Counties in Minnesota by unemployment rate

Clearwater County had the highest unemployment rate of 87 counties in July 2026, at 7.5%. Stevens County had the lowest, at 3.2%. The median was 4.8% and the figure for Minnesota was 4.3%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Median4.887 counties
Minnesota4.3History

Top 40 counties, July 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Clearwater CountyClearwater County: 7.5 %7.5Mahnomen CountyMahnomen County: 6.9 %6.9Red Lake CountyRed Lake County: 6.8 %6.8Koochiching CountyKoochiching County: 6.7 %6.7Kanabec CountyKanabec County: 6.5 %6.5Pine CountyPine County: 6.5 %6.5Cottonwood CountyCottonwood County: 6.1 %6.1Itasca CountyItasca County: 6.1 %6.1Renville CountyRenville County: 6.1 %6.1Beltrami CountyBeltrami County: 6 %6Aitkin CountyAitkin County: 5.9 %5.9Marshall CountyMarshall County: 5.9 %5.9Yellow Medicine CountyYellow Medicine County: 5.9 %5.9Wadena CountyWadena County: 5.8 %5.8Lake of the Woods CountyLake of the Woods County: 5.7 %5.7Mille Lacs CountyMille Lacs County: 5.7 %5.7Isanti CountyIsanti County: 5.5 %5.5Todd CountyTodd County: 5.5 %5.5Nobles CountyNobles County: 5.4 %5.4Steele CountySteele County: 5.4 %5.4Chippewa CountyChippewa County: 5.3 %5.3Morrison CountyMorrison County: 5.3 %5.3Murray CountyMurray County: 5.3 %5.3Benton CountyBenton County: 5.2 %5.2Big Stone CountyBig Stone County: 5.2 %5.2Cass CountyCass County: 5.2 %5.2Kandiyohi CountyKandiyohi County: 5.2 %5.2St. Louis CountySt. Louis County: 5.2 %5.2Carlton CountyCarlton County: 5.1 %5.1Meeker CountyMeeker County: 5.1 %5.1Polk CountyPolk County: 5.1 %5.1Swift CountySwift County: 5.1 %5.1Grant CountyGrant County: 5 %5Hubbard CountyHubbard County: 5 %5Jackson CountyJackson County: 5 %5Kittson CountyKittson County: 5 %5Faribault CountyFaribault County: 4.9 %4.9Freeborn CountyFreeborn County: 4.9 %4.9Goodhue CountyGoodhue County: 4.9 %4.9Pennington CountyPennington County: 4.9 %4.9
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesJuly 2026 (%)Change on July 2025
1Clearwater County7.5+0.9 pts
2Mahnomen County6.9+0.4 pts
3Red Lake County6.8-0.4 pts
4Koochiching County6.7+1.5 pts
5Kanabec County6.5+0.9 pts
5Pine County6.5+0.9 pts
7Cottonwood County6.1-2.2 pts
7Itasca County6.1+0.4 pts
7Renville County6.1+0.5 pts
10Beltrami County6+0.8 pts
11Aitkin County5.9+0.6 pts
11Marshall County5.9+0.2 pts
11Yellow Medicine County5.9+1.2 pts
14Wadena County5.8+0.7 pts
15Lake of the Woods County5.7+1.4 pts
15Mille Lacs County5.7+0.7 pts
17Isanti County5.5+0.8 pts
17Todd County5.5+0.8 pts
19Nobles County5.4+0.4 pts
19Steele County5.4+0.8 pts
21Chippewa County5.3+0.5 pts
21Morrison County5.3+0.7 pts
21Murray County5.3+0.4 pts
24Benton County5.2+0.8 pts
24Big Stone County5.2+1.1 pts
24Cass County5.2+0.6 pts
24Kandiyohi County5.2+0.8 pts
24St. Louis County5.2+0.3 pts
29Carlton County5.1+0.6 pts
29Meeker County5.1+0.6 pts
29Polk County5.1+0.4 pts
29Swift County5.1-0.8 pts
33Grant County5+0.5 pts
33Hubbard County5+0.1 pts
33Jackson County5-0.1 pts
33Kittson County5+1.1 pts
37Faribault County4.9+0.9 pts
37Freeborn County4.9+0.6 pts
37Goodhue County4.9+1 pts
37Pennington County4.9-1 pts
37Redwood County4.9+0.7 pts
37Watonwan County4.9+0.3 pts
43Anoka County4.8+0.7 pts
43Lyon County4.8+0.4 pts
43Sherburne County4.8+0.6 pts
43Waseca County4.8+0.2 pts
47Chisago County4.7+0.6 pts
47McLeod County4.7+0.4 pts
47Mower County4.7+0.8 pts
47Norman County4.7+0.8 pts
47Ramsey County4.7+0.7 pts
47Roseau County4.7+0.3 pts
47Stearns County4.7+0.6 pts
54Becker County4.6+0.7 pts
54Crow Wing County4.6+0.6 pts
56Martin County4.5+0.2 pts
56Otter Tail County4.5+0.7 pts
56Rice County4.5+0.4 pts
56Sibley County4.5+0.5 pts
56Wright County4.5+0.7 pts
61Clay County4.4+0.8 pts
61Dakota County4.4+0.6 pts
61Hennepin County4.4+0.6 pts
64Dodge County4.3+0.6 pts
64Le Sueur County4.3+0.3 pts
64Lincoln County4.3+0.7 pts
64Washington County4.3+0.6 pts
68Lac qui Parle County4.2+0.4 pts
68Pope County4.2+0.6 pts
70Brown County4.1+0.3 pts
70Lake County4.1+0.6 pts
70Traverse County4.1+0.3 pts
70Wilkin County4.1+0.4 pts
70Winona County4.1+0.7 pts
75Blue Earth County4+0.3 pts
75Carver County4+0.5 pts
75Scott County4+0.5 pts
75Wabasha County4+0.8 pts
79Pipestone County3.9+0.5 pts
80Cook County3.8+0.6 pts
80Douglas County3.8+0.5 pts
82Fillmore County3.7+0.4 pts
82Rock County3.7+0.3 pts
84Olmsted County3.6+0.5 pts
85Houston County3.5+0.5 pts
85Nicollet County3.5+0.1 pts
87Stevens County3.2+0.3 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?

Clearwater County, with 7.5% in July 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Stevens County, with 3.2% in July 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