Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature

Houston County had the highest average annual temperature of 87 counties in 2020, at 46.9 °F. Cook County had the lowest, at 37.4 °F. The median was 44.9 °F and the figure for Minnesota was 42.4 °F. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Highest46.9Houston County

Lowest37.4Cook County

Median44.987 counties

Minnesota42.4History

Top 40 counties, 2020

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2020 °F	Change on 2019
1	Houston County	46.9	+5.2%
1	Watonwan County	46.9	+8.1%
3	Brown County	46.7	+8.4%
4	Cottonwood County	46.5	+8.6%
4	Dakota County	46.5	+7.4%
6	Nicollet County	46.4	+7.7%
6	Ramsey County	46.4	+7.4%
6	Rock County	46.4	+7.4%
6	Scott County	46.4	+7.4%
6	Sibley County	46.4	+7.9%
11	Blue Earth County	46.3	+7.2%
11	Faribault County	46.3	+6.7%
11	Jackson County	46.3	+8.2%
11	Martin County	46.3	+7.4%
15	Hennepin County	46.2	+7.7%
15	Redwood County	46.2	+8.5%
15	Winona County	46.2	+6%
18	Carver County	46.1	+7.7%
18	Washington County	46.1	+7.5%
20	Wabasha County	46	+6%
21	Goodhue County	45.9	+7.5%
21	Le Sueur County	45.9	+7.2%
23	Freeborn County	45.8	+6.5%
23	McLeod County	45.8	+8.3%
23	Renville County	45.8	+8.3%
23	Yellow Medicine County	45.8	+8.5%
27	Rice County	45.7	+7%
28	Chippewa County	45.6	+8.8%
28	Lyon County	45.6	+8.1%
28	Nobles County	45.6	+8.1%
28	Waseca County	45.6	+7%
32	Lac qui Parle County	45.5	+9.1%
33	Anoka County	45.4	+7.1%
33	Steele County	45.4	+6.6%
35	Mower County	45.3	+6.1%
35	Olmsted County	45.3	+6.3%
37	Big Stone County	45.2	+9.7%
37	Fillmore County	45.2	+5.4%
37	Swift County	45.2	+9.4%
40	Dodge County	45.1	+6.6%
40	Pipestone County	45.1	+8.2%
42	Murray County	45	+8.4%
42	Wright County	45	+7.9%
44	Traverse County	44.9	+10%
45	Lincoln County	44.8	+9%
46	Kandiyohi County	44.7	+8.8%
47	Chisago County	44.6	+7.2%
48	Isanti County	44.5	+7.2%
48	Meeker County	44.5	+8.5%
48	Sherburne County	44.5	+7.5%
48	Stevens County	44.5	+9.6%
52	Benton County	44	+8.4%
52	Pope County	44	+9.2%
54	Grant County	43.9	+9.2%
54	Stearns County	43.9	+8.7%
56	Mille Lacs County	43.6	+8.2%
56	Wilkin County	43.6	+9.3%
58	Kanabec County	43.4	+8%
59	Morrison County	43.3	+8.2%
60	Douglas County	42.7	+8.7%
61	Crow Wing County	42.6	+8.1%
61	Todd County	42.6	+8.4%
63	Pine County	42.5	+7.6%
64	Otter Tail County	42.2	+9%
65	Clay County	42	+8.8%
66	Wadena County	41.8	+7.7%
67	Aitkin County	41.4	+8.4%
67	Cass County	41.4	+7.5%
69	Norman County	40.8	+8.5%
70	Becker County	40.5	+8.6%
70	Carlton County	40.5	+8%
70	Hubbard County	40.5	+7.4%
73	Kittson County	40.4	+8%
74	Polk County	40.2	+8.4%
75	Itasca County	39.9	+8.1%
75	Marshall County	39.9	+8.1%
77	Mahnomen County	39.7	+8.8%
78	Beltrami County	39.5	+8.8%
78	Red Lake County	39.5	+7.9%
80	Roseau County	39.4	+7.1%
81	Clearwater County	39.3	+8.3%
81	Pennington County	39.3	+8.3%
83	Lake of the Woods County	39	+6.8%
84	Koochiching County	38.9	+8.1%
84	St. Louis County	38.9	+6.9%
86	Lake County	38.2	+7.3%
87	Cook County	37.4	+8.4%

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, 2020) [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, 2020. 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=2020. 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, 2020. 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=2020.

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, 2020 [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=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{noaa_counties_in_minnesota_by_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  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=2020. 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, 2020
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=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/minnesota-counties?period=2020.
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 46.9 °F in 2020, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest average annual temperature?

Cook County, with 37.4 °F in 2020.

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.