Counties in Minnesota by farms

Stearns County had the highest farms of 87 counties in 2017, at 2,951. Cook County had the lowest, at 32. The median was 760 and the figure for Minnesota was 68,822. Source: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Highest2,951Stearns County
Lowest32Cook County
Median76087 counties
Minnesota68,822History

Top 40 counties, 2017

Stearns County: 2,951 countStearns County2,951Otter Tail County: 2,544 countOtter Tail County2,544Morrison County: 1,760 countMorrison County1,760Todd County: 1,604 countTodd County1,604Goodhue County: 1,461 countGoodhue County1,461Fillmore County: 1,401 countFillmore County1,401Wright County: 1,338 countWright County1,338Polk County: 1,258 countPolk County1,258Rice County: 1,242 countRice County1,242Kandiyohi County: 1,220 countKandiyohi County1,220Olmsted County: 1,139 countOlmsted County1,139Redwood County: 1,134 countRedwood County1,134Marshall County: 1,086 countMarshall County1,086Freeborn County: 1,076 countFreeborn County1,076Mower County: 1,068 countMower County1,068Brown County: 1,040 countBrown County1,040Winona County: 1,034 countWinona County1,034Meeker County: 1,028 countMeeker County1,028Renville County: 1,026 countRenville County1,026Blue Earth County: 983 countBlue Earth County983Douglas County: 960 countDouglas County960Becker County: 943 countBecker County943Le Sueur County: 937 countLe Sueur County937Martin County: 911 countMartin County911Sibley County: 898 countSibley County898Lyon County: 893 countLyon County893Houston County: 891 countHouston County891Nobles County: 885 countNobles County885McLeod County: 880 countMcLeod County880Murray County: 864 countMurray County864Lac qui Parle County: 853 countLac qui Parle County853Yellow Medicine County: 852 countYellow Medicine County852Roseau County: 842 countRoseau County842Pope County: 837 countPope County837Pine County: 823 countPine County823Faribault County: 822 countFaribault County822Chisago County: 821 countChisago County821Dakota County: 820 countDakota County820Benton County: 816 countBenton County816Wabasha County: 809 countWabasha County809
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

RankCounties2017
count
1Stearns County2,951
2Otter Tail County2,544
3Morrison County1,760
4Todd County1,604
5Goodhue County1,461
6Fillmore County1,401
7Wright County1,338
8Polk County1,258
9Rice County1,242
10Kandiyohi County1,220
11Olmsted County1,139
12Redwood County1,134
13Marshall County1,086
14Freeborn County1,076
15Mower County1,068
16Brown County1,040
17Winona County1,034
18Meeker County1,028
19Renville County1,026
20Blue Earth County983
21Douglas County960
22Becker County943
23Le Sueur County937
24Martin County911
25Sibley County898
26Lyon County893
27Houston County891
28Nobles County885
29McLeod County880
30Murray County864
31Lac qui Parle County853
32Yellow Medicine County852
33Roseau County842
34Pope County837
35Pine County823
36Faribault County822
37Chisago County821
38Dakota County820
39Benton County816
40Wabasha County809
41Isanti County805
42Jackson County799
43St. Louis County779
44Swift County760
45Steele County746
46Cottonwood County744
47Scott County740
48Waseca County729
49Mille Lacs County707
50Rock County701
51Clay County694
52Carver County689
52Nicollet County689
54Lincoln County672
55Kanabec County624
56Chippewa County623
57Washington County612
58Dodge County611
59Pipestone County595
60Beltrami County583
61Stevens County553
62Carlton County529
63Kittson County528
64Grant County524
65Wadena County516
66Norman County505
67Sherburne County501
68Watonwan County497
69Crow Wing County494
70Hennepin County467
71Aitkin County462
72Big Stone County438
73Cass County432
74Clearwater County414
75Traverse County411
76Pennington County409
77Wilkin County391
78Hubbard County384
79Anoka County360
80Itasca County337
81Mahnomen County311
82Red Lake County263
83Koochiching County181
84Lake of the Woods County134
85Ramsey County55
86Lake County42
87Cook County32

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, 2017) [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, 2017. 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=2017. 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, 2017. 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=2017.

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, 2017 [Dataset]. Via Data Commons. Available at: https://www.nass.usda.gov/AgCensus/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/minnesota-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 11 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{department_counties_in_minnesota_by_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  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=2017. 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, 2017
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=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/11
N1  - Retrieved through Data Commons (https://datacommons.org).
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/farms/minnesota-counties?period=2017.
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 2,951 in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Which county has the lowest farms?

Cook County, with 32 in 2017.

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