Counties in Minnesota by wages and salaries paid

Hennepin County had the highest wages and salaries paid of 87 counties in 2015, at $62.83 billion. Red Lake County had the lowest, at $37.92 million. The median was $313.24 million and the figure for Minnesota was $153.86 billion. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

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Highest62,826.7Hennepin County
Lowest37.9Red Lake County
Median313.287 counties
Minnesota153,855.6History

Map of counties, 2015

Aitkin County: 134.2 USD millionAnoka County: 6,362 USD millionBecker County: 540.9 USD millionBeltrami County: 755.8 USD millionBenton County: 695.4 USD millionBig Stone County: 70.1 USD millionBlue Earth County: 1,651.7 USD millionBrown County: 549.1 USD millionCarlton County: 571 USD millionCarver County: 2,097.5 USD millionCass County: 313.2 USD millionChippewa County: 216.4 USD millionChisago County: 648.9 USD millionClay County: 812.4 USD millionClearwater County: 119.2 USD millionCook County: 92.4 USD millionCottonwood County: 182 USD millionCrow Wing County: 1,143.5 USD millionDakota County: 10,333.2 USD millionDodge County: 264.3 USD millionDouglas County: 765.9 USD millionFaribault County: 178.5 USD millionFillmore County: 211.9 USD millionFreeborn County: 500.1 USD millionGoodhue County: 1,033.9 USD millionGrant County: 77.6 USD millionHennepin County: 62,826.7 USD millionHouston County: 171.3 USD millionHubbard County: 214.3 USD millionIsanti County: 447.1 USD millionItasca County: 698.8 USD millionJackson County: 209 USD millionKanabec County: 144 USD millionKandiyohi County: 890.9 USD millionKittson County: 62.2 USD millionKoochiching County: 193.5 USD millionLac qui Parle County: 86.2 USD millionLake County: 195.5 USD millionLake of the Woods County: 53.3 USD millionLe Sueur County: 365.2 USD millionLincoln County: 62.4 USD millionLyon County: 639.7 USD millionMcLeod County: 767.4 USD millionMahnomen County: 68.1 USD millionMarshall County: 103.3 USD millionMartin County: 351.1 USD millionMeeker County: 273.9 USD millionMille Lacs County: 334.3 USD millionMorrison County: 393.9 USD millionMower County: 810.9 USD millionMurray County: 111.4 USD millionNicollet County: 613.8 USD millionNobles County: 427.4 USD millionNorman County: 66.9 USD millionOlmsted County: 5,478 USD millionOtter Tail County: 870.8 USD millionPennington County: 470.2 USD millionPine County: 265.9 USD millionPipestone County: 159.6 USD millionPolk County: 484.6 USD millionPope County: 198.7 USD millionRamsey County: 20,799 USD millionRed Lake County: 37.9 USD millionRedwood County: 220.2 USD millionRenville County: 250 USD millionRice County: 1,079.8 USD millionRock County: 139.5 USD millionRoseau County: 358.6 USD millionSt. Louis County: 4,473.1 USD millionScott County: 2,302.8 USD millionSherburne County: 1,130.6 USD millionSibley County: 141.3 USD millionStearns County: 3,881.5 USD millionSteele County: 920.6 USD millionStevens County: 222.6 USD millionSwift County: 140 USD millionTodd County: 245.1 USD millionTraverse County: 47.5 USD millionWabasha County: 263.7 USD millionWadena County: 210.1 USD millionWaseca County: 282.8 USD millionWashington County: 3,726.5 USD millionWatonwan County: 142.7 USD millionWilkin County: 89.1 USD millionWinona County: 1,022.8 USD millionWright County: 1,743.5 USD millionYellow Medicine County: 152.6 USD million
  • Under 100
  • 100 to 200
  • 200 to 300
  • 300 to 600
  • 600 to 1,100
  • 1,100 and over
USD million, 2015. Source: BEA, CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2015

