Le Sueur County area

Le Sueur County, Minnesota covers 473.9 square miles: 448.8 square miles of land and 25.2 square miles of water. Its county seat is Le Center. An estimated 29,453 people lived there in 2025.

Official Census measurements · GEOID 270792026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area448.8 mi²
Water area25.2 mi²
Population (2025)29,453
People per mi²66

County outline

Generalized outline of Le Sueur County, Minnesota
2025 Census cartographic boundary, fitted to this frame. County maps are not at a common scale. The 2026 area measurements below come from the separate Gazetteer release. Map source and limitations.

Where Le Sueur County is located

Le Sueur County highlighted on a map of all U.S. county equivalents. About the maps

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 94.7% of Le Sueur County’s measured area and water for 5.3%. Its combined area converts to 1,227.5 square kilometers or approximately 303,318 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land448.7561,162.273287,203.8
Water25.17865.21116,113.9
Total473.9341,227.483303,317.8

How Le Sueur County compares

By original Census land area, Le Sueur County ranks #72 of 87 in Minnesota and #2276 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 0.665 times the Minnesota county-equivalent median of 674.6 square miles. It accounts for 0.6% of the combined county land area in the state.

See the complete Minnesota ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?

Population and density of Le Sueur County

The Census Bureau estimates that 29,453 people lived in Le Sueur County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,505 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #38 of 87 in Minnesota. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 28,663, the population has grown by 790 (+2.8%), compared with +2.2% for Minnesota as a whole.

With 448.8 square miles of land, that is 66 people per square mile (25 per km²), placing Le Sueur County #1,311 nationally for density and #22 in Minnesota. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Minnesota median is 27. Put another way, there are about 9.8 acres of land per resident.

Estimated population, 2020–2025 · line scaled to this county’s own range
July 1202020212022202320242025
Estimate28,63328,90229,17529,28929,43329,453
Change—+269+273+114+144+20

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 Le Sueur County

Le Sueur County is divided into 25 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 Le Sueur city, with 4,210 residents (14.3% of the county). The largest by land is Kasota township, at 37.4 mi², or 8.3% of the county’s land. The county seat, Le Center city, has 2,524 residents. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Montgomery city grew fastest since then (+8.5%).

County subdivisionPopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²Share of county land
Le Sueur city4,210+0.1%4.6781%
Montgomery city3,539+8.5%2.5140.6%
New Prague city3,526+2.1%1.6450.4%
Le Center cityCounty seat2,524+0.4%1.6760.4%
Lanesburgh township2,052+2.8%32.17.2%
Waterville city1,757+0.5%1.690.4%
Kasota township1,621+2.9%37.48.3%
Elysian township1,042+3%306.7%
Washington township799+2.7%12.22.7%
Lexington township776+2.9%347.6%
Cleveland city772+3.5%0.5470.1%
Elysian city763+8.7%1.1660.3%
Cleveland township733+2.7%33.57.5%
Kasota city728+2%1.2430.3%
Montgomery township723+2.4%337.4%
Show the other 10 subdivisions
NamePopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²
Waterville township692+2.7%30.5
Sharon township654+2.8%35.4
Derrynane township547+2.6%35.7
Tyrone township526+2.5%35.4
Cordova township506+2.6%34.9
Kilkenny township383+3.2%33.8
Ottawa township293+2.8%15
Kilkenny city153+6.3%0.136
Heidelberg city134−0.7%0.524
Mankato city0—0.027

Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Le Sueur County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.

Metropolitan area

Le Sueur County is an outlying county of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its 15 county equivalents have 3,790,295 residents on 7,047.6 square miles of land; Le Sueur County accounts for 6.4% of the land and 0.8% of the residents. By combined land it ranks #26 of 393 metropolitan areas, and #16 by population. It belongs to the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI Combined Statistical Area.

