Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation

Winona County had the highest annual precipitation of 87 counties in 2017, at 42.06 inches. Kittson County had the lowest, at 14.98 inches. The median was 29.59 inches and the figure for Minnesota was 28.3 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest42.06Winona County
Lowest14.98Kittson County
Median29.5987 counties
Minnesota28.3History

Map of counties, 2017

Aitkin County: 32.57 inchesAnoka County: 31.52 inchesBecker County: 22.18 inchesBeltrami County: 19.11 inchesBenton County: 31.64 inchesBig Stone County: 25.48 inchesBlue Earth County: 29.5 inchesBrown County: 31.12 inchesCarlton County: 34.92 inchesCarver County: 30.43 inchesCass County: 27.08 inchesChippewa County: 29.56 inchesChisago County: 31.24 inchesClay County: 18.45 inchesClearwater County: 19.37 inchesCook County: 36.65 inchesCottonwood County: 32.36 inchesCrow Wing County: 32.74 inchesDakota County: 33.27 inchesDodge County: 34.83 inchesDouglas County: 30.11 inchesFaribault County: 30.08 inchesFillmore County: 34.28 inchesFreeborn County: 34.27 inchesGoodhue County: 35.63 inchesGrant County: 25.56 inchesHennepin County: 31.98 inchesHouston County: 36.62 inchesHubbard County: 22.43 inchesIsanti County: 34.01 inchesItasca County: 27.91 inchesJackson County: 32.46 inchesKanabec County: 35.67 inchesKandiyohi County: 30.61 inchesKittson County: 14.98 inchesKoochiching County: 22.88 inchesLac qui Parle County: 27.73 inchesLake County: 35.1 inchesLake of the Woods County: 19.69 inchesLe Sueur County: 29.4 inchesLincoln County: 28.2 inchesLyon County: 28.78 inchesMcLeod County: 23.95 inchesMahnomen County: 20.2 inchesMarshall County: 18.45 inchesMartin County: 29.59 inchesMeeker County: 27.62 inchesMille Lacs County: 33.89 inchesMorrison County: 32.96 inchesMower County: 35.78 inchesMurray County: 31.57 inchesNicollet County: 25.73 inchesNobles County: 29.52 inchesNorman County: 18.12 inchesOlmsted County: 36.79 inchesOtter Tail County: 26.87 inchesPennington County: 18.74 inchesPine County: 35.24 inchesPipestone County: 28.73 inchesPolk County: 18.24 inchesPope County: 28.58 inchesRamsey County: 32.22 inchesRed Lake County: 18.94 inchesRedwood County: 32.66 inchesRenville County: 33.99 inchesRice County: 33.93 inchesRock County: 27.44 inchesRoseau County: 18.52 inchesSt. Louis County: 32.49 inchesScott County: 31.8 inchesSherburne County: 31.07 inchesSibley County: 25.17 inchesStearns County: 29.48 inchesSteele County: 33.8 inchesStevens County: 26.9 inchesSwift County: 27.77 inchesTodd County: 32.8 inchesTraverse County: 21.55 inchesWabasha County: 38.74 inchesWadena County: 27.65 inchesWaseca County: 32.5 inchesWashington County: 32.08 inchesWatonwan County: 29.52 inchesWilkin County: 21.95 inchesWinona County: 42.06 inchesWright County: 28.45 inchesYellow Medicine County: 28.88 inches
  • Under 22
  • 22 to 28
  • 28 to 30
  • 30 to 32
  • 32 to 34
  • 34 and over
inches, 2017. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2017