Hennepin County: 62,826.7 USD millionHennepin County62,826.7Ramsey County: 20,799 USD millionRamsey County20,799Dakota County: 10,333.2 USD millionDakota County10,333.2Anoka County: 6,362 USD millionAnoka County6,362Olmsted County: 5,478 USD millionOlmsted County5,478St. Louis County: 4,473.1 USD millionSt. Louis County4,473.1Stearns County: 3,881.5 USD millionStearns County3,881.5Washington County: 3,726.5 USD millionWashington County3,726.5Scott County: 2,302.8 USD millionScott County2,302.8Carver County: 2,097.5 USD millionCarver County2,097.5Wright County: 1,743.5 USD millionWright County1,743.5Blue Earth County: 1,651.7 USD millionBlue Earth County1,651.7Crow Wing County: 1,143.5 USD millionCrow Wing County1,143.5Sherburne County: 1,130.6 USD millionSherburne County1,130.6Rice County: 1,079.8 USD millionRice County1,079.8Goodhue County: 1,033.9 USD millionGoodhue County1,033.9Winona County: 1,022.8 USD millionWinona County1,022.8Steele County: 920.6 USD millionSteele County920.6Kandiyohi County: 890.9 USD millionKandiyohi County890.9Otter Tail County: 870.8 USD millionOtter Tail County870.8Clay County: 812.4 USD millionClay County812.4Mower County: 810.9 USD millionMower County810.9McLeod County: 767.4 USD millionMcLeod County767.4Douglas County: 765.9 USD millionDouglas County765.9Beltrami County: 755.8 USD millionBeltrami County755.8Itasca County: 698.8 USD millionItasca County698.8Benton County: 695.4 USD millionBenton County695.4Chisago County: 648.9 USD millionChisago County648.9Lyon County: 639.7 USD millionLyon County639.7Nicollet County: 613.8 USD millionNicollet County613.8Carlton County: 571 USD millionCarlton County571Brown County: 549.1 USD millionBrown County549.1Becker County: 540.9 USD millionBecker County540.9Freeborn County: 500.1 USD millionFreeborn County500.1Polk County: 484.6 USD millionPolk County484.6Pennington County: 470.2 USD millionPennington County470.2Isanti County: 447.1 USD millionIsanti County447.1Nobles County: 427.4 USD millionNobles County427.4Morrison County: 393.9 USD millionMorrison County393.9Le Sueur County: 365.2 USD millionLe Sueur County365.2Hennepin County: 62,826.7 USD millionHennepin County62,826.7Ramsey County: 20,799 USD millionRamsey County20,799Dakota County: 10,333.2 USD millionDakota County10,333.2Anoka County: 6,362 USD millionAnoka County6,362Olmsted County: 5,478 USD millionOlmsted County5,478St. Louis County: 4,473.1 USD millionSt. Louis County4,473.1Stearns County: 3,881.5 USD millionStearns County3,881.5Washington County: 3,726.5 USD millionWashington County3,726.5Scott County: 2,302.8 USD millionScott County2,302.8Carver County: 2,097.5 USD millionCarver County2,097.5Wright County: 1,743.5 USD millionWright County1,743.5Blue Earth County: 1,651.7 USD millionBlue Earth County1,651.7Crow Wing County: 1,143.5 USD millionCrow Wing County1,143.5Sherburne County: 1,130.6 USD millionSherburne County1,130.6Rice County: 1,079.8 USD millionRice County1,079.8Goodhue County: 1,033.9 USD millionGoodhue County1,033.9Winona County: 1,022.8 USD millionWinona County1,022.8Steele County: 920.6 USD millionSteele County920.6Kandiyohi County: 890.9 USD millionKandiyohi County890.9Otter Tail County: 870.8 USD millionOtter Tail County870.8Clay County: 812.4 USD millionClay County812.4Mower County: 810.9 USD millionMower County810.9McLeod County: 767.4 USD millionMcLeod County767.4Douglas County: 765.9 USD millionDouglas County765.9Beltrami County: 755.8 USD millionBeltrami County755.8Itasca County: 698.8 USD millionItasca County698.8Benton County: 695.4 USD millionBenton County695.4Chisago County: 648.9 USD millionChisago County648.9Lyon County: 639.7 USD millionLyon County639.7Nicollet County: 613.8 USD millionNicollet County613.8Carlton County: 571 USD millionCarlton County571Brown County: 549.1 USD millionBrown County549.1Becker County: 540.9 USD millionBecker County540.9Freeborn County: 500.1 USD millionFreeborn County500.1Polk County: 484.6 USD millionPolk County484.6Pennington County: 470.2 USD millionPennington County470.2Isanti County: 447.1 USD millionIsanti County447.1Nobles County: 427.4 USD millionNobles County427.4Morrison County: 393.9 USD millionMorrison County393.9Le Sueur County: 365.2 USD millionLe Sueur County365.2
USD million. Source: BEA, CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2015
USD million
Change on 2014
1Hennepin County62,826.7+5.7%
2Ramsey County20,799+4.3%
3Dakota County10,333.2+5.6%
4Anoka County6,362+6.3%
5Olmsted County5,478+5.2%
6St. Louis County4,473.1+3.9%
7Stearns County3,881.5+6.3%
8Washington County3,726.5+7.5%
9Scott County2,302.8+6.4%
10Carver County2,097.5+9.4%
11Wright County1,743.5+9.5%
12Blue Earth County1,651.7+4.9%
13Crow Wing County1,143.5+5.8%
14Sherburne County1,130.6+3.1%
15Rice County1,079.8+7.5%
16Goodhue County1,033.9+6.5%
17Winona County1,022.8+3.7%
18Steele County920.6+0.7%
19Kandiyohi County890.9+5.3%
20Otter Tail County870.8+4%
21Clay County812.4+4.9%
22Mower County810.9+9.7%
23McLeod County767.4+5.8%
24Douglas County765.9+4.3%
25Beltrami County755.8+5.7%
26Itasca County698.8+7.5%
27Benton County695.4+7.1%
28Chisago County648.9+3.9%
29Lyon County639.7+4.1%
30Nicollet County613.8+6.1%
31Carlton County571-0.3%
32Brown County549.1+6.5%
33Becker County540.9+5%
34Freeborn County500.1+5.4%
35Polk County484.6+4.4%
36Pennington County470.2+3.3%
37Isanti County447.1+4.1%
38Nobles County427.4+10.4%
39Morrison County393.9+5.9%
40Le Sueur County365.2-0.8%
41Roseau County358.6+6.1%
42Martin County351.1+4.9%
43Mille Lacs County334.3+5.2%
44Cass County313.2+6.3%
45Waseca County282.8+2.7%
46Meeker County273.9+6.7%
47Pine County265.9+5.8%
48Dodge County264.3+10%
49Wabasha County263.7+4.3%
50Renville County250+4.3%
51Todd County245.1+2.7%
52Stevens County222.6+3.5%
53Redwood County220.2+5.9%
54Chippewa County216.4+2.1%
55Hubbard County214.3+8.8%
56Fillmore County211.9+5.3%
57Wadena County210.1+6.6%
58Jackson County209-0%
59Pope County198.7+10.9%
60Lake County195.5-0.2%
61Koochiching County193.5+1.3%
62Cottonwood County182+6.8%
63Faribault County178.5+7.1%
64Houston County171.3+5.7%
65Pipestone County159.6+9.1%
66Yellow Medicine County152.6+3.4%
67Kanabec County144+7.3%
68Watonwan County142.7+2.8%
69Sibley County141.3+2.1%
70Swift County140+2.7%
71Rock County139.5+3.7%
72Aitkin County134.2+6.7%
73Clearwater County119.2+11.7%
74Murray County111.4+5.7%
75Marshall County103.3-0.4%
76Cook County92.4+6%
77Wilkin County89.1+2.4%
78Lac qui Parle County86.2+3.6%
79Grant County77.6+5.2%
80Big Stone County70.1+6.9%
81Mahnomen County68.1+5.6%
82Norman County66.9+5.6%
83Lincoln County62.4+2.2%
84Kittson County62.2+3.5%
85Lake of the Woods County53.3+8.7%
86Traverse County47.5+10.5%
87Red Lake County37.9+4.4%

