County outline
Where Kittson County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 99.6% of Kittson County’s measured area and water for 0.4%. Its combined area converts to 2,858.8 square kilometers or approximately 706,429 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 1,099 | 2,846.397 | 703,360 |
| Water | 4.795 | 12.419 | 3,068.8 |
| Total | 1,103.795 | 2,858.816 | 706,428.8 |
How Kittson County compares
By original Census land area, Kittson County ranks #18 of 87 in Minnesota and #580 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 1.629 times the Minnesota county-equivalent median of 674.6 square miles. It accounts for 1.4% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Minnesota ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Kittson County
The Census Bureau estimates that 4,031 people lived in Kittson County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #2,961 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #84 of 87 in Minnesota. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 4,206, the population has declined by 175 (−4.2%), compared with +2.2% for Minnesota as a whole.
With 1,099 square miles of land, that is 3.7 people per square mile (1.4 per km²), placing Kittson County #2,934 nationally for density and #86 in Minnesota. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Minnesota median is 27. Put another way, there are about 174 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 4,187 | 4,157 | 4,054 | 4,036 | 4,029 | 4,031 |
| Change | — | −30 | −103 | −18 | −7 | +2 |
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 Kittson County
Kittson County is divided into 39 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 Hallock city, with 865 residents (21.5% of the county). The largest by land is St. Vincent township, at 54.2 mi², or 4.9% of the county’s land.
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hallock cityCounty seat | 865 | −3.8% | 2.131 | 0.2% |
| Karlstad city | 679 | −4.4% | 1.503 | 0.1% |
| Lancaster city | 342 | −4.2% | 2.334 | 0.2% |
| Lake Bronson city | 171 | −5% | 0.529 | 0% |
| Kennedy city | 167 | −5.1% | 0.447 | 0% |
| Thompson township | 136 | −4.2% | 35.8 | 3.3% |
| Deerwood township | 135 | −4.3% | 35.5 | 3.2% |
| Poppleton township | 131 | −4.4% | 34.9 | 3.2% |
| Jupiter township | 104 | −2.8% | 35.7 | 3.2% |
| Richardville township | 102 | −4.7% | 45.1 | 4.1% |
| Hazelton township | 96 | −4% | 35.8 | 3.3% |
| Arveson township | 92 | −4.2% | 34.2 | 3.1% |
| Norway township | 91 | −2.2% | 34.8 | 3.2% |
| Hallock townshipCounty seat | 86 | −4.4% | 33.8 | 3.1% |
| Teien township | 66 | −4.3% | 28.8 | 2.6% |
Show the other 24 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granville township | 58 | −4.9% | 34.4 |
| Halma city | 56 | −3.4% | 0.937 |
| St. Vincent city | 49 | −3.9% | 1.027 |
| St. Vincent township | 48 | −4% | 54.2 |
| Skane township | 47 | −4.1% | 35.3 |
| Spring Brook township | 47 | −4.1% | 35.9 |
| Pelan township | 43 | −4.4% | 35.6 |
| Humboldt city | 39 | −4.9% | 0.111 |
| McKinley UT | 39 | −4.9% | 45.9 |
| Svea township | 37 | −5.1% | 35.8 |
| Caribou township | 36 | −5.3% | 44.1 |
| Percy township | 35 | −5.4% | 34.8 |
| Tegner township | 34 | −2.9% | 35.7 |
| Davis township | 33 | −2.9% | 35.9 |
| Hampden township | 33 | −2.9% | 35.9 |
| St. Joseph township | 32 | −3% | 45 |
| Clow township | 26 | −3.7% | 45.4 |
| Hill township | 23 | −4.2% | 32.1 |
| South Red River township | 20 | −4.8% | 17.9 |
| Donaldson city | 19 | −5% | 0.227 |
| Cannon township | 13 | −7.1% | 35.7 |
| Peatland UT | 1 | 0% | 36.3 |
| Klondike UT | 0 | — | 36 |
| North Red River UT | 0 | — | 23.4 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Kittson County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Kittson County is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.
ZIP codes
11 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Kittson County; 9 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
5672056728567295673156732567335673456735567555675758225
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 Kittson County
Kittson County shares a land border with 3 county equivalents, including 1 in North Dakota. Each of them has more land than Kittson County. The largest neighbor is Marshall County (1,775.1 mi²) and the smallest is Pembina County (1,118.5 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Kittson County forms a block of 5,664.3 mi² of land, of which it holds 19.4%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Kittson | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall County | 1,775.1 | 1.6× larger | Compare |
| Roseau County | 1,671.7 | 1.5× larger | Compare |
| Pembina CountyNorth Dakota | 1,118.5 | about the same | Compare |
How big is Kittson County compared with U.S. states?
Kittson County has more land than 1 of the 50 states. It is about 1.1 times the land area of Rhode Island (1,033.9 mi²), while Delaware, the next larger state, has 1.8 times as much land (1,948.6 mi²). Minnesota’s county land could hold about 72 areas the size of Kittson County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 33.2 miles (53.4 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 Kittson County?
Kittson County has more land than 2,642 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 Kittson County at #667 nationally by total area, 87 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 0.4%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 0.7 percentage points lower. 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 Kittson County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #579 | Grady County, Oklahoma | 1,100.5 | Compare |
| #580 | Kittson County, Minnesota | 1,099 | This county |
| #581 | Ford County, Kansas | 1,098.3 | 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 48.776040, -96.780349. 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: 2,846,395,540 m²; AWATER: 12,419,291 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 Kittson County?
Kittson County, Minnesota has 1,099 square miles (2,846.4 km²) of land and 4.795 square miles of water, for a total area of 1,103.8 square miles. It ranks #580 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Kittson County the largest county in Minnesota?
No. Kittson County ranks #18 of 87 in Minnesota by land area. The largest is St. Louis County, with 6,248.1 square miles of land.
What counties border Kittson County?
Kittson County shares a land border with Marshall County, Pembina County, North Dakota, and Roseau County.
What is the population of Kittson County?
The Census Bureau estimates Kittson County had 4,031 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #2,961 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 3.7 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Kittson County?
The county seat of Kittson County is Hallock.
What cities and towns are in Kittson County?
Kittson County has 39 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Hallock city, Karlstad city, Lancaster city, Lake Bronson city, and Kennedy city.
Is Kittson County part of a metropolitan area?
No. Kittson County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.
How many ZIP codes are in Kittson County?
11 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Kittson 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 Kittson County compare with U.S. states?
It has more land than 1 of the 50 states, including Rhode Island (1,033.9 square miles of land).
How many acres of land are in Kittson County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 703,360 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 706,429 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.