Counties in Minnesota by population

Hennepin County had the highest population of 87 counties in 2022, at 1.26 million. Traverse County had the lowest, at 3,260. The median was 22,106 and the figure for Minnesota was 5.73 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest1,262,045Hennepin County
Lowest3,260Traverse County
Median22,10687 counties
Minnesota5,727,565History

Top 40 counties, 2022

CSVChart (SVG)

Hennepin CountyHennepin County: 1,262,045 persons1,262,045Ramsey CountyRamsey County: 538,375 persons538,375Dakota CountyDakota County: 444,023 persons444,023Anoka CountyAnoka County: 369,468 persons369,468Washington CountyWashington County: 276,249 persons276,249St. Louis CountySt. Louis County: 200,567 persons200,567Olmsted CountyOlmsted County: 163,908 persons163,908Stearns CountyStearns County: 160,119 persons160,119Scott CountyScott County: 154,819 persons154,819Wright CountyWright County: 148,220 persons148,220Carver CountyCarver County: 110,174 persons110,174Sherburne CountySherburne County: 100,972 persons100,972Blue Earth CountyBlue Earth County: 70,108 persons70,108Rice CountyRice County: 67,991 persons67,991Crow Wing CountyCrow Wing County: 67,877 persons67,877Clay CountyClay County: 66,133 persons66,133Otter Tail CountyOtter Tail County: 60,594 persons60,594Chisago CountyChisago County: 57,998 persons57,998Winona CountyWinona County: 49,798 persons49,798Goodhue CountyGoodhue County: 48,103 persons48,103Beltrami CountyBeltrami County: 46,687 persons46,687Itasca CountyItasca County: 45,296 persons45,296Kandiyohi CountyKandiyohi County: 44,016 persons44,016Isanti CountyIsanti County: 42,709 persons42,709Benton CountyBenton County: 41,533 persons41,533Mower CountyMower County: 40,094 persons40,094Douglas CountyDouglas County: 39,662 persons39,662Steele CountySteele County: 37,471 persons37,471McLeod CountyMcLeod County: 36,776 persons36,776Carlton CountyCarlton County: 36,738 persons36,738Becker CountyBecker County: 35,355 persons35,355Nicollet CountyNicollet County: 34,500 persons34,500Morrison CountyMorrison County: 34,278 persons34,278Cass CountyCass County: 31,246 persons31,246Polk CountyPolk County: 30,815 persons30,815Freeborn CountyFreeborn County: 30,696 persons30,696Pine CountyPine County: 29,793 persons29,793Le Sueur CountyLe Sueur County: 29,175 persons29,175Mille Lacs CountyMille Lacs County: 27,287 persons27,287Brown CountyBrown County: 25,703 persons25,703
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2022
persons
Change on 2021
1Hennepin County1,262,045-0.4%
2Ramsey County538,375-0.9%
3Dakota County444,023+0.3%
4Anoka County369,468+0.5%
5Washington County276,249+1.3%
6St. Louis County200,567+0.6%
7Olmsted County163,908+0.1%
8Stearns County160,119+0.6%
9Scott County154,819+0.9%
10Wright County148,220+2%
11Carver County110,174+1.2%
12Sherburne County100,972+1.8%
13Blue Earth County70,108+1%
14Rice County67,991+0.9%
15Crow Wing County67,877+0.7%
16Clay County66,133+0.7%
17Otter Tail County60,594+0.6%
18Chisago County57,998+0.7%
19Winona County49,7980%
20Goodhue County48,1030%
21Beltrami County46,687+0.5%
22Itasca County45,296+0.4%
23Kandiyohi County44,016+0.5%
24Isanti County42,709+1.8%
25Benton County41,533-0%
26Mower County40,094-0.3%
27Douglas County39,662+0.9%
28Steele County37,471+0.1%
29McLeod County36,776-0.1%
30Carlton County36,738+0.8%
31Becker County35,355+0.1%
32Nicollet County34,500+0.4%
33Morrison County34,278+0.6%
34Cass County31,246+1.9%
35Polk County30,815-0.1%
36Freeborn County30,696-0.4%
37Pine County29,793+2.5%
38Le Sueur County29,175+0.9%
39Mille Lacs County27,287+1.4%
40Brown County25,703-0.8%
41Todd County25,571+1.1%
42Lyon County25,521+0.1%
43Meeker County23,545+0.6%
44Nobles County22,106+0.1%
45Hubbard County21,919+0.8%
46Wabasha County21,650+0.7%
47Fillmore County21,467+0.6%
48Dodge County21,044+0.4%
49Martin County19,696-1.2%
50Waseca County18,967-0.3%
51Houston County18,740-0.4%
52Kanabec County16,465+1.8%
53Aitkin County16,148+1.2%
54Redwood County15,365-0.2%
55Roseau County15,347+0.5%
56Sibley County14,986+0.1%
57Renville County14,537-0.5%
58Wadena County14,270+0.9%
59Faribault County13,959+0.4%
60Pennington County13,826+0.3%
61Chippewa County12,358-0.1%
62Koochiching County11,847-0.8%
63Pope County11,421+0.1%
64Cottonwood County11,409-1.6%
65Watonwan County11,243+0.8%
66Lake County10,933-0.8%
67Jackson County9,900-1%
68Stevens County9,777+0.9%
69Swift County9,760-0.3%
70Rock County9,603-1%
71Yellow Medicine County9,485+0.4%
72Pipestone County9,334-0.3%
73Marshall County8,873-1.4%
74Clearwater County8,638+0.8%
75Murray County8,061-1%
76Lac qui Parle County6,676-0.3%
77Wilkin County6,361-0.8%
78Norman County6,356-1.4%
79Grant County6,1470%
80Cook County5,718+1.6%
81Lincoln County5,606+0.5%
82Mahnomen County5,320-1.2%
83Big Stone County5,144-0.4%
84Kittson County4,054-2.5%
85Lake of the Woods County3,898+1.7%
86Red Lake County3,883-1.6%
87Traverse County3,260-0.6%

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 1.26 million in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Traverse County, with 3,260 in 2022.

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