Counties in Minnesota by population

Hennepin County had the highest population of 87 counties in 2020, at 1.28 million. Traverse County had the lowest, at 3,359. The median was 22,201 and the figure for Minnesota was 5.71 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest1,281,663Hennepin County
Lowest3,359Traverse County
Median22,20187 counties
Minnesota5,710,562History

Top 40 counties, 2020

CSVChart (SVG)

Hennepin CountyHennepin County: 1,281,663 persons1,281,663Ramsey CountyRamsey County: 551,733 persons551,733Dakota CountyDakota County: 440,419 persons440,419Anoka CountyAnoka County: 364,474 persons364,474Washington CountyWashington County: 268,397 persons268,397St. Louis CountySt. Louis County: 200,067 persons200,067Olmsted CountyOlmsted County: 163,055 persons163,055Stearns CountyStearns County: 158,456 persons158,456Scott CountyScott County: 151,361 persons151,361Wright CountyWright County: 141,876 persons141,876Carver CountyCarver County: 107,308 persons107,308Sherburne CountySherburne County: 97,588 persons97,588Blue Earth CountyBlue Earth County: 69,202 persons69,202Rice CountyRice County: 67,105 persons67,105Crow Wing CountyCrow Wing County: 66,284 persons66,284Clay CountyClay County: 65,358 persons65,358Otter Tail CountyOtter Tail County: 60,098 persons60,098Chisago CountyChisago County: 56,723 persons56,723Winona CountyWinona County: 49,656 persons49,656Goodhue CountyGoodhue County: 47,594 persons47,594Beltrami CountyBeltrami County: 46,232 persons46,232Itasca CountyItasca County: 45,022 persons45,022Kandiyohi CountyKandiyohi County: 43,727 persons43,727Isanti CountyIsanti County: 41,385 persons41,385Benton CountyBenton County: 41,355 persons41,355Mower CountyMower County: 40,068 persons40,068Douglas CountyDouglas County: 39,095 persons39,095Steele CountySteele County: 37,388 persons37,388McLeod CountyMcLeod County: 36,743 persons36,743Carlton CountyCarlton County: 36,190 persons36,190Becker CountyBecker County: 35,184 persons35,184Nicollet CountyNicollet County: 34,504 persons34,504Morrison CountyMorrison County: 33,991 persons33,991Polk CountyPolk County: 31,099 persons31,099Freeborn CountyFreeborn County: 30,899 persons30,899Cass CountyCass County: 30,152 persons30,152Pine CountyPine County: 28,886 persons28,886Le Sueur CountyLe Sueur County: 28,633 persons28,633Mille Lacs CountyMille Lacs County: 26,475 persons26,475Brown CountyBrown County: 25,908 persons25,908
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2020
persons
1Hennepin County1,281,663
2Ramsey County551,733
3Dakota County440,419
4Anoka County364,474
5Washington County268,397
6St. Louis County200,067
7Olmsted County163,055
8Stearns County158,456
9Scott County151,361
10Wright County141,876
11Carver County107,308
12Sherburne County97,588
13Blue Earth County69,202
14Rice County67,105
15Crow Wing County66,284
16Clay County65,358
17Otter Tail County60,098
18Chisago County56,723
19Winona County49,656
20Goodhue County47,594
21Beltrami County46,232
22Itasca County45,022
23Kandiyohi County43,727
24Isanti County41,385
25Benton County41,355
26Mower County40,068
27Douglas County39,095
28Steele County37,388
29McLeod County36,743
30Carlton County36,190
31Becker County35,184
32Nicollet County34,504
33Morrison County33,991
34Polk County31,099
35Freeborn County30,899
36Cass County30,152
37Pine County28,886
38Le Sueur County28,633
39Mille Lacs County26,475
40Brown County25,908
41Lyon County25,429
42Todd County25,291
43Meeker County23,430
44Nobles County22,201
45Hubbard County21,395
46Wabasha County21,394
47Fillmore County21,235
48Dodge County20,895
49Martin County19,998
50Waseca County18,973
51Houston County18,843
52Kanabec County16,054
53Aitkin County15,708
54Redwood County15,417
55Roseau County15,298
56Sibley County14,820
57Renville County14,691
58Wadena County14,124
59Pennington County13,942
60Faribault County13,899
61Chippewa County12,606
62Koochiching County12,027
63Cottonwood County11,517
64Pope County11,327
65Watonwan County11,236
66Lake County10,923
67Jackson County9,990
68Swift County9,801
69Rock County9,685
70Stevens County9,672
71Yellow Medicine County9,498
72Pipestone County9,418
73Marshall County9,025
74Clearwater County8,565
75Murray County8,177
76Lac qui Parle County6,692
77Wilkin County6,477
78Norman County6,438
79Grant County6,093
80Lincoln County5,623
81Cook County5,598
82Mahnomen County5,373
83Big Stone County5,158
84Kittson County4,187
85Red Lake County3,937
86Lake of the Woods County3,770
87Traverse County3,359

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 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Traverse County, with 3,359 in 2020.

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