Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation

Winona County had the highest annual precipitation of 87 counties in 2021, at 34.11 inches. Kittson County had the lowest, at 15.42 inches. The median was 24.87 inches and the figure for Minnesota was 23.57 inches. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest34.11Winona County
Lowest15.42Kittson County
Median24.8787 counties
Minnesota23.57History

Map of counties, 2021

Aitkin County: 24.32 inchesAnoka County: 21.93 inchesBecker County: 19.14 inchesBeltrami County: 19.97 inchesBenton County: 24.52 inchesBig Stone County: 29.57 inchesBlue Earth County: 25.05 inchesBrown County: 23.99 inchesCarlton County: 25.48 inchesCarver County: 24.31 inchesCass County: 22.91 inchesChippewa County: 28.56 inchesChisago County: 23.87 inchesClay County: 19.52 inchesClearwater County: 18.98 inchesCook County: 25.93 inchesCottonwood County: 26.52 inchesCrow Wing County: 24.72 inchesDakota County: 23.29 inchesDodge County: 28.2 inchesDouglas County: 26.12 inchesFaribault County: 24.55 inchesFillmore County: 30.21 inchesFreeborn County: 28.77 inchesGoodhue County: 25.94 inchesGrant County: 25.27 inchesHennepin County: 23.61 inchesHouston County: 32.29 inchesHubbard County: 20.78 inchesIsanti County: 22.01 inchesItasca County: 21.31 inchesJackson County: 27.76 inchesKanabec County: 24.93 inchesKandiyohi County: 24.46 inchesKittson County: 15.42 inchesKoochiching County: 20.71 inchesLac qui Parle County: 28.85 inchesLake County: 25.57 inchesLake of the Woods County: 21 inchesLe Sueur County: 26.05 inchesLincoln County: 26.09 inchesLyon County: 25.35 inchesMcLeod County: 21.44 inchesMahnomen County: 18.24 inchesMarshall County: 16.17 inchesMartin County: 25.82 inchesMeeker County: 19.31 inchesMille Lacs County: 24.48 inchesMorrison County: 25.41 inchesMower County: 30.53 inchesMurray County: 26.97 inchesNicollet County: 24.95 inchesNobles County: 26.11 inchesNorman County: 19.1 inchesOlmsted County: 28.99 inchesOtter Tail County: 22.35 inchesPennington County: 16.4 inchesPine County: 26.81 inchesPipestone County: 26.77 inchesPolk County: 17.96 inchesPope County: 28.61 inchesRamsey County: 24.51 inchesRed Lake County: 17.35 inchesRedwood County: 23.62 inchesRenville County: 21.72 inchesRice County: 25.37 inchesRock County: 28 inchesRoseau County: 17.92 inchesSt. Louis County: 23.75 inchesScott County: 24.89 inchesSherburne County: 21.57 inchesSibley County: 23.56 inchesStearns County: 26.18 inchesSteele County: 27.07 inchesStevens County: 27.61 inchesSwift County: 30.32 inchesTodd County: 26.13 inchesTraverse County: 27.65 inchesWabasha County: 30.33 inchesWadena County: 22.47 inchesWaseca County: 24.87 inchesWashington County: 23.97 inchesWatonwan County: 25.86 inchesWilkin County: 20.67 inchesWinona County: 34.11 inchesWright County: 20.93 inchesYellow Medicine County: 26.54 inches
  • Under 21
  • 21 to 24
  • 24 to 25
  • 25 to 26
  • 26 to 28
  • 28 and over
inches, 2021. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2021

