Counties in Minnesota by population

Hennepin County had the highest population of 87 counties in 2023, at 1.26 million. Traverse County had the lowest, at 3,176. The median was 22,065 and the figure for Minnesota was 5.75 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest1,263,745Hennepin County
Lowest3,176Traverse County
Median22,06587 counties
Minnesota5,752,998History

Top 40 counties, 2023

CSVChart (SVG)

Hennepin CountyHennepin County: 1,263,745 persons1,263,745Ramsey CountyRamsey County: 537,716 persons537,716Dakota CountyDakota County: 448,612 persons448,612Anoka CountyAnoka County: 373,182 persons373,182Washington CountyWashington County: 278,890 persons278,890St. Louis CountySt. Louis County: 200,669 persons200,669Olmsted CountyOlmsted County: 164,841 persons164,841Stearns CountyStearns County: 161,805 persons161,805Scott CountyScott County: 156,145 persons156,145Wright CountyWright County: 151,374 persons151,374Carver CountyCarver County: 111,076 persons111,076Sherburne CountySherburne County: 102,388 persons102,388Blue Earth CountyBlue Earth County: 70,328 persons70,328Rice CountyRice County: 68,585 persons68,585Crow Wing CountyCrow Wing County: 68,339 persons68,339Clay CountyClay County: 66,581 persons66,581Otter Tail CountyOtter Tail County: 60,754 persons60,754Chisago CountyChisago County: 58,647 persons58,647Winona CountyWinona County: 49,904 persons49,904Goodhue CountyGoodhue County: 48,168 persons48,168Beltrami CountyBeltrami County: 46,570 persons46,570Itasca CountyItasca County: 45,487 persons45,487Kandiyohi CountyKandiyohi County: 44,387 persons44,387Isanti CountyIsanti County: 43,198 persons43,198Benton CountyBenton County: 41,580 persons41,580Mower CountyMower County: 40,207 persons40,207Douglas CountyDouglas County: 39,873 persons39,873Steele CountySteele County: 37,462 persons37,462McLeod CountyMcLeod County: 36,861 persons36,861Carlton CountyCarlton County: 36,694 persons36,694Becker CountyBecker County: 35,282 persons35,282Morrison CountyMorrison County: 34,328 persons34,328Nicollet CountyNicollet County: 34,021 persons34,021Cass CountyCass County: 31,344 persons31,344Polk CountyPolk County: 30,563 persons30,563Freeborn CountyFreeborn County: 30,469 persons30,469Pine CountyPine County: 30,190 persons30,190Le Sueur CountyLe Sueur County: 29,289 persons29,289Mille Lacs CountyMille Lacs County: 27,466 persons27,466Todd CountyTodd County: 25,794 persons25,794
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2023
persons
Change on 2022
1Hennepin County1,263,745+0.1%
2Ramsey County537,716-0.1%
3Dakota County448,612+1%
4Anoka County373,182+1%
5Washington County278,890+1%
6St. Louis County200,669+0.1%
7Olmsted County164,841+0.6%
8Stearns County161,805+1.1%
9Scott County156,145+0.9%
10Wright County151,374+2.1%
11Carver County111,076+0.8%
12Sherburne County102,388+1.4%
13Blue Earth County70,328+0.3%
14Rice County68,585+0.9%
15Crow Wing County68,339+0.7%
16Clay County66,581+0.7%
17Otter Tail County60,754+0.3%
18Chisago County58,647+1.1%
19Winona County49,904+0.2%
20Goodhue County48,168+0.1%
21Beltrami County46,570-0.3%
22Itasca County45,487+0.4%
23Kandiyohi County44,387+0.8%
24Isanti County43,198+1.1%
25Benton County41,580+0.1%
26Mower County40,207+0.3%
27Douglas County39,873+0.5%
28Steele County37,462-0%
29McLeod County36,861+0.2%
30Carlton County36,694-0.1%
31Becker County35,282-0.2%
32Morrison County34,328+0.1%
33Nicollet County34,021-1.4%
34Cass County31,344+0.3%
35Polk County30,563-0.8%
36Freeborn County30,469-0.7%
37Pine County30,190+1.3%
38Le Sueur County29,289+0.4%
39Mille Lacs County27,466+0.7%
40Todd County25,794+0.9%
41Brown County25,628-0.3%
42Lyon County25,587+0.3%
43Meeker County23,522-0.1%
44Nobles County22,065-0.2%
45Hubbard County22,062+0.7%
46Wabasha County21,664+0.1%
47Fillmore County21,497+0.1%
48Dodge County21,141+0.5%
49Martin County19,727+0.2%
50Waseca County19,043+0.4%
51Houston County18,682-0.3%
52Kanabec County16,650+1.1%
53Aitkin County16,131-0.1%
54Redwood County15,326-0.3%
55Roseau County15,280-0.4%
56Sibley County15,179+1.3%
57Renville County14,462-0.5%
58Wadena County14,240-0.2%
59Faribault County13,936-0.2%
60Pennington County13,734-0.7%
61Chippewa County12,313-0.4%
62Koochiching County11,744-0.9%
63Cottonwood County11,427+0.2%
64Pope County11,407-0.1%
65Watonwan County11,237-0.1%
66Lake County10,884-0.4%
67Stevens County9,921+1.5%
68Jackson County9,898-0%
69Swift County9,687-0.7%
70Rock County9,621+0.2%
71Yellow Medicine County9,536+0.5%
72Pipestone County9,289-0.5%
73Marshall County8,828-0.5%
74Clearwater County8,698+0.7%
75Murray County8,090+0.4%
76Lac qui Parle County6,674-0%
77Wilkin County6,350-0.2%
78Norman County6,335-0.3%
79Grant County6,161+0.2%
80Cook County5,620-1.7%
81Lincoln County5,584-0.4%
82Mahnomen County5,307-0.2%
83Big Stone County5,098-0.9%
84Kittson County4,036-0.4%
85Red Lake County3,915+0.8%
86Lake of the Woods County3,792-2.7%
87Traverse County3,176-2.6%

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 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Traverse County, with 3,176 in 2023.

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