Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation

Houston County had the highest annual precipitation of 87 counties in 2018, at 52.15 inches. Kittson County had the lowest, at 17.4 inches. The median was 30.47 inches and the figure for Minnesota was 30.08 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

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Highest52.15Houston County
Lowest17.4Kittson County
Median30.4787 counties
Minnesota30.08History

Map of counties, 2018

Aitkin County: 32.45 inchesAnoka County: 28.34 inchesBecker County: 23.67 inchesBeltrami County: 21.84 inchesBenton County: 28.14 inchesBig Stone County: 24.37 inchesBlue Earth County: 42.24 inchesBrown County: 41.81 inchesCarlton County: 33.17 inchesCarver County: 32.53 inchesCass County: 26.54 inchesChippewa County: 33.78 inchesChisago County: 29.79 inchesClay County: 23.4 inchesClearwater County: 23.66 inchesCook County: 29.95 inchesCottonwood County: 43.43 inchesCrow Wing County: 29.05 inchesDakota County: 32.98 inchesDodge County: 40.63 inchesDouglas County: 26.2 inchesFaribault County: 43.39 inchesFillmore County: 50.41 inchesFreeborn County: 45.34 inchesGoodhue County: 37.52 inchesGrant County: 25.59 inchesHennepin County: 30.47 inchesHouston County: 52.15 inchesHubbard County: 24.53 inchesIsanti County: 30.12 inchesItasca County: 26.62 inchesJackson County: 46.74 inchesKanabec County: 31.68 inchesKandiyohi County: 32.19 inchesKittson County: 17.4 inchesKoochiching County: 24.83 inchesLac qui Parle County: 29.44 inchesLake County: 30.83 inchesLake of the Woods County: 18.58 inchesLe Sueur County: 34.19 inchesLincoln County: 36.5 inchesLyon County: 39.73 inchesMcLeod County: 30.17 inchesMahnomen County: 23.95 inchesMarshall County: 19.9 inchesMartin County: 46.17 inchesMeeker County: 27.1 inchesMille Lacs County: 29.94 inchesMorrison County: 28.17 inchesMower County: 44.91 inchesMurray County: 43.07 inchesNicollet County: 32.89 inchesNobles County: 44.86 inchesNorman County: 22.81 inchesOlmsted County: 41.41 inchesOtter Tail County: 25.84 inchesPennington County: 20.21 inchesPine County: 33.43 inchesPipestone County: 37.84 inchesPolk County: 21.72 inchesPope County: 26.98 inchesRamsey County: 31.63 inchesRed Lake County: 20.64 inchesRedwood County: 40.87 inchesRenville County: 38.48 inchesRice County: 39.02 inchesRock County: 40.01 inchesRoseau County: 19.43 inchesSt. Louis County: 27.86 inchesScott County: 33.78 inchesSherburne County: 26.79 inchesSibley County: 32.17 inchesStearns County: 26.9 inchesSteele County: 41.38 inchesStevens County: 26.55 inchesSwift County: 29.26 inchesTodd County: 28.11 inchesTraverse County: 23.62 inchesWabasha County: 40.49 inchesWadena County: 25.6 inchesWaseca County: 41.46 inchesWashington County: 31.54 inchesWatonwan County: 46.58 inchesWilkin County: 24.25 inchesWinona County: 44.4 inchesWright County: 27.56 inchesYellow Medicine County: 35.68 inches
  • Under 24
  • 24 to 27
  • 27 to 30
  • 30 to 34
  • 34 to 41
  • 41 and over
inches, 2018. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2018

