MN · 2026 Census Gazetteer

Minnesota counties by area

Official, comparable measurements for 87 counties and county equivalents.

Source fields preservedGEOID · ALAND · AWATER

County equivalents87

Combined land79,631.8 mi²

Combined water7,311.5 mi²

Largest by landSt. Louis County

Understanding Minnesota’s county areas

The land-area range runs from Ramsey County at 152.3 mi² to St. Louis County at 6,248.1 mi². The largest has 41 times the land area of the smallest and accounts for 7.8% of the combined county land in Minnesota.

The median county-equivalent land area is 674.6 mi², above the national median of 604.5 mi². The median describes the middle of the county size distribution; it does not describe how people or development are distributed. A state with a few very large counties can have a much smaller median than its largest entry suggests.

Where water changes the picture

Cook County has the most assigned water area, at 1,887.2 mi². It also has the highest water share, with water making up 56.5% of its total area. Water area and water percentage answer different questions: the first measures an amount, while the second measures the mix of land and water.

Across all 87 entries, water accounts for 8.4% of the combined total area. This is calculated from the summed land and water measurements, rather than averaging county percentages, which would give each small and large county equal weight.

Compare the largest and smallest county equivalents in Minnesota to see land, water, and total area on the same scale.

These calculations use the 2026 Census county records listed below. County-equivalent boundaries vary between states; area alone does not measure population, density, or usable land. See coverage and calculation rules.

Complete area table

Sorted from largest to smallest land area.