Winona County: 42.06 inchesWinona County42.06Wabasha County: 38.74 inchesWabasha County38.74Olmsted County: 36.79 inchesOlmsted County36.79Cook County: 36.65 inchesCook County36.65Houston County: 36.62 inchesHouston County36.62Mower County: 35.78 inchesMower County35.78Kanabec County: 35.67 inchesKanabec County35.67Goodhue County: 35.63 inchesGoodhue County35.63Pine County: 35.24 inchesPine County35.24Lake County: 35.1 inchesLake County35.1Carlton County: 34.92 inchesCarlton County34.92Dodge County: 34.83 inchesDodge County34.83Fillmore County: 34.28 inchesFillmore County34.28Freeborn County: 34.27 inchesFreeborn County34.27Isanti County: 34.01 inchesIsanti County34.01Renville County: 33.99 inchesRenville County33.99Rice County: 33.93 inchesRice County33.93Mille Lacs County: 33.89 inchesMille Lacs County33.89Steele County: 33.8 inchesSteele County33.8Dakota County: 33.27 inchesDakota County33.27Morrison County: 32.96 inchesMorrison County32.96Todd County: 32.8 inchesTodd County32.8Crow Wing County: 32.74 inchesCrow Wing County32.74Redwood County: 32.66 inchesRedwood County32.66Aitkin County: 32.57 inchesAitkin County32.57Waseca County: 32.5 inchesWaseca County32.5St. Louis County: 32.49 inchesSt. Louis County32.49Jackson County: 32.46 inchesJackson County32.46Cottonwood County: 32.36 inchesCottonwood County32.36Ramsey County: 32.22 inchesRamsey County32.22Washington County: 32.08 inchesWashington County32.08Hennepin County: 31.98 inchesHennepin County31.98Scott County: 31.8 inchesScott County31.8Benton County: 31.64 inchesBenton County31.64Murray County: 31.57 inchesMurray County31.57Anoka County: 31.52 inchesAnoka County31.52Chisago County: 31.24 inchesChisago County31.24Brown County: 31.12 inchesBrown County31.12Sherburne County: 31.07 inchesSherburne County31.07Kandiyohi County: 30.61 inchesKandiyohi County30.61Winona County: 42.06 inchesWinona County42.06Wabasha County: 38.74 inchesWabasha County38.74Olmsted County: 36.79 inchesOlmsted County36.79Cook County: 36.65 inchesCook County36.65Houston County: 36.62 inchesHouston County36.62Mower County: 35.78 inchesMower County35.78Kanabec County: 35.67 inchesKanabec County35.67Goodhue County: 35.63 inchesGoodhue County35.63Pine County: 35.24 inchesPine County35.24Lake County: 35.1 inchesLake County35.1Carlton County: 34.92 inchesCarlton County34.92Dodge County: 34.83 inchesDodge County34.83Fillmore County: 34.28 inchesFillmore County34.28Freeborn County: 34.27 inchesFreeborn County34.27Isanti County: 34.01 inchesIsanti County34.01Renville County: 33.99 inchesRenville County33.99Rice County: 33.93 inchesRice County33.93Mille Lacs County: 33.89 inchesMille Lacs County33.89Steele County: 33.8 inchesSteele County33.8Dakota County: 33.27 inchesDakota County33.27Morrison County: 32.96 inchesMorrison County32.96Todd County: 32.8 inchesTodd County32.8Crow Wing County: 32.74 inchesCrow Wing County32.74Redwood County: 32.66 inchesRedwood County32.66Aitkin County: 32.57 inchesAitkin County32.57Waseca County: 32.5 inchesWaseca County32.5St. Louis County: 32.49 inchesSt. Louis County32.49Jackson County: 32.46 inchesJackson County32.46Cottonwood County: 32.36 inchesCottonwood County32.36Ramsey County: 32.22 inchesRamsey County32.22Washington County: 32.08 inchesWashington County32.08Hennepin County: 31.98 inchesHennepin County31.98Scott County: 31.8 inchesScott County31.8Benton County: 31.64 inchesBenton County31.64Murray County: 31.57 inchesMurray County31.57Anoka County: 31.52 inchesAnoka County31.52Chisago County: 31.24 inchesChisago County31.24Brown County: 31.12 inchesBrown County31.12Sherburne County: 31.07 inchesSherburne County31.07Kandiyohi County: 30.61 inchesKandiyohi County30.61
