Counties in Minnesota by unemployment rate, August 2026

Swift County had the highest unemployment rate of 87 counties in August 2026, at 8%. Stevens County had the lowest, at 3.3%. The median was 4.8% and the figure for Minnesota was 4.4%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest8Swift County
Median4.887 counties
Minnesota4.4History

Top 40 counties, August 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Swift CountySwift County: 8 %8Clearwater CountyClearwater County: 7.6 %7.6Red Lake CountyRed Lake County: 6.9 %6.9Mahnomen CountyMahnomen County: 6.6 %6.6Pine CountyPine County: 6.6 %6.6Koochiching CountyKoochiching County: 6.5 %6.5Beltrami CountyBeltrami County: 6.4 %6.4Itasca CountyItasca County: 6.3 %6.3Kanabec CountyKanabec County: 6.3 %6.3Aitkin CountyAitkin County: 6.2 %6.2Wadena CountyWadena County: 6.1 %6.1Lake of the Woods CountyLake of the Woods County: 6 %6Marshall CountyMarshall County: 6 %6Yellow Medicine CountyYellow Medicine County: 5.9 %5.9Kittson CountyKittson County: 5.8 %5.8Mille Lacs CountyMille Lacs County: 5.8 %5.8Isanti CountyIsanti County: 5.6 %5.6Steele CountySteele County: 5.6 %5.6Cottonwood CountyCottonwood County: 5.5 %5.5Cass CountyCass County: 5.4 %5.4Renville CountyRenville County: 5.4 %5.4St. Louis CountySt. Louis County: 5.4 %5.4Todd CountyTodd County: 5.4 %5.4Big Stone CountyBig Stone County: 5.3 %5.3Chippewa CountyChippewa County: 5.3 %5.3Morrison CountyMorrison County: 5.3 %5.3Pennington CountyPennington County: 5.3 %5.3Benton CountyBenton County: 5.2 %5.2Carlton CountyCarlton County: 5.2 %5.2Kandiyohi CountyKandiyohi County: 5.2 %5.2Hubbard CountyHubbard County: 5.1 %5.1Anoka CountyAnoka County: 5 %5Grant CountyGrant County: 5 %5McLeod CountyMcLeod County: 5 %5Polk CountyPolk County: 5 %5Ramsey CountyRamsey County: 5 %5Waseca CountyWaseca County: 5 %5Chisago CountyChisago County: 4.9 %4.9Crow Wing CountyCrow Wing County: 4.9 %4.9Goodhue CountyGoodhue County: 4.9 %4.9
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesAugust 2026 (%)Change on August 2025
1Swift County Provisional8+4 pts
2Clearwater County Provisional7.6+1.5 pts
3Red Lake County Provisional6.9+0.6 pts
4Mahnomen County Provisional6.6+0.6 pts
4Pine County Provisional6.6+0.9 pts
6Koochiching County Provisional6.5+1.3 pts
7Beltrami County Provisional6.4+1.2 pts
8Itasca County Provisional6.3+0.6 pts
8Kanabec County Provisional6.3+0.6 pts
10Aitkin County Provisional6.2+0.7 pts
11Wadena County Provisional6.1+0.8 pts
12Lake of the Woods County Provisional6+1.3 pts
12Marshall County Provisional6+1.1 pts
14Yellow Medicine County Provisional5.9+2.2 pts
15Kittson County Provisional5.8+2 pts
15Mille Lacs County Provisional5.8+0.8 pts
17Isanti County Provisional5.6+0.7 pts
17Steele County Provisional5.6+0.9 pts
19Cottonwood County Provisional5.5+1 pts
20Cass County Provisional5.4+0.9 pts
20Renville County Provisional5.4+0.6 pts
20St. Louis County Provisional5.4+0.6 pts
20Todd County Provisional5.4+0.5 pts
24Big Stone County Provisional5.3+1.7 pts
24Chippewa County Provisional5.3+1 pts
24Morrison County Provisional5.3+0.5 pts
24Pennington County Provisional5.3+1.4 pts
28Benton County Provisional5.2+0.6 pts
28Carlton County Provisional5.2+0.7 pts
28Kandiyohi County Provisional5.2+1.3 pts
31Hubbard County Provisional5.1+0.3 pts
32Anoka County Provisional5+0.8 pts
32Grant County Provisional5+0.5 pts
32McLeod County Provisional5+0.7 pts
32Polk County Provisional5+0.8 pts
32Ramsey County Provisional5+0.8 pts
32Waseca County Provisional5+0.6 pts
38Chisago County Provisional4.9+0.8 pts
38Crow Wing County Provisional4.9+0.9 pts
38Goodhue County Provisional4.9+1 pts
38Meeker County Provisional4.9+0.6 pts
38Rice County Provisional4.9+0.9 pts
38Roseau County Provisional4.9+0.2 pts
44Murray County Provisional4.8+0.7 pts
44Nobles County Provisional4.8+0.5 pts
44Otter Tail County Provisional4.8+1 pts
44Sherburne County Provisional4.8+0.8 pts
44Stearns County Provisional4.8+0.8 pts
49Lyon County Provisional4.7+0.7 pts
50Dakota County Provisional4.6+0.7 pts
50Faribault County Provisional4.6+0.7 pts
50Hennepin County Provisional4.6+0.6 pts
50Jackson County Provisional4.6+0.5 pts
50Le Sueur County Provisional4.6+0.7 pts
50Norman County Provisional4.6+1.5 pts
50Redwood County Provisional4.6+0.9 pts
50Sibley County Provisional4.6+0.7 pts
58Becker County Provisional4.5+0.8 pts
58Freeborn County Provisional4.5+0.8 pts
58Pope County Provisional4.5+1 pts
58Washington County Provisional4.5+0.8 pts
58Watonwan County Provisional4.5+0.4 pts
58Wright County Provisional4.5+0.7 pts
64Dodge County Provisional4.4+0.7 pts
64Lincoln County Provisional4.4+0.7 pts
64Mower County Provisional4.4+0.6 pts
67Brown County Provisional4.3+0.7 pts
67Clay County Provisional4.3+0.8 pts
67Lake County Provisional4.3+0.8 pts
67Martin County Provisional4.30 pts
71Carver County Provisional4.2+0.7 pts
71Scott County Provisional4.2+0.6 pts
71Wilkin County Provisional4.2+0.4 pts
74Blue Earth County Provisional4.1+0.5 pts
74Pipestone County Provisional4.1+0.8 pts
74Wabasha County Provisional4.1+0.9 pts
77Douglas County Provisional4+0.7 pts
77Lac qui Parle County Provisional4+1.2 pts
77Traverse County Provisional4+0.7 pts
77Winona County Provisional4+0.7 pts
81Cook County Provisional3.9+0.6 pts
81Fillmore County Provisional3.9+0.7 pts
83Olmsted County Provisional3.8+0.7 pts
84Nicollet County Provisional3.7+0.5 pts
84Rock County Provisional3.7+0.5 pts
86Houston County Provisional3.6+0.5 pts
87Stevens County Provisional3.3+0.9 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

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. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Swift County, with 8% in August 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Stevens County, with 3.3% in August 2026.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in Minnesota: more rankings