Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature

Houston County had the highest average annual temperature of 87 counties in 2018, at 45.7 °F. Cook County had the lowest, at 35.4 °F. The median was 42.7 °F and the figure for Minnesota was 40.6 °F. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Highest45.7Houston County

Lowest35.4Cook County

Median42.787 counties

Minnesota40.6History

Map of counties, 2018

Under 39
39 to 42
42 to 43
43 to 44
44 and over

°F, 2018. 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, 2018

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2018 °F	Change on 2017
1	Houston County	45.7	-4.4%
2	Winona County	45.1	-4%
3	Nicollet County	44.6	-4.9%
4	Dakota County	44.5	-5.3%
4	Scott County	44.5	-5.3%
6	Sibley County	44.3	-5.3%
6	Wabasha County	44.3	-4.7%
8	Blue Earth County	44.2	-6%
8	Hennepin County	44.2	-4.7%
8	Le Sueur County	44.2	-5.4%
8	Ramsey County	44.2	-4.7%
12	Faribault County	44.1	-6%
12	Rock County	44.1	-5.8%
14	Carver County	44	-5.4%
15	Fillmore County	43.9	-4.6%
15	Washington County	43.9	-5.2%
17	Brown County	43.8	-6.8%
17	Goodhue County	43.8	-5.4%
17	Martin County	43.8	-6.6%
20	Chippewa County	43.7	-5%
20	Lac qui Parle County	43.7	-4.8%
20	Rice County	43.7	-5.8%
20	Watonwan County	43.7	-7%
20	Yellow Medicine County	43.7	-5.6%
25	Renville County	43.6	-6.6%
26	Freeborn County	43.5	-6%
26	McLeod County	43.5	-5.8%
26	Olmsted County	43.5	-4.8%
26	Redwood County	43.5	-7.2%
30	Anoka County	43.4	-5.2%
30	Mower County	43.4	-5.7%
30	Waseca County	43.4	-6.7%
33	Jackson County	43.3	-6.5%
33	Steele County	43.3	-6.3%
35	Big Stone County	43.2	-4.4%
35	Lyon County	43.2	-6.5%
35	Nobles County	43.2	-6.3%
38	Dodge County	43.1	-5.5%
38	Swift County	43.1	-4.6%
38	Wright County	43.1	-4.9%
41	Cottonwood County	43	-6.9%
42	Chisago County	42.8	-4.9%
42	Traverse County	42.8	-4.7%
44	Isanti County	42.7	-4.7%
44	Kandiyohi County	42.7	-5.3%
46	Sherburne County	42.6	-4.9%
46	Stevens County	42.6	-4.3%
48	Meeker County	42.5	-5.6%
48	Pipestone County	42.5	-6.8%
50	Lincoln County	42.4	-6%
50	Murray County	42.4	-6.6%
52	Grant County	42.2	-4.1%
53	Pope County	42.1	-3.9%
54	Benton County	41.9	-4.8%
54	Stearns County	41.9	-4.8%
56	Wilkin County	41.8	-4.8%
57	Douglas County	41.6	-3.3%
58	Kanabec County	41.5	-3.7%
58	Mille Lacs County	41.5	-4.2%
60	Morrison County	41.2	-4.6%
61	Todd County	40.9	-4.4%
62	Crow Wing County	40.5	-3.8%
62	Pine County	40.5	-4.5%
64	Otter Tail County	40.4	-4.5%
65	Clay County	40.3	-5.6%
66	Wadena County	40.1	-5%
67	Cass County	39.8	-4.1%
68	Norman County	39.5	-6%
69	Aitkin County	39.3	-4.1%
70	Hubbard County	39.2	-4.6%
70	Kittson County	39.2	-3.7%
72	Polk County	39	-5.6%
73	Becker County	38.9	-5.1%
74	Marshall County	38.7	-4.4%
75	Carlton County	38.5	-4.7%
75	Red Lake County	38.5	-5.9%
77	Mahnomen County	38.3	-5.2%
77	Pennington County	38.3	-5.4%
79	Itasca County	38.2	-3.8%
79	Roseau County	38.2	-3.5%
81	Beltrami County	38.1	-4.5%
81	Clearwater County	38.1	-5.2%
83	Lake of the Woods County	37.6	-3.6%
84	St. Louis County	37.3	-3.6%
85	Koochiching County	37.2	-3.6%
86	Lake County	36.6	-3.2%
87	Cook County	35.4	-4.3%

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, 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 average temperature, counties, Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/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 average temperature, counties. Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/minnesota-counties?period=2018.

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, 2018 [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=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 average temperature, counties: Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/minnesota-counties?period=2018. 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, 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/average-annual-temperature/minnesota-counties?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/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 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 45.7 °F in 2018, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest average annual temperature?

Cook County, with 35.4 °F 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 average temperature, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.