Counties in Minnesota by population

Hennepin County had the highest population of 87 counties in 2021, at 1.27 million. Traverse County had the lowest, at 3,280. The median was 22,073 and the figure for Minnesota was 5.71 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest1,267,341Hennepin County
Lowest3,280Traverse County
Median22,07387 counties
Minnesota5,714,055History

Top 40 counties, 2021

CSVChart (SVG)

Hennepin CountyHennepin County: 1,267,341 persons1,267,341Ramsey CountyRamsey County: 543,343 persons543,343Dakota CountyDakota County: 442,829 persons442,829Anoka CountyAnoka County: 367,557 persons367,557Washington CountyWashington County: 272,698 persons272,698St. Louis CountySt. Louis County: 199,340 persons199,340Olmsted CountyOlmsted County: 163,717 persons163,717Stearns CountyStearns County: 159,112 persons159,112Scott CountyScott County: 153,494 persons153,494Wright CountyWright County: 145,245 persons145,245Carver CountyCarver County: 108,911 persons108,911Sherburne CountySherburne County: 99,225 persons99,225Blue Earth CountyBlue Earth County: 69,387 persons69,387Crow Wing CountyCrow Wing County: 67,380 persons67,380Rice CountyRice County: 67,359 persons67,359Clay CountyClay County: 65,675 persons65,675Otter Tail CountyOtter Tail County: 60,245 persons60,245Chisago CountyChisago County: 57,577 persons57,577Winona CountyWinona County: 49,794 persons49,794Goodhue CountyGoodhue County: 48,091 persons48,091Beltrami CountyBeltrami County: 46,473 persons46,473Itasca CountyItasca County: 45,112 persons45,112Kandiyohi CountyKandiyohi County: 43,813 persons43,813Isanti CountyIsanti County: 41,955 persons41,955Benton CountyBenton County: 41,545 persons41,545Mower CountyMower County: 40,232 persons40,232Douglas CountyDouglas County: 39,312 persons39,312Steele CountySteele County: 37,441 persons37,441McLeod CountyMcLeod County: 36,813 persons36,813Carlton CountyCarlton County: 36,455 persons36,455Becker CountyBecker County: 35,322 persons35,322Nicollet CountyNicollet County: 34,370 persons34,370Morrison CountyMorrison County: 34,069 persons34,069Polk CountyPolk County: 30,861 persons30,861Freeborn CountyFreeborn County: 30,815 persons30,815Cass CountyCass County: 30,660 persons30,660Pine CountyPine County: 29,080 persons29,080Le Sueur CountyLe Sueur County: 28,902 persons28,902Mille Lacs CountyMille Lacs County: 26,919 persons26,919Brown CountyBrown County: 25,904 persons25,904
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2021
persons
Change on 2020
1Hennepin County1,267,341-1.1%
2Ramsey County543,343-1.5%
3Dakota County442,829+0.5%
4Anoka County367,557+0.8%
5Washington County272,698+1.6%
6St. Louis County199,340-0.4%
7Olmsted County163,717+0.4%
8Stearns County159,112+0.4%
9Scott County153,494+1.4%
10Wright County145,245+2.4%
11Carver County108,911+1.5%
12Sherburne County99,225+1.7%
13Blue Earth County69,387+0.3%
14Crow Wing County67,380+1.7%
15Rice County67,359+0.4%
16Clay County65,675+0.5%
17Otter Tail County60,245+0.2%
18Chisago County57,577+1.5%
19Winona County49,794+0.3%
20Goodhue County48,091+1%
21Beltrami County46,473+0.5%
22Itasca County45,112+0.2%
23Kandiyohi County43,813+0.2%
24Isanti County41,955+1.4%
25Benton County41,545+0.5%
26Mower County40,232+0.4%
27Douglas County39,312+0.6%
28Steele County37,441+0.1%
29McLeod County36,813+0.2%
30Carlton County36,455+0.7%
31Becker County35,322+0.4%
32Nicollet County34,370-0.4%
33Morrison County34,069+0.2%
34Polk County30,861-0.8%
35Freeborn County30,815-0.3%
36Cass County30,660+1.7%
37Pine County29,080+0.7%
38Le Sueur County28,902+0.9%
39Mille Lacs County26,919+1.7%
40Brown County25,904-0%
41Lyon County25,500+0.3%
42Todd County25,290-0%
43Meeker County23,403-0.1%
44Nobles County22,073-0.6%
45Hubbard County21,747+1.6%
46Wabasha County21,508+0.5%
47Fillmore County21,333+0.5%
48Dodge County20,969+0.4%
49Martin County19,941-0.3%
50Waseca County19,015+0.2%
51Houston County18,822-0.1%
52Kanabec County16,177+0.8%
53Aitkin County15,954+1.6%
54Redwood County15,392-0.2%
55Roseau County15,273-0.2%
56Sibley County14,965+1%
57Renville County14,605-0.6%
58Wadena County14,146+0.2%
59Faribault County13,909+0.1%
60Pennington County13,786-1.1%
61Chippewa County12,376-1.8%
62Koochiching County11,946-0.7%
63Cottonwood County11,592+0.7%
64Pope County11,415+0.8%
65Watonwan County11,158-0.7%
66Lake County11,020+0.9%
67Jackson County10,005+0.2%
68Swift County9,787-0.1%
69Rock County9,700+0.2%
70Stevens County9,692+0.2%
71Yellow Medicine County9,444-0.6%
72Pipestone County9,359-0.6%
73Marshall County8,998-0.3%
74Clearwater County8,572+0.1%
75Murray County8,146-0.4%
76Lac qui Parle County6,6930%
77Norman County6,445+0.1%
78Wilkin County6,412-1%
79Grant County6,146+0.9%
80Cook County5,626+0.5%
81Lincoln County5,576-0.8%
82Mahnomen County5,384+0.2%
83Big Stone County5,167+0.2%
84Kittson County4,157-0.7%
85Red Lake County3,946+0.2%
86Lake of the Woods County3,832+1.6%
87Traverse County3,280-2.4%

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 1.27 million in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Traverse County, with 3,280 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, 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