Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature

Houston County had the highest average annual temperature of 87 counties in 2017, at 47.8 °F. Cook County had the lowest, at 37 °F. The median was 45.1 °F and the figure for Minnesota was 42.6 °F. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Highest47.8Houston County

Lowest37Cook County

Median45.187 counties

Minnesota42.6History

Map of counties, 2017

Under 41
41 to 43
43 to 45
45 to 46
46 to 47
47 and over

°F, 2017. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2017

°F. Source: NOAA NCEI, NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2017 °F	Change on 2016
1	Houston County	47.8	-1.4%
2	Blue Earth County	47	-2.7%
2	Brown County	47	-2.5%
2	Dakota County	47	-2.7%
2	Scott County	47	-2.7%
2	Watonwan County	47	-2.3%
2	Winona County	47	-2.3%
8	Faribault County	46.9	-2.7%
8	Martin County	46.9	-2.3%
8	Nicollet County	46.9	-2.5%
8	Redwood County	46.9	-2.5%
12	Rock County	46.8	-2.5%
12	Sibley County	46.8	-2.3%
14	Le Sueur County	46.7	-2.7%
14	Renville County	46.7	-2.3%
16	Carver County	46.5	-2.7%
16	Wabasha County	46.5	-2.5%
16	Waseca County	46.5	-3.3%
19	Hennepin County	46.4	-3.1%
19	Ramsey County	46.4	-3.1%
19	Rice County	46.4	-3.1%
22	Freeborn County	46.3	-2.7%
22	Goodhue County	46.3	-2.7%
22	Jackson County	46.3	-2.3%
22	Washington County	46.3	-2.9%
22	Yellow Medicine County	46.3	-2.9%
27	Cottonwood County	46.2	-2.3%
27	Lyon County	46.2	-2.9%
27	McLeod County	46.2	-2.5%
27	Steele County	46.2	-2.9%
31	Nobles County	46.1	-2.3%
32	Chippewa County	46	-3.2%
32	Fillmore County	46	-1.9%
32	Mower County	46	-2.1%
35	Lac qui Parle County	45.9	-3.4%
36	Anoka County	45.8	-3.4%
37	Olmsted County	45.7	-2.6%
38	Dodge County	45.6	-2.6%
38	Pipestone County	45.6	-3%
40	Murray County	45.4	-3.4%
41	Wright County	45.3	-3.2%
42	Big Stone County	45.2	-3.8%
42	Swift County	45.2	-3.4%
44	Kandiyohi County	45.1	-3%
44	Lincoln County	45.1	-3%
46	Chisago County	45	-4.1%
46	Meeker County	45	-3.2%
48	Traverse County	44.9	-4.1%
49	Isanti County	44.8	-3.9%
49	Sherburne County	44.8	-3.4%
51	Stevens County	44.5	-3.7%
52	Benton County	44	-3.5%
52	Grant County	44	-4.1%
52	Stearns County	44	-3.3%
55	Wilkin County	43.9	-5%
56	Pope County	43.8	-3.9%
57	Mille Lacs County	43.3	-4.4%
58	Morrison County	43.2	-4.2%
59	Kanabec County	43.1	-4.9%
60	Douglas County	43	-4%
61	Todd County	42.8	-4.3%
62	Clay County	42.7	-5.7%
63	Pine County	42.4	-4.5%
64	Otter Tail County	42.3	-5.6%
65	Wadena County	42.2	-5.2%
66	Crow Wing County	42.1	-5%
67	Norman County	42	-5.4%
68	Cass County	41.5	-5.3%
69	Polk County	41.3	-5.5%
70	Hubbard County	41.1	-5.3%
71	Aitkin County	41	-5.1%
71	Becker County	41	-6.2%
73	Red Lake County	40.9	-5.3%
74	Kittson County	40.7	-5.6%
75	Marshall County	40.5	-5.6%
75	Pennington County	40.5	-5.4%
77	Carlton County	40.4	-4.7%
77	Mahnomen County	40.4	-6.3%
79	Clearwater County	40.2	-5.4%
80	Beltrami County	39.9	-5.7%
81	Itasca County	39.7	-5.5%
82	Roseau County	39.6	-5.7%
83	Lake of the Woods County	39	-5.6%
84	St. Louis County	38.7	-5.4%
85	Koochiching County	38.6	-7%
86	Lake County	37.8	-5%
87	Cook County	37	-4.1%

Other periods

About this ranking

Mean air temperature from January to December, in degrees Fahrenheit: the average of the 12 monthly mean temperatures. 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, so a county with mountains and valleys has one value for very different local climates. 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 average temperature, 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 average temperature, counties (Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature, 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 average temperature, counties, Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/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 average temperature, counties. Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/minnesota-counties?period=2017.

Harvard

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2026) NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, counties, Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/county/mapping, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/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 average temperature, counties: Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/minnesota-counties?period=2017. Publisher attribution: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance. NOAA Climate at a Glance, January to December average temperature, 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 average temperature, counties: Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/minnesota-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/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 average temperature, 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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Questions

Which county has the highest average annual temperature?

Houston County, with 47.8 °F in 2017, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest average annual temperature?

Cook County, with 37 °F 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 average temperature, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.