Other periods

About this ranking

Total wages and salaries paid to employees for jobs located in a place, including tips, bonuses and pay in kind, before deductions, in millions of current US dollars. United States: Bureau of Economic Analysis regional accounts, table SAINC4 line 50 for the nation and states and CAINC4 line 50 for counties.

Counted where the jobs are, not where the workers live, so places with many commuters coming in can pay more in wages than their residents receive in personal income (the District of Columbia does). Excludes employer contributions to pensions, insurance and social security, and the income of the self-employed.

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 Economic Analysis. CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (2026). CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents (Counties in Minnesota by wages and salaries paid, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip

MLA 9

CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents, Counties in Minnesota by wages and salaries paid, 2015. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 5 Feb. 2026, https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/minnesota-counties?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2026. CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. Counties in Minnesota by wages and salaries paid, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/minnesota-counties?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (2026) CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents, Counties in Minnesota by wages and salaries paid, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/minnesota-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_counties_in_minnesota_by_2015,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis}},
  title = {{CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents: Counties in Minnesota by wages and salaries paid, 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/minnesota-counties?period=2015. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
TI  - CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents: Counties in Minnesota by wages and salaries paid, 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/05
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/minnesota-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/wages-and-salaries/minnesota-counties?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. https://apps.bea.gov/regional/zip/CAINC4.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest wages and salaries paid?

Hennepin County, with $62.83 billion in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Which county has the lowest wages and salaries paid?

Red Lake County, with $37.92 million in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, CAINC4: personal income by major component, wages and salaries (published in thousands of dollars, shown in millions), individual counties and county equivalents. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Wages and salaries paid: other rankings

Counties in Minnesota: more rankings