Houston County: 52.15 inchesHouston County52.15Fillmore County: 50.41 inchesFillmore County50.41Jackson County: 46.74 inchesJackson County46.74Watonwan County: 46.58 inchesWatonwan County46.58Martin County: 46.17 inchesMartin County46.17Freeborn County: 45.34 inchesFreeborn County45.34Mower County: 44.91 inchesMower County44.91Nobles County: 44.86 inchesNobles County44.86Winona County: 44.4 inchesWinona County44.4Cottonwood County: 43.43 inchesCottonwood County43.43Faribault County: 43.39 inchesFaribault County43.39Murray County: 43.07 inchesMurray County43.07Blue Earth County: 42.24 inchesBlue Earth County42.24Brown County: 41.81 inchesBrown County41.81Waseca County: 41.46 inchesWaseca County41.46Olmsted County: 41.41 inchesOlmsted County41.41Steele County: 41.38 inchesSteele County41.38Redwood County: 40.87 inchesRedwood County40.87Dodge County: 40.63 inchesDodge County40.63Wabasha County: 40.49 inchesWabasha County40.49Rock County: 40.01 inchesRock County40.01Lyon County: 39.73 inchesLyon County39.73Rice County: 39.02 inchesRice County39.02Renville County: 38.48 inchesRenville County38.48Pipestone County: 37.84 inchesPipestone County37.84Goodhue County: 37.52 inchesGoodhue County37.52Lincoln County: 36.5 inchesLincoln County36.5Yellow Medicine County: 35.68 inchesYellow Medicine County35.68Le Sueur County: 34.19 inchesLe Sueur County34.19Chippewa County: 33.78 inchesChippewa County33.78Scott County: 33.78 inchesScott County33.78Pine County: 33.43 inchesPine County33.43Carlton County: 33.17 inchesCarlton County33.17Dakota County: 32.98 inchesDakota County32.98Nicollet County: 32.89 inchesNicollet County32.89Carver County: 32.53 inchesCarver County32.53Aitkin County: 32.45 inchesAitkin County32.45Kandiyohi County: 32.19 inchesKandiyohi County32.19Sibley County: 32.17 inchesSibley County32.17Kanabec County: 31.68 inchesKanabec County31.68Houston County: 52.15 inchesHouston County52.15Fillmore County: 50.41 inchesFillmore County50.41Jackson County: 46.74 inchesJackson County46.74Watonwan County: 46.58 inchesWatonwan County46.58Martin County: 46.17 inchesMartin County46.17Freeborn County: 45.34 inchesFreeborn County45.34Mower County: 44.91 inchesMower County44.91Nobles County: 44.86 inchesNobles County44.86Winona County: 44.4 inchesWinona County44.4Cottonwood County: 43.43 inchesCottonwood County43.43Faribault County: 43.39 inchesFaribault County43.39Murray County: 43.07 inchesMurray County43.07Blue Earth County: 42.24 inchesBlue Earth County42.24Brown County: 41.81 inchesBrown County41.81Waseca County: 41.46 inchesWaseca County41.46Olmsted County: 41.41 inchesOlmsted County41.41Steele County: 41.38 inchesSteele County41.38Redwood County: 40.87 inchesRedwood County40.87Dodge County: 40.63 inchesDodge County40.63Wabasha County: 40.49 inchesWabasha County40.49Rock County: 40.01 inchesRock County40.01Lyon County: 39.73 inchesLyon County39.73Rice County: 39.02 inchesRice County39.02Renville County: 38.48 inchesRenville County38.48Pipestone County: 37.84 inchesPipestone County37.84Goodhue County: 37.52 inchesGoodhue County37.52Lincoln County: 36.5 inchesLincoln County36.5Yellow Medicine County: 35.68 inchesYellow Medicine County35.68Le Sueur County: 34.19 inchesLe Sueur County34.19Chippewa County: 33.78 inchesChippewa County33.78Scott County: 33.78 inchesScott County33.78Pine County: 33.43 inchesPine County33.43Carlton County: 33.17 inchesCarlton County33.17Dakota County: 32.98 inchesDakota County32.98Nicollet County: 32.89 inchesNicollet County32.89Carver County: 32.53 inchesCarver County32.53Aitkin County: 32.45 inchesAitkin County32.45Kandiyohi County: 32.19 inchesKandiyohi County32.19Sibley County: 32.17 inchesSibley County32.17Kanabec County: 31.68 inchesKanabec County31.68
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018
inches
Change on 2017
1Houston County52.15+42.4%
2Fillmore County50.41+47.1%
3Jackson County46.74+44%
4Watonwan County46.58+57.8%
5Martin County46.17+56%
6Freeborn County45.34+32.3%
7Mower County44.91+25.5%
8Nobles County44.86+52%
9Winona County44.4+5.6%
10Cottonwood County43.43+34.2%
11Faribault County43.39+44.2%
12Murray County43.07+36.4%
13Blue Earth County42.24+43.2%
14Brown County41.81+34.4%
15Waseca County41.46+27.6%
16Olmsted County41.41+12.6%
17Steele County41.38+22.4%
18Redwood County40.87+25.1%
19Dodge County40.63+16.7%
20Wabasha County40.49+4.5%
21Rock County40.01+45.8%
22Lyon County39.73+38%
23Rice County39.02+15%
24Renville County38.48+13.2%
25Pipestone County37.84+31.7%
26Goodhue County37.52+5.3%
27Lincoln County36.5+29.4%
28Yellow Medicine County35.68+23.5%
29Le Sueur County34.19+16.3%
30Chippewa County33.78+14.3%
30Scott County33.78+6.2%
32Pine County33.43-5.1%
33Carlton County33.17-5%
34Dakota County32.98-0.9%
35Nicollet County32.89+27.8%
36Carver County32.53+6.9%
37Aitkin County32.45-0.4%
38Kandiyohi County32.19+5.2%
39Sibley County32.17+27.8%
40Kanabec County31.68-11.2%
41Ramsey County31.63-1.8%
42Washington County31.54-1.7%
43Lake County30.83-12.2%
44Hennepin County30.47-4.7%
45McLeod County30.17+26%
46Isanti County30.12-11.4%
47Cook County29.95-18.3%
48Mille Lacs County29.94-11.7%
49Chisago County29.79-4.6%
50Lac qui Parle County29.44+6.2%
51Swift County29.26+5.4%
52Crow Wing County29.05-11.3%
53Anoka County28.34-10.1%
54Morrison County28.17-14.5%
55Benton County28.14-11.1%
56Todd County28.11-14.3%
57St. Louis County27.86-14.3%
58Wright County27.56-3.1%
59Meeker County27.1-1.9%
60Pope County26.98-5.6%
61Stearns County26.9-8.8%
62Sherburne County26.79-13.8%
63Itasca County26.62-4.6%
64Stevens County26.55-1.3%
65Cass County26.54-2%
66Douglas County26.2-13%
67Otter Tail County25.84-3.8%
68Wadena County25.6-7.4%
69Grant County25.59+0.1%
70Koochiching County24.83+8.5%
71Hubbard County24.53+9.4%
72Big Stone County24.37-4.4%
73Wilkin County24.25+10.5%
74Mahnomen County23.95+18.6%
75Becker County23.67+6.7%
76Clearwater County23.66+22.1%
77Traverse County23.62+9.6%
78Clay County23.4+26.8%
79Norman County22.81+25.9%
80Beltrami County21.84+14.3%
81Polk County21.72+19.1%
82Red Lake County20.64+9%
83Pennington County20.21+7.8%
84Marshall County19.9+7.9%
85Roseau County19.43+4.9%
86Lake of the Woods County18.58-5.6%
87Kittson County17.4+16.2%

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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_minnesota_by_2018,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/minnesota-counties?period=2018.
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?

Houston County, with 52.15 inches in 2018, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Kittson County, with 17.4 inches in 2018.

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