51Morrison County28.81-15.2%
52Lyon County28.48+14.9%
53Itasca County28.38+4.3%
54Meeker County28.09-2.8%
55Redwood County27.9+3.6%
56Kandiyohi County27.77-10.6%
57Todd County27.7-10.2%
58Hubbard County27.63+11.6%
59Pope County27.49-15.3%
60Cass County27.46-0.5%
61Chippewa County27.4-13.9%
62Yellow Medicine County27.2-2.2%
63Douglas County27.13-10.6%
63Swift County27.13-14.2%
65Crow Wing County26.66-14.6%
66Lake of the Woods County26.29-7.1%
67Roseau County26.28+19.6%
68Becker County26.13+6.8%
69Lac qui Parle County26.11-9.7%
70Wadena County25.84-2.5%
71Stevens County25.78-6.1%
72Renville County25.76-11.7%
73Kittson County25.54+17%
74Mahnomen County24.87+3.2%
75Clearwater County24.78+4.7%
76Beltrami County24.77+0.4%
77Grant County24.42-6.4%
78Big Stone County23.37-9.6%
79Otter Tail County22.99-13.3%
80Clay County21.7-4.8%
81Traverse County21.61-7.4%
82Marshall County21.48+2.5%
83Polk County20.6-5%
84Red Lake County20.42+1.6%
85Norman County20.32-6.9%
86Wilkin County19.19-15.4%
87Pennington County19.01+0.5%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total precipitation from January to December, in inches: rain plus the water content of snow and other frozen precipitation. NOAA computes it from its climate divisional dataset (nClimDiv): station readings interpolated onto a 5 km grid and averaged over the area.

Values are area averages, not the reading at one weather station. NOAA revises the last two years every month.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. (2026). NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties (Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping

MLA 9

NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation, 2015. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, 6 Oct. 2026, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/minnesota-counties?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. 2026. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/minnesota-counties?period=2015.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/minnesota-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_minnesota_by_2015,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation, 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/minnesota-counties?period=2015. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
TI  - NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation, 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
PB  - NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/minnesota-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/minnesota-counties?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. From the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Divisional Database (nClimDiv), doi:10.7289/V5M32STR. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Rank Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which county has the highest annual precipitation?

Freeborn County, with 41.16 inches in 2015, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Pennington County, with 19.01 inches in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Annual precipitation: other rankings

Counties in Minnesota: more rankings