Winona County: 34.11 inchesWinona County34.11Houston County: 32.29 inchesHouston County32.29Mower County: 30.53 inchesMower County30.53Wabasha County: 30.33 inchesWabasha County30.33Swift County: 30.32 inchesSwift County30.32Fillmore County: 30.21 inchesFillmore County30.21Big Stone County: 29.57 inchesBig Stone County29.57Olmsted County: 28.99 inchesOlmsted County28.99Lac qui Parle County: 28.85 inchesLac qui Parle County28.85Freeborn County: 28.77 inchesFreeborn County28.77Pope County: 28.61 inchesPope County28.61Chippewa County: 28.56 inchesChippewa County28.56Dodge County: 28.2 inchesDodge County28.2Rock County: 28 inchesRock County28Jackson County: 27.76 inchesJackson County27.76Traverse County: 27.65 inchesTraverse County27.65Stevens County: 27.61 inchesStevens County27.61Steele County: 27.07 inchesSteele County27.07Murray County: 26.97 inchesMurray County26.97Pine County: 26.81 inchesPine County26.81Pipestone County: 26.77 inchesPipestone County26.77Yellow Medicine County: 26.54 inchesYellow Medicine County26.54Cottonwood County: 26.52 inchesCottonwood County26.52Stearns County: 26.18 inchesStearns County26.18Todd County: 26.13 inchesTodd County26.13Douglas County: 26.12 inchesDouglas County26.12Nobles County: 26.11 inchesNobles County26.11Lincoln County: 26.09 inchesLincoln County26.09Le Sueur County: 26.05 inchesLe Sueur County26.05Goodhue County: 25.94 inchesGoodhue County25.94Cook County: 25.93 inchesCook County25.93Watonwan County: 25.86 inchesWatonwan County25.86Martin County: 25.82 inchesMartin County25.82Lake County: 25.57 inchesLake County25.57Carlton County: 25.48 inchesCarlton County25.48Morrison County: 25.41 inchesMorrison County25.41Rice County: 25.37 inchesRice County25.37Lyon County: 25.35 inchesLyon County25.35Grant County: 25.27 inchesGrant County25.27Blue Earth County: 25.05 inchesBlue Earth County25.05Winona County: 34.11 inchesWinona County34.11Houston County: 32.29 inchesHouston County32.29Mower County: 30.53 inchesMower County30.53Wabasha County: 30.33 inchesWabasha County30.33Swift County: 30.32 inchesSwift County30.32Fillmore County: 30.21 inchesFillmore County30.21Big Stone County: 29.57 inchesBig Stone County29.57Olmsted County: 28.99 inchesOlmsted County28.99Lac qui Parle County: 28.85 inchesLac qui Parle County28.85Freeborn County: 28.77 inchesFreeborn County28.77Pope County: 28.61 inchesPope County28.61Chippewa County: 28.56 inchesChippewa County28.56Dodge County: 28.2 inchesDodge County28.2Rock County: 28 inchesRock County28Jackson County: 27.76 inchesJackson County27.76Traverse County: 27.65 inchesTraverse County27.65Stevens County: 27.61 inchesStevens County27.61Steele County: 27.07 inchesSteele County27.07Murray County: 26.97 inchesMurray County26.97Pine County: 26.81 inchesPine County26.81Pipestone County: 26.77 inchesPipestone County26.77Yellow Medicine County: 26.54 inchesYellow Medicine County26.54Cottonwood County: 26.52 inchesCottonwood County26.52Stearns County: 26.18 inchesStearns County26.18Todd County: 26.13 inchesTodd County26.13Douglas County: 26.12 inchesDouglas County26.12Nobles County: 26.11 inchesNobles County26.11Lincoln County: 26.09 inchesLincoln County26.09Le Sueur County: 26.05 inchesLe Sueur County26.05Goodhue County: 25.94 inchesGoodhue County25.94Cook County: 25.93 inchesCook County25.93Watonwan County: 25.86 inchesWatonwan County25.86Martin County: 25.82 inchesMartin County25.82Lake County: 25.57 inchesLake County25.57Carlton County: 25.48 inchesCarlton County25.48Morrison County: 25.41 inchesMorrison County25.41Rice County: 25.37 inchesRice County25.37Lyon County: 25.35 inchesLyon County25.35Grant County: 25.27 inchesGrant County25.27Blue Earth County: 25.05 inchesBlue Earth County25.05
