Counties in Minnesota by share of adults with a bachelor's degree

Hennepin County had the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree of 87 counties in 2021, at 51.9%. Mahnomen County had the lowest, at 12.9%. The median was 22.5% and the figure for Minnesota was 37.6%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest51.9Hennepin County
Lowest12.9Mahnomen County
Median22.587 counties
Minnesota37.6History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Hennepin CountyHennepin County: 51.9 %51.9Carver CountyCarver County: 49.7 %49.7Olmsted CountyOlmsted County: 47.2 %47.2Washington CountyWashington County: 47.1 %47.1Ramsey CountyRamsey County: 43.9 %43.9Dakota CountyDakota County: 43.2 %43.2Cook CountyCook County: 42.4 %42.4Scott CountyScott County: 42.3 %42.3Clay CountyClay County: 36 %36Blue Earth CountyBlue Earth County: 35.5 %35.5Nicollet CountyNicollet County: 35.2 %35.2Wright CountyWright County: 31.9 %31.9Winona CountyWinona County: 31.8 %31.8Anoka CountyAnoka County: 31.3 %31.3St. Louis CountySt. Louis County: 31.2 %31.2Beltrami CountyBeltrami County: 30.4 %30.4Hubbard CountyHubbard County: 29.5 %29.5Rice CountyRice County: 28.9 %28.9Stearns CountyStearns County: 28.7 %28.7Stevens CountyStevens County: 28.3 %28.3Dodge CountyDodge County: 28.2 %28.2Steele CountySteele County: 27.9 %27.9Polk CountyPolk County: 27 %27Douglas CountyDouglas County: 26.9 %26.9Lyon CountyLyon County: 26.9 %26.9Otter Tail CountyOtter Tail County: 26.8 %26.8Wabasha CountyWabasha County: 26.8 %26.8Goodhue CountyGoodhue County: 26.6 %26.6Kittson CountyKittson County: 26 %26Lake CountyLake County: 26 %26Crow Wing CountyCrow Wing County: 25.9 %25.9Sherburne CountySherburne County: 25.9 %25.9Becker CountyBecker County: 25.8 %25.8Rock CountyRock County: 25.7 %25.7Houston CountyHouston County: 25.4 %25.4Kandiyohi CountyKandiyohi County: 25.3 %25.3Itasca CountyItasca County: 25.2 %25.2Cass CountyCass County: 24.3 %24.3Carlton CountyCarlton County: 23.9 %23.9Le Sueur CountyLe Sueur County: 23.8 %23.8
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021 (%)
1Hennepin County51.9
2Carver County49.7
3Olmsted County47.2
4Washington County47.1
5Ramsey County43.9
6Dakota County43.2
7Cook County42.4
8Scott County42.3
9Clay County36
10Blue Earth County35.5
11Nicollet County35.2
12Wright County31.9
13Winona County31.8
14Anoka County31.3
15St. Louis County31.2
16Beltrami County30.4
17Hubbard County29.5
18Rice County28.9
19Stearns County28.7
20Stevens County28.3
21Dodge County28.2
22Steele County27.9
23Polk County27
24Douglas County26.9
25Lyon County26.9
26Otter Tail County26.8
27Wabasha County26.8
28Goodhue County26.6
29Kittson County26
30Lake County26
31Crow Wing County25.9
32Sherburne County25.9
33Becker County25.8
34Rock County25.7
35Houston County25.4
36Kandiyohi County25.3
37Itasca County25.2
38Cass County24.3
39Carlton County23.9
40Le Sueur County23.8
41Brown County23.7
42Mower County23.7
43Benton County22.9
44Waseca County22.5
45Fillmore County22.4
46Chisago County22.4
47Wilkin County22.4
48Cottonwood County22.2
49Pope County22.2
50Jackson County22.1
51Lake of the Woods County21.9
52Norman County21.9
53Martin County21.6
54Murray County21.3
55Lincoln County21
56Swift County20.9
57Pipestone County20.4
58Faribault County20.2
59Big Stone County20.1
60Roseau County20
61Pennington County19.7
62Meeker County19.6
63Lac qui Parle County19.4
64McLeod County19.3
65Marshall County19.3
66Chippewa County19.2
67Redwood County19.1
68Watonwan County18.8
69Isanti County18.8
70Grant County18.6
71Yellow Medicine County18.2
72Morrison County17.9
73Clearwater County17.7
73Red Lake County17.7
75Aitkin County17.2
76Sibley County17
77Freeborn County16.8
78Wadena County16.7
79Nobles County16.6
80Koochiching County16.2
81Mille Lacs County16.1
82Renville County16
83Pine County15.3
84Traverse County14.9
85Kanabec County14.8
86Todd County14.6
87Mahnomen County12.9

Other periods

About this ranking

People aged 25 and over whose highest degree is a bachelor's, master's, professional school or doctorate degree, as a percentage of all people aged 25 and over. United States: American Community Survey five-year estimate, where the period shown is the last year of the five-year span.

Excludes associate degrees and college without a degree. Not comparable with EU tertiary attainment, which includes short-cycle tertiary education and usually covers ages 25 to 64. Calculated from counts in ACS table B15003, which are stored as inputs.

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

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/acsdt5y2021-b15003.dat. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Questions

Which county has the highest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Hennepin County, with 51.9% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest share of adults with a bachelor's degree?

Mahnomen County, with 12.9% in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B15003: population 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree or higher as a percentage of the population 25 years and over, calculated with stored inputs. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Bachelor's degree or higher, population 25 and over: other rankings

Counties in Minnesota: more rankings