Counties in Minnesota by population, 2025

Hennepin County had the highest population of 87 counties in 2025, at 1.28 million. Traverse County had the lowest, at 3,130. The median was 22,369 and the figure for Minnesota was 5.83 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest1,284,784Hennepin County
Lowest3,130Traverse County
Median22,36987 counties
Minnesota5,830,405History

Top 40 counties, 2025

CSVChart (SVG)

Hennepin CountyHennepin County: 1,284,784 persons1,284,784Ramsey CountyRamsey County: 541,623 persons541,623Dakota CountyDakota County: 457,710 persons457,710Anoka CountyAnoka County: 381,605 persons381,605Washington CountyWashington County: 286,895 persons286,895St. Louis CountySt. Louis County: 200,518 persons200,518Olmsted CountyOlmsted County: 166,731 persons166,731Stearns CountyStearns County: 164,110 persons164,110Scott CountyScott County: 159,017 persons159,017Wright CountyWright County: 157,559 persons157,559Carver CountyCarver County: 114,379 persons114,379Sherburne CountySherburne County: 104,194 persons104,194Blue Earth CountyBlue Earth County: 70,634 persons70,634Rice CountyRice County: 69,939 persons69,939Crow Wing CountyCrow Wing County: 69,132 persons69,132Clay CountyClay County: 67,734 persons67,734Otter Tail CountyOtter Tail County: 61,041 persons61,041Chisago CountyChisago County: 59,142 persons59,142Winona CountyWinona County: 50,523 persons50,523Goodhue CountyGoodhue County: 48,195 persons48,195Beltrami CountyBeltrami County: 47,055 persons47,055Itasca CountyItasca County: 45,404 persons45,404Kandiyohi CountyKandiyohi County: 44,720 persons44,720Isanti CountyIsanti County: 44,386 persons44,386Benton CountyBenton County: 41,744 persons41,744Mower CountyMower County: 40,971 persons40,971Douglas CountyDouglas County: 40,120 persons40,120Steele CountySteele County: 37,464 persons37,464Carlton CountyCarlton County: 36,711 persons36,711McLeod CountyMcLeod County: 36,631 persons36,631Becker CountyBecker County: 35,497 persons35,497Morrison CountyMorrison County: 34,620 persons34,620Nicollet CountyNicollet County: 34,273 persons34,273Cass CountyCass County: 31,430 persons31,430Polk CountyPolk County: 30,545 persons30,545Pine CountyPine County: 30,472 persons30,472Freeborn CountyFreeborn County: 30,440 persons30,440Le Sueur CountyLe Sueur County: 29,453 persons29,453Mille Lacs CountyMille Lacs County: 27,753 persons27,753Todd CountyTodd County: 26,060 persons26,060
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2025
persons
Change on 2024
1Hennepin County1,284,784+0.6%
2Ramsey County541,623+0.2%
3Dakota County457,710+0.9%
4Anoka County381,605+1%
5Washington County286,895+1.4%
6St. Louis County200,518-0.1%
7Olmsted County166,731+0.6%
8Stearns County164,110+0.6%
9Scott County159,017+1%
10Wright County157,559+1.9%
11Carver County114,379+1.6%
12Sherburne County104,194+1%
13Blue Earth County70,634+0.6%
14Rice County69,939+0.6%
15Crow Wing County69,132+0.7%
16Clay County67,734+0.6%
17Otter Tail County61,041+0.1%
18Chisago County59,142+0.3%
19Winona County50,523+0.4%
20Goodhue County48,195+0.1%
21Beltrami County47,055+0.6%
22Itasca County45,404-0.1%
23Kandiyohi County44,720-0.1%
24Isanti County44,386+1.7%
25Benton County41,744-0.1%
26Mower County40,971+0.7%
27Douglas County40,120+0.4%
28Steele County37,4640%
29Carlton County36,711-0%
30McLeod County36,631-0.5%
31Becker County35,497+0.3%
32Morrison County34,620+0.4%
33Nicollet County34,273+0.1%
34Cass County31,4300%
35Polk County30,545-0.4%
36Pine County30,472+0.2%
37Freeborn County30,4400%
38Le Sueur County29,453+0.1%
39Mille Lacs County27,753+0.3%
40Todd County26,060+0.4%
41Lyon County25,684-0.4%
42Brown County25,517-0.2%
43Meeker County23,603+0.3%
44Hubbard County22,369+1.1%
45Nobles County22,338+0.4%
46Fillmore County21,540+0.2%
47Wabasha County21,537-0.1%
48Dodge County21,376+0.4%
49Martin County19,440-0.6%
50Waseca County18,688+0.1%
51Houston County18,400-0.7%
52Kanabec County16,6280%
53Aitkin County16,252-0.2%
54Sibley County15,356+0.4%
55Redwood County15,265+0.2%
56Roseau County15,246-0%
57Wadena County14,388+0.2%
58Renville County14,356-0.4%
59Faribault County13,888-0.1%
60Pennington County13,686-0.5%
61Chippewa County12,406+0.1%
62Koochiching County11,587-0.1%
63Watonwan County11,459+0.8%
64Pope County11,420-0.4%
65Cottonwood County11,405-0%
66Lake County10,746-0.1%
67Jackson County9,857-0.2%
68Swift County9,763+0.4%
69Stevens County9,747-0.8%
70Rock County9,524-0.4%
71Yellow Medicine County9,4770%
72Pipestone County9,260+0.1%
73Marshall County8,798+0.1%
74Clearwater County8,647-0.1%
75Murray County7,942-1.1%
76Lac qui Parle County6,704+0.7%
77Norman County6,336+0.6%
78Wilkin County6,288-0.5%
79Grant County6,085-0.9%
80Lincoln County5,583-0.1%
81Cook County5,522-0.3%
82Mahnomen County5,153-1.7%
83Big Stone County5,054-0.5%
84Kittson County4,0310%
85Red Lake County3,940+1.2%
86Lake of the Woods County3,770-0.3%
87Traverse County3,130-0.7%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population. Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (PadrĂ³n). United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July. Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.

For Denmark, Statistics Denmark counts the registered resident population on 1 January. Greenland and the Faroe Islands are excluded. The annual series selects the first-quarter reference date from FOLK1A. The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

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. Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest population?

Hennepin County, with 1.28 million in 2025, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Traverse County, with 3,130 in 2025.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for the United States, states and counties, 1 July (Population Estimates Program). Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Population: other rankings

Counties in Minnesota: more rankings