County outline
Where Pope County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 94.1% of Pope County’s measured area and water for 5.9%. Its combined area converts to 1,856.8 square kilometers or approximately 458,827 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 674.559 | 1,747.1 | 431,717.8 |
| Water | 42.358 | 109.707 | 27,109.1 |
| Total | 716.917 | 1,856.807 | 458,826.9 |
How Pope County compares
By original Census land area, Pope County ranks #44 of 87 in Minnesota and #1398 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 1 times the Minnesota county-equivalent median of 674.6 square miles. It accounts for 0.8% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Minnesota ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Pope County
The Census Bureau estimates that 11,420 people lived in Pope County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #2,394 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #64 of 87 in Minnesota. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 11,308, the population has grown by 112 (+1%), compared with +2.2% for Minnesota as a whole.
With 674.6 square miles of land, that is 17 people per square mile (6.5 per km²), placing Pope County #2,415 nationally for density and #62 in Minnesota. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Minnesota median is 27. Put another way, there are about 38 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 11,327 | 11,415 | 11,421 | 11,407 | 11,464 | 11,420 |
| Change | — | +88 | +6 | −14 | +57 | −44 |
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 Pope County
Pope County is divided into 30 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 Glenwood city, with 2,631 residents (23% of the county). The largest by land is Glenwood township, at 40.1 mi², or 5.9% of the county’s land. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Starbuck city grew fastest since then (+2.8%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glenwood cityCounty seat | 2,631 | −0.7% | 5.72 | 0.8% |
| Starbuck city | 1,406 | +2.8% | 1.48 | 0.2% |
| Glenwood townshipCounty seat | 1,192 | +1.8% | 40.1 | 5.9% |
| Leven township | 537 | +1.5% | 32.7 | 4.8% |
| Minnewaska township | 523 | +1.8% | 12.6 | 1.9% |
| White Bear Lake township | 475 | +1.3% | 33 | 4.9% |
| Reno township | 447 | +1.8% | 34 | 5% |
| Lowry city | 338 | +0.3% | 0.452 | 0.1% |
| Long Beach city | 334 | −1.8% | 1.426 | 0.2% |
| Cyrus city | 310 | +0.6% | 0.266 | 0% |
| Grove Lake township | 275 | +1.5% | 32.5 | 4.8% |
| Ben Wade township | 266 | +1.1% | 34 | 5% |
| Westport township | 242 | +1.3% | 34.5 | 5.1% |
| Villard city | 227 | +1.3% | 0.851 | 0.1% |
| Chippewa Falls township | 219 | +1.4% | 34.2 | 5.1% |
Show the other 15 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gilchrist township | 213 | +1.4% | 32 |
| Nora township | 208 | +1.5% | 33.8 |
| Walden township | 184 | +1.1% | 32.9 |
| New Prairie township | 180 | +1.7% | 35.2 |
| Blue Mounds township | 179 | +1.7% | 34.8 |
| Langhei township | 177 | +1.1% | 35.4 |
| Bangor township | 168 | +1.2% | 35 |
| Hoff township | 163 | +1.2% | 36 |
| Barsness township | 138 | +1.5% | 33.1 |
| Lake Johanna township | 122 | +1.7% | 32.8 |
| Rolling Forks township | 120 | +1.7% | 34.7 |
| Farwell city | 56 | −1.8% | 0.251 |
| Sedan city | 46 | +2.2% | 0.507 |
| Westport city | 44 | +2.3% | 0.264 |
| Brooten city | 0 | — | 0.009 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Pope County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Pope 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
12 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Pope County; 8 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
562155622656244563085631656323563275633456343563495638156385
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 Pope County
Pope County shares a land border with 5 county equivalents. It has more land than 2 of them. The largest neighbor is Stearns County (1,342.9 mi²) and the smallest is Stevens County (563.7 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Pope County forms a block of 4,757.3 mi² of land, of which it holds 14.2%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Pope | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stearns County | 1,342.9 | 2× larger | Compare |
| Kandiyohi County | 797.4 | 1.2× larger | Compare |
| Swift County | 742 | 1.1× larger | Compare |
| Douglas County | 636.9 | 1.1× smaller | Compare |
| Stevens County | 563.7 | 1.2× smaller | Compare |
How big is Pope County compared with U.S. states?
Pope County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 1.5 times as much. Minnesota’s county land could hold about 118 areas the size of Pope County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 26 miles (41.8 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 Pope County?
Pope County has more land than 1,824 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 Pope County at #1,390 nationally by total area, 8 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 5.9%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 4.7 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 Pope County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1397 | Alcona County, Michigan | 674.7 | Compare |
| #1398 | Pope County, Minnesota | 674.6 | This county |
| #1399 | Venango County, Pennsylvania | 674.3 | 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 45.592175, -95.445578. 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: 1,747,100,283 m²; AWATER: 109,705,986 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 Pope County?
Pope County, Minnesota has 674.6 square miles (1,747.1 km²) of land and 42.4 square miles of water, for a total area of 716.9 square miles. It ranks #1398 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Pope County the largest county in Minnesota?
No. Pope County ranks #44 of 87 in Minnesota by land area. The largest is St. Louis County, with 6,248.1 square miles of land.
What counties border Pope County?
Pope County shares a land border with Douglas County, Stevens County, Stearns County, Swift County, and Kandiyohi County.
What is the population of Pope County?
The Census Bureau estimates Pope County had 11,420 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #2,394 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 17 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Pope County?
The county seat of Pope County is Glenwood.
What cities and towns are in Pope County?
Pope County has 30 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Glenwood city, Starbuck city, Glenwood township, Leven township, and Minnewaska township.
Is Pope County part of a metropolitan area?
No. Pope County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.
How many ZIP codes are in Pope County?
12 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Pope 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 Pope County compare with U.S. states?
It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 1.5 times as much land.
How many acres of land are in Pope County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 431,718 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 458,827 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.