County outline
Where Goodhue County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 97.1% of Goodhue County’s measured area and water for 2.9%. Its combined area converts to 2,019.1 square kilometers or approximately 498,922 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 756.742 | 1,959.953 | 484,314.9 |
| Water | 22.823 | 59.111 | 14,606.7 |
| Total | 779.565 | 2,019.064 | 498,921.6 |
How Goodhue County compares
By original Census land area, Goodhue County ranks #32 of 87 in Minnesota and #1163 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 1.122 times the Minnesota county-equivalent median of 674.6 square miles. It accounts for 1% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Minnesota ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Goodhue County
The Census Bureau estimates that 48,195 people lived in Goodhue County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,048 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #20 of 87 in Minnesota. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 47,588, the population has grown by 607 (+1.3%), compared with +2.2% for Minnesota as a whole.
With 756.7 square miles of land, that is 64 people per square mile (25 per km²), placing Goodhue County #1,340 nationally for density and #24 in Minnesota. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Minnesota median is 27. Put another way, there are about 10 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 47,594 | 48,091 | 48,103 | 48,168 | 48,149 | 48,195 |
| Change | — | +497 | +12 | +65 | −19 | +46 |
U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.
Cities and towns in Goodhue County
Goodhue County is divided into 31 municipalities and townships. In Minnesota, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.
The most populous is Red Wing city, with 16,805 residents (34.9% of the county). The largest by land is Vasa township, at 41 mi², or 5.4% of the county’s land. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Zumbrota city grew fastest since then (+9.3%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Wing cityCounty seat | 16,805 | +1.2% | 34.8 | 4.6% |
| Cannon Falls city | 4,209 | −0.2% | 4.592 | 0.6% |
| Zumbrota city | 4,072 | +9.3% | 3.028 | 0.4% |
| Pine Island city | 3,009 | +4.3% | 3.309 | 0.4% |
| Kenyon city | 1,885 | −0.5% | 2.309 | 0.3% |
| Florence township | 1,562 | −0.1% | 34.8 | 4.6% |
| Goodhue city | 1,247 | −0.1% | 1.1 | 0.1% |
| Stanton township | 1,129 | −0.4% | 22.9 | 3% |
| Wanamingo city | 1,111 | −0.3% | 1.417 | 0.2% |
| Cannon Falls township | 1,033 | −0.3% | 33.1 | 4.4% |
| Leon township | 949 | −0.3% | 37.8 | 5% |
| Lake City city | 908 | +1.6% | 0.831 | 0.1% |
| Hay Creek township | 875 | −0.6% | 34.3 | 4.5% |
| Welch township | 864 | 0% | 39.1 | 5.2% |
| Vasa township | 848 | −0.6% | 41 | 5.4% |
Show the other 16 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roscoe township | 740 | −0.7% | 35.7 |
| Featherstone township | 735 | −0.4% | 35.8 |
| Minneola township | 623 | −0.2% | 32.9 |
| Zumbrota township | 619 | −0.5% | 34.6 |
| Warsaw township | 602 | −0.2% | 34.5 |
| Pine Island township | 577 | −0.5% | 32.1 |
| Goodhue township | 535 | −0.4% | 34.8 |
| Belle Creek township | 520 | −0.4% | 35.4 |
| Belvidere township | 474 | −0.4% | 35.6 |
| Wacouta township | 387 | −0.5% | 3.801 |
| Wanamingo township | 387 | −0.3% | 37.6 |
| Cherry Grove township | 384 | −0.8% | 38.3 |
| Holden township | 382 | −0.8% | 36 |
| Kenyon township | 381 | −0.8% | 33.7 |
| Dennison city | 207 | −1.4% | 1.225 |
| Bellechester city | 136 | 0% | 0.252 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Goodhue County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Goodhue County is a central county of the Red Wing, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area. Goodhue County is the area’s only county equivalent, so the micro area has the same 756.7 square miles of land. By combined land it ranks #284 of 542 micropolitan areas, and #239 by population. It belongs to the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI Combined Statistical Area.
ZIP codes
17 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Goodhue County; 9 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
5500955018550265502755033550415505355057550655506655089559465595655963559835598555992
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.
Counties bordering Goodhue County
Goodhue County shares a land border with 7 county equivalents, including 2 in Wisconsin. It has more land than every one of them. The largest neighbor is Olmsted County (653.5 mi²) and the smallest is Pepin County (232 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Goodhue County forms a block of 4,237 mi² of land, of which it holds 17.9%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Goodhue | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olmsted County | 653.5 | 1.2× smaller | Compare |
| Pierce CountyWisconsin | 574 | 1.3× smaller | Compare |
| Dakota County | 562.6 | 1.3× smaller | Compare |
| Wabasha County | 523 | 1.4× smaller | Compare |
| Rice County | 495.8 | 1.5× smaller | Compare |
| Dodge County | 439.4 | 1.7× smaller | Compare |
| Pepin CountyWisconsin | 232 | 3.3× smaller | Compare |
How big is Goodhue County compared with U.S. states?
Goodhue County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 1.4 times as much. Minnesota’s county land could hold about 105 areas the size of Goodhue County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 27.5 miles (44.3 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.
State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.
What stands out about Goodhue County?
Goodhue County has more land than 2,059 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.
Does including water change its rank?
Using land plus water places Goodhue County at #1,217 nationally by total area, 54 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.
Its water share is 2.9%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 1.8 percentage points higher. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.
Closest positions in the national land ranking
These entries sit immediately beside Goodhue County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1162 | Minidoka County, Idaho | 757.2 | Compare |
| #1163 | Goodhue County, Minnesota | 756.7 | This county |
| #1164 | Holmes County, Mississippi | 756.7 | Compare |
Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.
Representative coordinates
The Census internal point is 44.406178, -92.716000. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.
Source and precision
U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 1,959,952,803 m²; AWATER: 59,111,966 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Goodhue County?
Goodhue County, Minnesota has 756.7 square miles (1,960 km²) of land and 22.8 square miles of water, for a total area of 779.6 square miles. It ranks #1163 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Goodhue County the largest county in Minnesota?
No. Goodhue County ranks #32 of 87 in Minnesota by land area. The largest is St. Louis County, with 6,248.1 square miles of land.
What counties border Goodhue County?
Goodhue County shares a land border with Wabasha County, Dakota County, Pierce County, Wisconsin, Rice County, Dodge County, Pepin County, Wisconsin, and Olmsted County.
What is the population of Goodhue County?
The Census Bureau estimates Goodhue County had 48,195 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,048 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 64 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Goodhue County?
The county seat of Goodhue County is Red Wing.
What cities and towns are in Goodhue County?
Goodhue County has 31 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Red Wing city, Cannon Falls city, Zumbrota city, Pine Island city, and Kenyon city.
Is Goodhue County part of a metropolitan area?
Yes. It is a central county of the Red Wing, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.
How many ZIP codes are in Goodhue County?
17 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Goodhue County, and 9 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Goodhue County compare with U.S. states?
It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 1.4 times as much land.
How many acres of land are in Goodhue County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 484,315 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 498,922 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.
Why might another source show a different area?
Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.
Can this establish a property boundary?
No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.