Counties in Minnesota by farms

Stearns County had the highest farms of 87 counties in 1997, at 3,135. Cook County had the lowest, at 13. The median was 849 and the figure for Minnesota was 78,755. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

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Highest3,135Stearns County
Lowest13Cook County
Median84987 counties
Minnesota78,755History

Map of counties, 1997

Aitkin County: 674 countAnoka County: 545 countBecker County: 1,210 countBeltrami County: 733 countBenton County: 892 countBig Stone County: 448 countBlue Earth County: 1,082 countBrown County: 1,064 countCarlton County: 612 countCarver County: 831 countCass County: 677 countChippewa County: 629 countChisago County: 860 countClay County: 943 countClearwater County: 630 countCook County: 13 countCottonwood County: 807 countCrow Wing County: 681 countDakota County: 962 countDodge County: 716 countDouglas County: 1,138 countFaribault County: 894 countFillmore County: 1,625 countFreeborn County: 1,193 countGoodhue County: 1,582 countGrant County: 510 countHennepin County: 641 countHouston County: 998 countHubbard County: 503 countIsanti County: 858 countItasca County: 476 countJackson County: 982 countKanabec County: 716 countKandiyohi County: 1,225 countKittson County: 635 countKoochiching County: 243 countLac qui Parle County: 809 countLake County: 45 countLake of the Woods County: 237 countLe Sueur County: 934 countLincoln County: 755 countLyon County: 949 countMcLeod County: 1,055 countMahnomen County: 383 countMarshall County: 1,307 countMartin County: 998 countMeeker County: 1,079 countMille Lacs County: 799 countMorrison County: 1,958 countMower County: 1,166 countMurray County: 849 countNicollet County: 741 countNobles County: 1,029 countNorman County: 726 countOlmsted County: 1,399 countOtter Tail County: 2,899 countPennington County: 602 countPine County: 1,089 countPipestone County: 696 countPolk County: 1,501 countPope County: 880 countRamsey County: 64 countRed Lake County: 424 countRedwood County: 1,163 countRenville County: 1,124 countRice County: 1,290 countRock County: 708 countRoseau County: 1,215 countSt. Louis County: 861 countScott County: 896 countSherburne County: 588 countSibley County: 987 countStearns County: 3,135 countSteele County: 803 countStevens County: 524 countSwift County: 774 countTodd County: 1,901 countTraverse County: 410 countWabasha County: 1,003 countWadena County: 694 countWaseca County: 735 countWashington County: 739 countWatonwan County: 590 countWilkin County: 466 countWinona County: 1,103 countWright County: 1,541 countYellow Medicine County: 904 count
  • Under 560
  • 560 to 710
  • 710 to 850
  • 850 to 990
  • 990 to 1,200
  • 1,200 and over
count, 1997. Source: USDA NASS, Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) via Data Commons. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 1997

Stearns County: 3,135 countStearns County3,135Otter Tail County: 2,899 countOtter Tail County2,899Morrison County: 1,958 countMorrison County1,958Todd County: 1,901 countTodd County1,901Fillmore County: 1,625 countFillmore County1,625Goodhue County: 1,582 countGoodhue County1,582Wright County: 1,541 countWright County1,541Polk County: 1,501 countPolk County1,501Olmsted County: 1,399 countOlmsted County1,399Marshall County: 1,307 countMarshall County1,307Rice County: 1,290 countRice County1,290Kandiyohi County: 1,225 countKandiyohi County1,225Roseau County: 1,215 countRoseau County1,215Becker County: 1,210 countBecker County1,210Freeborn County: 1,193 countFreeborn County1,193Mower County: 1,166 countMower County1,166Redwood County: 1,163 countRedwood County1,163Douglas County: 1,138 countDouglas County1,138Renville County: 1,124 countRenville County1,124Winona County: 1,103 countWinona County1,103Pine County: 1,089 countPine County1,089Blue Earth County: 1,082 countBlue Earth County1,082Meeker County: 1,079 countMeeker County1,079Brown County: 1,064 countBrown County1,064McLeod County: 1,055 countMcLeod County1,055Nobles County: 1,029 countNobles County1,029Wabasha County: 1,003 countWabasha County1,003Houston County: 998 countHouston County998Martin County: 998 countMartin County998Sibley County: 987 countSibley County987Jackson County: 982 countJackson County982Dakota County: 962 countDakota County962Lyon County: 949 countLyon County949Clay County: 943 countClay County943Le Sueur County: 934 countLe Sueur County934Yellow Medicine County: 904 countYellow Medicine County904Scott County: 896 countScott County896Faribault County: 894 countFaribault County894Benton County: 892 countBenton County892Pope County: 880 countPope County880Stearns County: 3,135 countStearns County3,135Otter Tail County: 2,899 countOtter Tail County2,899Morrison County: 1,958 countMorrison County1,958Todd County: 1,901 countTodd County1,901Fillmore County: 1,625 countFillmore County1,625Goodhue County: 1,582 countGoodhue County1,582Wright County: 1,541 countWright County1,541Polk County: 1,501 countPolk County1,501Olmsted County: 1,399 countOlmsted County1,399Marshall County: 1,307 countMarshall County1,307Rice County: 1,290 countRice County1,290Kandiyohi County: 1,225 countKandiyohi County1,225Roseau County: 1,215 countRoseau County1,215Becker County: 1,210 countBecker County1,210Freeborn County: 1,193 countFreeborn County1,193Mower County: 1,166 countMower County1,166Redwood County: 1,163 countRedwood County1,163Douglas County: 1,138 countDouglas County1,138Renville County: 1,124 countRenville County1,124Winona County: 1,103 countWinona County1,103Pine County: 1,089 countPine County1,089Blue Earth County: 1,082 countBlue Earth County1,082Meeker County: 1,079 countMeeker County1,079Brown County: 1,064 countBrown County1,064McLeod County: 1,055 countMcLeod County1,055Nobles County: 1,029 countNobles County1,029Wabasha County: 1,003 countWabasha County1,003Houston County: 998 countHouston County998Martin County: 998 countMartin County998Sibley County: 987 countSibley County987Jackson County: 982 countJackson County982Dakota County: 962 countDakota County962Lyon County: 949 countLyon County949Clay County: 943 countClay County943Le Sueur County: 934 countLe Sueur County934Yellow Medicine County: 904 countYellow Medicine County904Scott County: 896 countScott County896Faribault County: 894 countFaribault County894Benton County: 892 countBenton County892Pope County: 880 countPope County880
count. Source: USDA NASS, Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) via Data Commons. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Full ranking

