Counties in Minnesota by population

Hennepin County had the highest population of 87 counties in 2024, at 1.28 million. Traverse County had the lowest, at 3,152. The median was 22,242 and the figure for Minnesota was 5.8 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest1,277,084Hennepin County
Lowest3,152Traverse County
Median22,24287 counties
Minnesota5,797,405History

Top 40 counties, 2024

CSVChart (SVG)

Hennepin CountyHennepin County: 1,277,084 persons1,277,084Ramsey CountyRamsey County: 540,713 persons540,713Dakota CountyDakota County: 453,755 persons453,755Anoka CountyAnoka County: 377,855 persons377,855Washington CountyWashington County: 282,994 persons282,994St. Louis CountySt. Louis County: 200,630 persons200,630Olmsted CountyOlmsted County: 165,777 persons165,777Stearns CountyStearns County: 163,113 persons163,113Scott CountyScott County: 157,454 persons157,454Wright CountyWright County: 154,612 persons154,612Carver CountyCarver County: 112,595 persons112,595Sherburne CountySherburne County: 103,156 persons103,156Blue Earth CountyBlue Earth County: 70,200 persons70,200Rice CountyRice County: 69,545 persons69,545Crow Wing CountyCrow Wing County: 68,667 persons68,667Clay CountyClay County: 67,339 persons67,339Otter Tail CountyOtter Tail County: 60,958 persons60,958Chisago CountyChisago County: 58,947 persons58,947Winona CountyWinona County: 50,343 persons50,343Goodhue CountyGoodhue County: 48,149 persons48,149Beltrami CountyBeltrami County: 46,779 persons46,779Itasca CountyItasca County: 45,452 persons45,452Kandiyohi CountyKandiyohi County: 44,774 persons44,774Isanti CountyIsanti County: 43,657 persons43,657Benton CountyBenton County: 41,769 persons41,769Mower CountyMower County: 40,684 persons40,684Douglas CountyDouglas County: 39,953 persons39,953Steele CountySteele County: 37,453 persons37,453McLeod CountyMcLeod County: 36,823 persons36,823Carlton CountyCarlton County: 36,725 persons36,725Becker CountyBecker County: 35,385 persons35,385Morrison CountyMorrison County: 34,494 persons34,494Nicollet CountyNicollet County: 34,239 persons34,239Cass CountyCass County: 31,424 persons31,424Polk CountyPolk County: 30,683 persons30,683Freeborn CountyFreeborn County: 30,430 persons30,430Pine CountyPine County: 30,398 persons30,398Le Sueur CountyLe Sueur County: 29,433 persons29,433Mille Lacs CountyMille Lacs County: 27,680 persons27,680Todd CountyTodd County: 25,965 persons25,965
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCounties2024
persons
Change on 2023
1Hennepin County1,277,084+1.1%
2Ramsey County540,713+0.6%
3Dakota County453,755+1.1%
4Anoka County377,855+1.3%
5Washington County282,994+1.5%
6St. Louis County200,630-0%
7Olmsted County165,777+0.6%
8Stearns County163,113+0.8%
9Scott County157,454+0.8%
10Wright County154,612+2.1%
11Carver County112,595+1.4%
12Sherburne County103,156+0.8%
13Blue Earth County70,200-0.2%
14Rice County69,545+1.4%
15Crow Wing County68,667+0.5%
16Clay County67,339+1.1%
17Otter Tail County60,958+0.3%
18Chisago County58,947+0.5%
19Winona County50,343+0.9%
20Goodhue County48,149-0%
21Beltrami County46,779+0.4%
22Itasca County45,452-0.1%
23Kandiyohi County44,774+0.9%
24Isanti County43,657+1.1%
25Benton County41,769+0.5%
26Mower County40,684+1.2%
27Douglas County39,953+0.2%
28Steele County37,453-0%
29McLeod County36,823-0.1%
30Carlton County36,725+0.1%
31Becker County35,385+0.3%
32Morrison County34,494+0.5%
33Nicollet County34,239+0.6%
34Cass County31,424+0.3%
35Polk County30,683+0.4%
36Freeborn County30,430-0.1%
37Pine County30,398+0.7%
38Le Sueur County29,433+0.5%
39Mille Lacs County27,680+0.8%
40Todd County25,965+0.7%
41Lyon County25,785+0.8%
42Brown County25,571-0.2%
43Meeker County23,5220%
44Nobles County22,242+0.8%
45Hubbard County22,115+0.2%
46Wabasha County21,554-0.5%
47Fillmore County21,488-0%
48Dodge County21,281+0.7%
49Martin County19,564-0.8%
50Waseca County18,672-1.9%
51Houston County18,535-0.8%
52Kanabec County16,624-0.2%
53Aitkin County16,283+0.9%
54Sibley County15,290+0.7%
55Roseau County15,249-0.2%
56Redwood County15,238-0.6%
57Renville County14,417-0.3%
58Wadena County14,355+0.8%
59Faribault County13,906-0.2%
60Pennington County13,750+0.1%
61Chippewa County12,394+0.7%
62Koochiching County11,594-1.3%
63Pope County11,464+0.5%
64Cottonwood County11,407-0.2%
65Watonwan County11,365+1.1%
66Lake County10,754-1.2%
67Jackson County9,873-0.3%
68Stevens County9,828-0.9%
69Swift County9,721+0.4%
70Rock County9,563-0.6%
71Yellow Medicine County9,477-0.6%
72Pipestone County9,251-0.4%
73Marshall County8,788-0.5%
74Clearwater County8,655-0.5%
75Murray County8,027-0.8%
76Lac qui Parle County6,655-0.3%
77Wilkin County6,319-0.5%
78Norman County6,301-0.5%
79Grant County6,139-0.4%
80Lincoln County5,591+0.1%
81Cook County5,537-1.5%
82Mahnomen County5,241-1.2%
83Big Stone County5,079-0.4%
84Kittson County4,029-0.2%
85Red Lake County3,894-0.5%
86Lake of the Woods County3,780-0.3%
87Traverse County3,152-0.8%

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 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest population?

Traverse County, with 3,152 in 2024.

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