Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature

Watonwan County had the highest average annual temperature of 87 counties in 2021, at 48.5 °F. Cook County had the lowest, at 39.4 °F. The median was 46.3 °F and the figure for Minnesota was 44.3 °F. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Highest48.5Watonwan County

Lowest39.4Cook County

Median46.387 counties

Minnesota44.3History

Top 40 counties, 2021

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2021 °F	Change on 2020
1	Watonwan County	48.5	+3.4%
2	Brown County	48.2	+3.2%
3	Dakota County	48	+3.2%
3	Nicollet County	48	+3.4%
5	Cottonwood County	47.9	+3%
5	Houston County	47.9	+2.1%
5	Sibley County	47.9	+3.2%
8	Blue Earth County	47.8	+3.2%
8	Ramsey County	47.8	+3%
8	Scott County	47.8	+3%
11	Jackson County	47.7	+3%
11	Martin County	47.7	+3%
11	Rock County	47.7	+2.8%
14	Faribault County	47.6	+2.8%
14	Redwood County	47.6	+3%
16	Hennepin County	47.5	+2.8%
16	Le Sueur County	47.5	+3.5%
18	Washington County	47.4	+2.8%
18	Yellow Medicine County	47.4	+3.5%
20	Carver County	47.3	+2.6%
20	Lyon County	47.3	+3.7%
20	Renville County	47.3	+3.3%
20	Winona County	47.3	+2.4%
24	Chippewa County	47.2	+3.5%
24	McLeod County	47.2	+3.1%
24	Rice County	47.2	+3.3%
27	Freeborn County	47.1	+2.8%
27	Nobles County	47.1	+3.3%
29	Lac qui Parle County	47	+3.3%
29	Waseca County	47	+3.1%
31	Steele County	46.9	+3.3%
31	Wabasha County	46.9	+2%
33	Anoka County	46.8	+3.1%
33	Goodhue County	46.8	+2%
33	Swift County	46.8	+3.5%
36	Mower County	46.7	+3.1%
37	Big Stone County	46.6	+3.1%
37	Murray County	46.6	+3.6%
37	Pipestone County	46.6	+3.3%
40	Lincoln County	46.4	+3.6%
40	Olmsted County	46.4	+2.4%
42	Dodge County	46.3	+2.7%
42	Fillmore County	46.3	+2.4%
42	Traverse County	46.3	+3.1%
42	Wright County	46.3	+2.9%
46	Kandiyohi County	46.2	+3.4%
46	Stevens County	46.2	+3.8%
48	Chisago County	45.9	+2.9%
48	Isanti County	45.9	+3.1%
48	Sherburne County	45.9	+3.1%
51	Meeker County	45.8	+2.9%
51	Pope County	45.8	+4.1%
53	Grant County	45.6	+3.9%
53	Wilkin County	45.6	+4.6%
55	Stearns County	45.5	+3.6%
56	Benton County	45.3	+3%
57	Morrison County	44.9	+3.7%
58	Douglas County	44.8	+4.9%
58	Mille Lacs County	44.8	+2.8%
60	Todd County	44.6	+4.7%
61	Clay County	44.5	+6%
61	Kanabec County	44.5	+2.5%
63	Otter Tail County	44.4	+5.2%
64	Crow Wing County	44.3	+4%
65	Pine County	44	+3.5%
66	Wadena County	43.9	+5%
67	Cass County	43.5	+5.1%
68	Norman County	43.4	+6.4%
69	Aitkin County	43	+3.9%
69	Becker County	43	+6.2%
69	Hubbard County	43	+6.2%
72	Polk County	42.9	+6.7%
73	Kittson County	42.6	+5.4%
74	Red Lake County	42.4	+7.3%
75	Beltrami County	42.3	+7.1%
76	Clearwater County	42.2	+7.4%
76	Mahnomen County	42.2	+6.3%
76	Marshall County	42.2	+5.8%
79	Carlton County	42.1	+4%
79	Itasca County	42.1	+5.5%
81	Pennington County	42	+6.9%
82	Koochiching County	41.9	+7.7%
83	Roseau County	41.7	+5.8%
84	Lake of the Woods County	41.6	+6.7%
85	St. Louis County	40.9	+5.1%
86	Lake County	40.1	+5%
87	Cook County	39.4	+5.3%

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, 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 average temperature, counties, Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/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 average temperature, counties. Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/minnesota-counties?period=2021.

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, 2021 [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=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 average temperature, counties: Counties in Minnesota by average annual temperature, 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/average-annual-temperature/minnesota-counties?period=2021. 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, 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/average-annual-temperature/minnesota-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/average-annual-temperature/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 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?

Watonwan County, with 48.5 °F in 2021, according to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.

Which county has the lowest average annual temperature?

Cook County, with 39.4 °F 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 average temperature, counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.