RankCounties1997
count
1Stearns County3,135
2Otter Tail County2,899
3Morrison County1,958
4Todd County1,901
5Fillmore County1,625
6Goodhue County1,582
7Wright County1,541
8Polk County1,501
9Olmsted County1,399
10Marshall County1,307
11Rice County1,290
12Kandiyohi County1,225
13Roseau County1,215
14Becker County1,210
15Freeborn County1,193
16Mower County1,166
17Redwood County1,163
18Douglas County1,138
19Renville County1,124
20Winona County1,103
21Pine County1,089
22Blue Earth County1,082
23Meeker County1,079
24Brown County1,064
25McLeod County1,055
26Nobles County1,029
27Wabasha County1,003
28Houston County998
28Martin County998
30Sibley County987
31Jackson County982
32Dakota County962
33Lyon County949
34Clay County943
35Le Sueur County934
36Yellow Medicine County904
37Scott County896
38Faribault County894
39Benton County892
40Pope County880
41St. Louis County861
42Chisago County860
43Isanti County858
44Murray County849
45Carver County831
46Lac qui Parle County809
47Cottonwood County807
48Steele County803
49Mille Lacs County799
50Swift County774
51Lincoln County755
52Nicollet County741
53Washington County739
54Waseca County735
55Beltrami County733
56Norman County726
57Dodge County716
57Kanabec County716
59Rock County708
60Pipestone County696
61Wadena County694
62Crow Wing County681
63Cass County677
64Aitkin County674
65Hennepin County641
66Kittson County635
67Clearwater County630
68Chippewa County629
69Carlton County612
70Pennington County602
71Watonwan County590
72Sherburne County588
73Anoka County545
74Stevens County524
75Grant County510
76Hubbard County503
77Itasca County476
78Wilkin County466
79Big Stone County448
80Red Lake County424
81Traverse County410
82Mahnomen County383
83Koochiching County243
84Lake of the Woods County237
85Ramsey County64
86Lake County45
87Cook County13

Other periods

About this ranking

Places from which 1,000 dollars or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the census year, as counted by the USDA Census of Agriculture every five years.

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

Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.

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

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. (2026). Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022) (Counties in Minnesota by farms, 1997) [Data set]. Data Commons. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/

MLA 9

Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022), Counties in Minnesota by farms, 1997. U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 11 Oct. 2026, https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Data Commons, https://datacommons.org. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/minnesota-counties?period=1997. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2026. Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Counties in Minnesota by farms, 1997. Dataset. Distributed by Data Commons. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/minnesota-counties?period=1997.

Harvard

U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service (2026) Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022), Counties in Minnesota by farms, 1997 [Dataset]. Via Data Commons. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/minnesota-counties?period=1997 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_counties_in_minnesota_by_1997,
  author = {{U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service}},
  title = {{Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022): Counties in Minnesota by farms, 1997}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  publisher = {Data Commons},
  url = {https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/},
  urldate = {2026-10-11},
  note = {Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org). Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/minnesota-counties?period=1997. Publisher attribution: Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service
TI  - Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022): Counties in Minnesota by farms, 1997
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/11
PB  - Data Commons
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/minnesota-counties?period=1997
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org).
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/minnesota-counties?period=1997.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Source: USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture. Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved through Data Commons (datacommons.org). https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/. Retrieved 2026-10-11.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest farms?

Stearns County, with 3,135 in 1997, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which county has the lowest farms?

Cook County, with 13 in 1997.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Census of Agriculture: number of farms, nation, states and counties (1997 to 2022). Retrieved 2026-10-11.

Farms: other rankings

Counties in Minnesota: more rankings