County equivalentPopulation 2025Land mi²
Hennepin County1,284,784554
Ramsey County541,623152.3
Dakota County457,710562.6
Anoka County381,605422
Washington County286,895384.8
Scott County159,017356.1
Wright County157,559661.2
Carver County114,379353.9
Sherburne County104,194432.9
St. Croix CountyWisconsin98,276722.2
Chisago County59,142414.9
Isanti County44,386435.8
Pierce CountyWisconsin43,519574
Le Sueur County29,453448.8
Mille Lacs County27,753572.3

ZIP codes

13 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Le Sueur County; 8 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.

56011560175602856044560505605256057560585606356069560715608256096

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 Le Sueur County

Le Sueur County shares a land border with 6 county equivalents. It has more land than 3 of them. The largest neighbor is Blue Earth County (747.8 mi²) and the smallest is Scott County (356.1 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Le Sueur County forms a block of 3,509.1 mi² of land, of which it holds 12.8%.

Map of Le Sueur County and the 6 county equivalents that border it Rice County, Minnesota: 495.8 mi² landScott County, Minnesota: 356.1 mi² landNicollet County, Minnesota: 448.3 mi² landBlue Earth County, Minnesota: 747.8 mi² landWaseca County, Minnesota: 423.4 mi² landSibley County, Minnesota: 589 mi² land
Le Sueur County (dark) and its bordering county equivalents. Select a neighbor to open its profile. Drawn from the 2025 Census cartographic boundaries in an equal-area projection. How borders are determined.
Bordering county equivalentLand mi²Size vs. Le SueurCompare
Blue Earth County747.81.7× largerCompare
Sibley County5891.3× largerCompare
Rice County495.81.1× largerCompare
Nicollet County448.3about the sameCompare
Waseca County423.41.1× smallerCompare
Scott County356.11.3× smallerCompare

How big is Le Sueur County compared with U.S. states?

Le Sueur County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 2.3 times as much. Minnesota’s county land could hold about 177 areas the size of Le Sueur County.

Land area: Le Sueur County and the closest-sized states
Le Sueur County448.8 mi²
Rhode Island1,033.9 mi²

Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 21.2 miles (34.1 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 Le Sueur County?

Le Sueur County has more land than 946 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Le Sueur County448.8 mi²
Minnesota median674.6 mi²
National median604.5 mi²

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 Le Sueur County at #2,264 nationally by total area, 12 places closer to the top than its land rank. The water assigned to this geography moves it ahead of some county equivalents with more land.

Its water share is 5.3%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 4.1 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 Le Sueur County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#2275Teton County, Idaho449.1Compare
#2276Le Sueur County, Minnesota448.8This county
#2277San Mateo County, California448.6Compare

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 44.373475, -93.730104. 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: 1,162,271,398 m²; AWATER: 65,211,958 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.

Download the official county source ZIP ↗ · Methodology

Common questions

How big is Le Sueur County?

Le Sueur County, Minnesota has 448.8 square miles (1,162.3 km²) of land and 25.2 square miles of water, for a total area of 473.9 square miles. It ranks #2276 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.

Is Le Sueur County the largest county in Minnesota?

No. Le Sueur County ranks #72 of 87 in Minnesota by land area. The largest is St. Louis County, with 6,248.1 square miles of land.

What counties border Le Sueur County?

Le Sueur County shares a land border with Rice County, Scott County, Nicollet County, Blue Earth County, Waseca County, and Sibley County.

What is the population of Le Sueur County?

The Census Bureau estimates Le Sueur County had 29,453 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,505 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 66 people per square mile of land.

What is the county seat of Le Sueur County?

The county seat of Le Sueur County is Le Center.

What cities and towns are in Le Sueur County?

Le Sueur County has 25 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Le Sueur city, Montgomery city, New Prague city, Le Center city, and Lanesburgh township.

Is Le Sueur County part of a metropolitan area?

Yes. It is an outlying county of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has 15 county equivalents and 3,790,295 residents.

How many ZIP codes are in Le Sueur County?

13 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Le Sueur County, and 8 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.

How does Le Sueur County compare with U.S. states?

It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 2.3 times as much land.

How many acres of land are in Le Sueur County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 287,204 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 303,318 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.

Cite this county

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