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List of Cities and Counties in Minnesota

Discover Minnesota population facts easily with our list of counties and cities. Find out how many people live in each area, from big cities to small towns, and see how Minnesota’s population is spread out across the state.

Minnesota Counties by Population

A county is an administrative subdivision of a US state or territory. As of 2022, Minnesota is divided into 87 counties.

The most populous county in Minnesota is Hennepin County ( 1.26 million), and Traverse County is the least populated county. The Largest county by Land Area in Minnesota is Saint Louis County and the smallest in the area is Ramsey County.

read about the Population of Minnesota

#CountyPopulation 2021Area (sq. mi.)
1Hennepin County1,267,416556.6
2Ramsey County543,257155.8
3Dakota County442,038569.6
4Anoka County367,018423.6
5Washington County272,256391.7
6Saint Louis County199,1826,225.2
7Olmsted County163,436653.0
8Stearns County158,9471,344.5
9Scott County153,268356.7
10Wright County144,845660.8
11Carver County108,626357.0
12Sherburne County99,074436.3
13Blue Earth County69,280752.4
14Crow Wing County67,270996.6
15Rice County67,262497.6
16Clay County65,5741,045.2
17Otter Tail County60,0461,979.7
18Chisago County57,469417.6
19Winona County49,630626.3
20Goodhue County47,968758.3
21Beltrami County46,3802,505.3
22Itasca County45,0702,665.1
23Kandiyohi County43,767796.1
24Isanti County41,906439.1
25Benton County41,459408.3
26Mower County40,158711.5
27Douglas County39,238634.3
28Steele County37,349429.6
29McLeod County36,735491.9
30Carlton County36,409860.3
31Becker County35,2191,310.4
32Nicollet County34,332452.3
33Morrison County33,9921,124.5
34Polk County30,7571,970.4
35Freeborn County30,749707.6
36Cass County30,6392,017.6
37Pine County29,3021,411.0
38Le Sueur County28,841448.5
39Mille Lacs County26,867574.5
40Brown County25,819610.9
41Todd County25,237942.0
42Lyon County25,231714.2
43Meeker County23,376608.5
44Nobles County21,991715.4
45Hubbard County21,715922.5
46Wabasha County21,509525.0
47Fillmore County21,271861.3
48Dodge County20,935439.5
49Martin County19,915709.3
50Waseca County19,000423.3
51Houston County18,778558.4
52Kanabec County16,159524.9
53Aitkin County15,8871,819.3
54Redwood County15,366879.7
55Roseau County15,2581,662.5
56Sibley County14,917588.7
57Renville County14,608982.9
58Wadena County14,177535.0
59Faribault County13,909713.6
60Pennington County13,780616.5
61Chippewa County12,357582.8
62Koochiching County11,9413,102.4
63Cottonwood County11,569640.0
64Pope County11,403670.1
65Watonwan County11,135434.5
66Lake County10,9862,099.2
67Jackson County9,990701.7
68Swift County9,749743.5
69Stevens County9,700562.1
70Rock County9,680482.6
71Yellow Medicine County9,411758.0
72Pipestone County9,313465.9
73Marshall County8,9881,772.2
74Clearwater County8,576994.7
75Murray County8,144704.4
76Lac qui Parle County6,684764.9
77Norman County6,416876.3
78Wilkin County6,395751.4
79Grant County6,153546.4
80Cook County5,6171,450.6
81Lincoln County5,567537.0
82Mahnomen County5,414556.1
83Big Stone County5,145497.0
84Kittson County4,1461,097.1
85Red Lake County3,933432.4
86Lake of the Woods County3,8231,296.7
87Traverse County3,286574.1

read about the race and ethnicity in Minnesota

Top cities in Minnesota by population

Minnesota is divided into 87 counties and contains 853 incorporated cities, with populations ranging from 429,954 (Minneapolis) to 11 (Kinbrae) in 2020. Only three cities in Minnesota have a population of more than 100,000. Minneapolis is by far the largest city, with a population of 433,111. It was followed by Saint Paul (306,717) and Rochester City  (119,862). 

