Counties in Minnesota by unemployment rate

Clearwater County had the highest unemployment rate of 87 counties in January 2026, at 13.9%. Olmsted County had the lowest, at 4%. The median was 6% and the figure for Minnesota was 4.4%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Median687 counties
Minnesota4.4History

Top 40 counties, January 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Clearwater CountyClearwater County: 13.9 %13.9Kanabec CountyKanabec County: 13 %13Pine CountyPine County: 11.7 %11.7Cass CountyCass County: 10.5 %10.5Aitkin CountyAitkin County: 10.2 %10.2Marshall CountyMarshall County: 10 %10Mille Lacs CountyMille Lacs County: 10 %10Pennington CountyPennington County: 9.8 %9.8Morrison CountyMorrison County: 9.6 %9.6Wadena CountyWadena County: 9.6 %9.6Hubbard CountyHubbard County: 9.1 %9.1Red Lake CountyRed Lake County: 8.7 %8.7Itasca CountyItasca County: 8.6 %8.6Murray CountyMurray County: 8.6 %8.6Le Sueur CountyLe Sueur County: 8.5 %8.5Mahnomen CountyMahnomen County: 8.3 %8.3Todd CountyTodd County: 8.2 %8.2Renville CountyRenville County: 7.9 %7.9Isanti CountyIsanti County: 7.7 %7.7Lincoln CountyLincoln County: 7.7 %7.7Cook CountyCook County: 7.6 %7.6Crow Wing CountyCrow Wing County: 7.6 %7.6Grant CountyGrant County: 7.6 %7.6Otter Tail CountyOtter Tail County: 7.4 %7.4Sibley CountySibley County: 7.3 %7.3Becker CountyBecker County: 7.2 %7.2Benton CountyBenton County: 7.1 %7.1Carlton CountyCarlton County: 7.1 %7.1Beltrami CountyBeltrami County: 7 %7Pipestone CountyPipestone County: 6.9 %6.9Meeker CountyMeeker County: 6.8 %6.8Big Stone CountyBig Stone County: 6.7 %6.7Faribault CountyFaribault County: 6.7 %6.7Waseca CountyWaseca County: 6.6 %6.6Koochiching CountyKoochiching County: 6.5 %6.5Yellow Medicine CountyYellow Medicine County: 6.4 %6.4Chisago CountyChisago County: 6.3 %6.3Steele CountySteele County: 6.2 %6.2Kandiyohi CountyKandiyohi County: 6.1 %6.1Swift CountySwift County: 6.1 %6.1
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesJanuary 2026 (%)Change on January 2025
1Clearwater County13.9+2 pts
2Kanabec County13+3.1 pts
3Pine County11.7+2.1 pts
4Cass County10.5+2.2 pts
5Aitkin County10.2+2.2 pts
6Marshall County10+2.3 pts
6Mille Lacs County10+2.1 pts
8Pennington County9.8+1.8 pts
9Morrison County9.6+2.3 pts
9Wadena County9.6+2.2 pts
11Hubbard County9.1+1.5 pts
12Red Lake County8.7+0.8 pts
13Itasca County8.6+1.7 pts
13Murray County8.6+2.3 pts
15Le Sueur County8.5+1.7 pts
16Mahnomen County8.3+1.7 pts
17Todd County8.2+2 pts
18Renville County7.9+1.7 pts
19Isanti County7.7+1.7 pts
19Lincoln County7.7+1.8 pts
21Cook County7.6+1.9 pts
21Crow Wing County7.6+1.9 pts
21Grant County7.6+1.4 pts
24Otter Tail County7.4+1.6 pts
25Sibley County7.3+1.5 pts
26Becker County7.2+1.6 pts
27Benton County7.1+1.5 pts
27Carlton County7.1+1.2 pts
29Beltrami County7+1.4 pts
30Pipestone County6.9+1.3 pts
31Meeker County6.8+1.1 pts
32Big Stone County6.7+1.3 pts
32Faribault County6.7+1.6 pts
34Waseca County6.6+1.4 pts
35Koochiching County6.5+1.5 pts
36Yellow Medicine County6.4+1.8 pts
37Chisago County6.3+1.2 pts
38Steele County6.2+1.5 pts
39Kandiyohi County6.1+1.3 pts
39Swift County6.1-0.3 pts
41Lake County6+1.2 pts
41Lake of the Woods County6+1.3 pts
41Pope County6+1 pts
41Sherburne County6+1.4 pts
45Brown County5.9+1.4 pts
45Chippewa County5.9+0.8 pts
45McLeod County5.9+1 pts
45St. Louis County5.9+1.5 pts
49Dodge County5.8+1.3 pts
49Fillmore County5.8+1.1 pts
49Norman County5.8+1 pts
52Watonwan County5.6+1.3 pts
52Wright County5.6+1.5 pts
54Kittson County5.5+0.7 pts
54Lyon County5.5+1.2 pts
54Polk County5.5+1.3 pts
54Stearns County5.5+1.1 pts
58Douglas County5.4+1.4 pts
58Freeborn County5.4+1.5 pts
58Goodhue County5.4+1.3 pts
58Redwood County5.4+1.3 pts
58Rice County5.4+1.4 pts
63Cottonwood County5.3+0.8 pts
63Jackson County5.3+1.1 pts
63Martin County5.3+1.3 pts
63Wabasha County5.3+0.8 pts
67Houston County5.2+1.1 pts
67Traverse County5.2+1.6 pts
69Roseau County5.10 pts
70Anoka County5+1.3 pts
70Wilkin County5+1 pts
72Clay County4.9+1.5 pts
72Lac qui Parle County4.9+1.1 pts
74Mower County4.8+1.1 pts
75Ramsey County4.7+1.3 pts
76Blue Earth County4.6+1.3 pts
76Dakota County4.6+1.3 pts
76Scott County4.6+1.3 pts
79Stevens County4.5+0.8 pts
80Hennepin County4.4+1.3 pts
80Washington County4.4+1.3 pts
82Carver County4.3+1.2 pts
82Nicollet County4.3+1.1 pts
82Nobles County4.3+1.2 pts
82Winona County4.3+1.1 pts
86Rock County4.1+1.5 pts
87Olmsted County4+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.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Minnesota by unemployment rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"unemployment_rate","level":"province","within":"Minnesota","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unemployment_rate&level=province&within=Minnesota&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Clearwater County, with 13.9% in January 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Olmsted County, with 4% in January 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