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2017
inches
Change on 2016
1Winona County42.06-9.9%
2Wabasha County38.74-12.7%
3Olmsted County36.79-17.6%
4Cook County36.65-2.2%
5Houston County36.62-24.6%
6Mower County35.78-24.8%
7Kanabec County35.67-7.9%
8Goodhue County35.63-19.3%
9Pine County35.24-6.4%
10Lake County35.1-0.1%
11Carlton County34.92-1.5%
12Dodge County34.83-25%
13Fillmore County34.28-29.5%
14Freeborn County34.27-27.7%
15Isanti County34.01-9.1%
16Renville County33.99-4.4%
17Rice County33.93-25.4%
18Mille Lacs County33.89-5.8%
19Steele County33.8-30.6%
20Dakota County33.27-12.8%
21Morrison County32.96-4.2%
22Todd County32.8+5.5%
23Crow Wing County32.74-7%
24Redwood County32.66-11.5%
25Aitkin County32.57-7.3%
26Waseca County32.5-32.9%
27St. Louis County32.49-3.3%
28Jackson County32.46-15.4%
29Cottonwood County32.36-18.6%
30Ramsey County32.22-20.1%
31Washington County32.08-18.1%
32Hennepin County31.98-17.1%
33Scott County31.8-15.2%
34Benton County31.64-7.2%
35Murray County31.57-7.5%
36Anoka County31.52-16.2%
37Chisago County31.24-14.3%
38Brown County31.12-26.7%
39Sherburne County31.07-7.5%
40Kandiyohi County30.61-8.2%
41Carver County30.43-17.7%
42Douglas County30.11+10.2%
43Faribault County30.08-29.7%
44Martin County29.59-27.4%
45Chippewa County29.56-13.7%
46Nobles County29.52-19.1%
46Watonwan County29.52-39%
48Blue Earth County29.5-36.8%
49Stearns County29.48-9.3%
50Le Sueur County29.4-32.8%
51Yellow Medicine County28.88-10.8%
52Lyon County28.78-9.5%
53Pipestone County28.73-9.7%
54Pope County28.58-3.5%
55Wright County28.45-17.6%
56Lincoln County28.2-7.3%
57Itasca County27.91-7.5%
58Swift County27.77-10%
59Lac qui Parle County27.73-12.5%
60Wadena County27.65-9.3%
61Meeker County27.62-11.8%
62Rock County27.44-13.1%
63Cass County27.08-6%
64Stevens County26.9-0.4%
65Otter Tail County26.87-10%
66Nicollet County25.73-37.2%
67Grant County25.56+0.4%
68Big Stone County25.48-2.9%
69Sibley County25.17-29.8%
70McLeod County23.95-27.6%
71Koochiching County22.88-24.2%
72Hubbard County22.43-14.8%
73Becker County22.18-22.7%
74Wilkin County21.95-18.3%
75Traverse County21.55-11%
76Mahnomen County20.2-26.5%
77Lake of the Woods County19.69-30.6%
78Clearwater County19.37-15.8%
79Beltrami County19.11-21.1%
80Red Lake County18.94-26.1%
81Pennington County18.74-25.7%
82Roseau County18.52-35.6%
83Clay County18.45-32.7%
83Marshall County18.45-32.9%
85Polk County18.24-34.2%
86Norman County18.12-35.9%
87Kittson County14.98-47.6%

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, 2017) [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, 2017. 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=2017. 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, 2017. 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=2017.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation, 2017 [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=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_minnesota_by_2017,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation, 2017}},
  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=2017. 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, 2017
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=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/minnesota-counties?period=2017.
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?

Winona County, with 42.06 inches in 2017, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Kittson County, with 14.98 inches in 2017.

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