Let’s have a look at the Top 20 Cities in Minnesota by population

#CityCountyPopulation 2020 
1Minneapolis Hennepin429,954
2Saint Paul Ramsey311,527
3Rochester Olmsted121,395
4BloomingtonHennepin89,987
5Duluth St. Louis86,697
6Brooklyn ParkHennepin86,478
7PlymouthHennepin81,026
8WoodburyWashington75,102
9Maple GroveHennepin70,253
10BlaineAnoka, Ramsey70,222
11LakevilleDakota69,490
12St. Cloud Stearns, Benton, Sherburne68,881
13EaganDakota68,855
14BurnsvilleDakota64,317
15Eden PrairieHennepin64,198
16Coon RapidsAnoka63,599
17Apple ValleyDakota56,374
18MinnetonkaHennepin53,781
19EdinaHennepin53,494
20St. Louis ParkHennepin50,010

Source: US Census 2020

Most Populous Counties in Minnesota

The most populous county in Minnesota is Hennepin County with 1.2 million residents. It is followed by Ramsey County (0.54 million) and Dakota County (0.44 million)

Let’s have a look at the Top 10 most populous counties

#CountyPopulation 2021
1Hennepin County1,267,416
2Ramsey County543,257
3Dakota County442,038
4Anoka County367,018
5Washington County272,256
6Saint Louis County199,182
7Olmsted County163,436
8Stearns County158,947
9Scott County153,268
10Wright County144,845
Least Populated Minnesota County

The least populous county is Traverse County with 3,286 residents, it’s followed by Lake of the Woods County and Red Lake County.

Let’s have look at 5 least populated counties in Minnesota

#CountyPopulation 2021
1Traverse County3,286
2Lake of the Woods County3,823
3Red Lake County3,933
4Kittson County4,146
5Big Stone County5,145

source: US Census 2021

read about religion in Minnesota

Largest Counties in Minnesota by area

The Largest county by Land Area in Minnesota is Saint Louis County with an area of 6,225.2 sq. miles. Koochiching with an area of 3,102.4 sq. mi. comes next followed by Itasca County (2,665.1 sq. mi.)

Let’s have a look at the Top 10 counties by Area

#CountyArea (sq. mi.)
1Saint Louis County6,225.2
2Koochiching County3,102.4
3Itasca County2,665.1
4Beltrami County2,505.3
5Lake County2,099.2
6Cass County2,017.6
7Otter Tail County1,979.7
8Polk County1,970.4
9Aitkin County1,819.3
10Marshall County1,772.2
Smallest County in Minnesota by area

The smallest county by area in Minnesota is Ramsey County with an area of 156 square miles.

#CountyArea (sq. mi.)
1Ramsey County155.8
2Scott County356.7
3Carver County357.0
4Washington County391.7
5Benton County408.3

source: US Census report 2021

Most Densely populated Counties in Minnesota

The most densely populated county in Minnesota is Ramsey County, with 3,487.33 people per sq. mi. Next comes Hennepin County with 2277 people per sq. mi followed by Anoka County (866/ sq.mi)

Let’s have a look at the Top 10 densely populated counties

# County Density ( people/sq. mi.)
1 Ramsey County 3,487.33
2 Hennepin County 2,276.99
3 Anoka County 866.41
4 Dakota County 776.08
5 Washington County 695.06
6 Scott County 429.71
7 Carver County 304.24
8 Olmsted County 250.28
9 Sherburne County 227.08
10 Wright County 219.21
Least Densely Populated County in Minnesota

Lake of the Woods County with a population density of just 2.95 people per sq. miles is the least densely populated county in Minnesota

# County Density ( people/sq. mi.)
1 Lake of the Woods County 2.95
2 Kittson County 3.78
3 Koochiching County 3.85
4 Cook County 3.87
5 Marshall County 5.07

source: US Census 2021

Sources

Religion in United States
Race and Ethnicity in US
US State by Population
List of counties in Minnesota 2024 | Top Cities in Minnesota by population

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