inches. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
inches
Change on 2020
1Winona County34.11+4.7%
2Houston County32.29-4.2%
3Mower County30.53+1.1%
4Wabasha County30.33-3.2%
5Swift County30.32+41.7%
6Fillmore County30.21-1.5%
7Big Stone County29.57+62.2%
8Olmsted County28.99-9.6%
9Lac qui Parle County28.85+54%
10Freeborn County28.77-9.7%
11Pope County28.61+31.6%
12Chippewa County28.56+34.1%
13Dodge County28.2-14.4%
14Rock County28+41.2%
15Jackson County27.76+20.9%
16Traverse County27.65+47.5%
17Stevens County27.61+45.9%
18Steele County27.07-22%
19Murray County26.97+9.2%
20Pine County26.81+1.1%
21Pipestone County26.77+25.2%
22Yellow Medicine County26.54+24.4%
23Cottonwood County26.52+6.5%
24Stearns County26.18+6.2%
25Todd County26.13-0.3%
26Douglas County26.12+16.6%
27Nobles County26.11+19.4%
28Lincoln County26.09+22.5%
29Le Sueur County26.05-22.7%
30Goodhue County25.94-17.2%
31Cook County25.93+1.7%
32Watonwan County25.86-11.8%
33Martin County25.82+1.2%
34Lake County25.57+8.4%
35Carlton County25.48+1.5%
36Morrison County25.41-2.2%
37Rice County25.37-26.6%
38Lyon County25.35+8.5%
39Grant County25.27+17.8%
40Blue Earth County25.05-21.2%
41Nicollet County24.95-11.2%
42Kanabec County24.93-6.3%
43Scott County24.89-17.2%
44Waseca County24.87-27.4%
45Crow Wing County24.72-1%
46Faribault County24.55-15.4%
47Benton County24.52-2.5%
48Ramsey County24.51-3.4%
49Mille Lacs County24.48-3.2%
50Kandiyohi County24.46+12.6%
51Aitkin County24.32-8.3%
52Carver County24.31-11.6%
53Brown County23.99-11.9%
54Washington County23.97-12.4%
55Chisago County23.87-6.8%
56St. Louis County23.75-0%
57Redwood County23.62-8.1%
58Hennepin County23.61-8.7%
59Sibley County23.56-0.5%
60Dakota County23.29-22.8%
61Cass County22.91-5.4%
62Wadena County22.47-7.7%
63Otter Tail County22.35-13.3%
64Isanti County22.01-7.8%
65Anoka County21.93-4.8%
66Renville County21.72-7.9%
67Sherburne County21.57-7.6%
68McLeod County21.44+3.3%
69Itasca County21.31-17.2%
70Lake of the Woods County21+9%
71Wright County20.93-10.2%
72Hubbard County20.78-11.4%
73Koochiching County20.71-7.7%
74Wilkin County20.67-10.4%
75Beltrami County19.97-13.4%
76Clay County19.52-11.2%
77Meeker County19.31+0.4%
78Becker County19.14-15.8%
79Norman County19.1-4%
80Clearwater County18.98-16.9%
81Mahnomen County18.24-7.1%
82Polk County17.96-9.7%
83Roseau County17.92-15.4%
84Red Lake County17.35-14.4%
85Pennington County16.4-19.3%
86Marshall County16.17-21.2%
87Kittson County15.42-28.3%

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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties, Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{noaa_counties_in_minnesota_by_2021,
  author = {{NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information}},
  title = {{NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December precipitation, counties: Counties in Minnesota by annual precipitation, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/annual-precipitation/minnesota-counties?period=2021.
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 34.11 inches in 2021, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest annual precipitation?

Kittson County, with 15.42 inches in 2021.

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