#	County / equivalent	Land	Water	Water share
1	St. Louis CountyGEOID 27137	6,248.1 mi²	612.4 mi²	8.9%
2	Koochiching CountyGEOID 27071	3,104.7 mi²	51.3 mi²	1.6%
3	Itasca CountyGEOID 27061	2,667.5 mi²	260.3 mi²	8.9%
4	Beltrami CountyGEOID 27007	2,504.7 mi²	550.5 mi²	18%
5	Lake CountyGEOID 27075	2,109.1 mi²	881.8 mi²	29.5%
6	Cass CountyGEOID 27021	2,021.5 mi²	392.5 mi²	16.3%
7	Otter Tail CountyGEOID 27111	1,971.6 mi²	252.7 mi²	11.4%
8	Polk CountyGEOID 27119	1,971 mi²	26.8 mi²	1.3%
9	Aitkin CountyGEOID 27001	1,821.3 mi²	173.5 mi²	8.7%
10	Marshall CountyGEOID 27089	1,775.1 mi²	37.8 mi²	2.1%
11	Roseau CountyGEOID 27135	1,671.7 mi²	6.5 mi²	0.4%
12	Cook CountyGEOID 27031	1,452.6 mi²	1,887.2 mi²	56.5%
13	Pine CountyGEOID 27115	1,411.3 mi²	23.3 mi²	1.6%
14	Stearns CountyGEOID 27145	1,342.9 mi²	47 mi²	3.4%
15	Becker CountyGEOID 27005	1,315 mi²	130.1 mi²	9%
16	Lake of the Woods CountyGEOID 27077	1,297.7 mi²	482.2 mi²	27.1%
17	Morrison CountyGEOID 27097	1,125.1 mi²	28.3 mi²	2.5%
18	Kittson CountyGEOID 27069	1,099 mi²	4.8 mi²	0.4%
19	Clay CountyGEOID 27027	1,045.2 mi²	7.5 mi²	0.7%
20	Clearwater CountyGEOID 27029	999 mi²	31.1 mi²	3%
21	Crow Wing CountyGEOID 27035	998.5 mi²	158.2 mi²	13.7%
22	Renville CountyGEOID 27129	982.9 mi²	4.2 mi²	0.4%
23	Todd CountyGEOID 27153	945.1 mi²	34.4 mi²	3.5%
24	Hubbard CountyGEOID 27057	926 mi²	73.5 mi²	7.4%
25	Redwood CountyGEOID 27127	878.6 mi²	3.2 mi²	0.4%
26	Norman CountyGEOID 27107	872.8 mi²	3.9 mi²	0.4%
27	Fillmore CountyGEOID 27045	861.3 mi²	0.8 mi²	0.1%
28	Carlton CountyGEOID 27017	861.2 mi²	14 mi²	1.6%
29	Kandiyohi CountyGEOID 27067	797.4 mi²	65 mi²	7.5%
30	Lac qui Parle CountyGEOID 27073	765 mi²	13.1 mi²	1.7%
31	Yellow Medicine CountyGEOID 27173	759.1 mi²	4.1 mi²	0.5%
32	Goodhue CountyGEOID 27049	756.7 mi²	22.8 mi²	2.9%
33	Wilkin CountyGEOID 27167	751 mi²	0.2 mi²	0%
34	Blue Earth CountyGEOID 27013	747.8 mi²	17.7 mi²	2.3%
35	Swift CountyGEOID 27151	742 mi²	10.1 mi²	1.3%
36	Nobles CountyGEOID 27105	715.1 mi²	7.4 mi²	1%
37	Lyon CountyGEOID 27083	714.4 mi²	7.3 mi²	1%
38	Faribault CountyGEOID 27043	712.5 mi²	9.4 mi²	1.3%
39	Martin CountyGEOID 27091	712.3 mi²	17.2 mi²	2.4%
40	Mower CountyGEOID 27099	711.3 mi²	0.2 mi²	0%
41	Freeborn CountyGEOID 27047	707.2 mi²	15.2 mi²	2.1%
42	Murray CountyGEOID 27101	704.7 mi²	14.8 mi²	2.1%
43	Jackson CountyGEOID 27063	703 mi²	16.3 mi²	2.3%
44	Pope CountyGEOID 27121	674.6 mi²	42.4 mi²	5.9%
45	Wright CountyGEOID 27171	661.2 mi²	53.2 mi²	7.5%
46	Olmsted CountyGEOID 27109	653.5 mi²	1.2 mi²	0.2%
47	Cottonwood CountyGEOID 27033	640 mi²	8.6 mi²	1.3%
48	Douglas CountyGEOID 27041	636.9 mi²	83.3 mi²	11.6%
49	Winona CountyGEOID 27169	626.2 mi²	15.5 mi²	2.4%
50	Pennington CountyGEOID 27113	616.5 mi²	1.7 mi²	0.3%
51	Brown CountyGEOID 27015	611.3 mi²	7.2 mi²	1.2%
52	Meeker CountyGEOID 27093	608 mi²	36.6 mi²	5.7%
53	Sibley CountyGEOID 27143	589 mi²	11.6 mi²	1.9%
54	Chippewa CountyGEOID 27023	581.2 mi²	6.7 mi²	1.1%
55	Traverse CountyGEOID 27155	573.9 mi²	12 mi²	2%
56	Mille Lacs CountyGEOID 27095	572.3 mi²	109.2 mi²	16%
57	Stevens CountyGEOID 27149	563.7 mi²	11.7 mi²	2%
58	Dakota CountyGEOID 27037	562.6 mi²	24.3 mi²	4.1%
59	Mahnomen CountyGEOID 27087	557.9 mi²	25 mi²	4.3%
60	Hennepin CountyGEOID 27053	554 mi²	52.7 mi²	8.7%
61	Houston CountyGEOID 27055	552.1 mi²	16.7 mi²	2.9%
62	Grant CountyGEOID 27051	547.8 mi²	27.7 mi²	4.8%
63	Lincoln CountyGEOID 27081	536.8 mi²	11.6 mi²	2.1%
64	Wadena CountyGEOID 27159	536.3 mi²	7 mi²	1.3%
65	Wabasha CountyGEOID 27157	523 mi²	26.6 mi²	4.8%
66	Kanabec CountyGEOID 27065	521.6 mi²	12.1 mi²	2.3%
67	Big Stone CountyGEOID 27011	499.1 mi²	28.9 mi²	5.5%
68	Rice CountyGEOID 27131	495.8 mi²	20.1 mi²	3.9%
69	McLeod CountyGEOID 27085	491.5 mi²	14.1 mi²	2.8%
70	Rock CountyGEOID 27133	482.5 mi²	0.3 mi²	0.1%
71	Pipestone CountyGEOID 27117	465.1 mi²	0.9 mi²	0.2%
72	Le Sueur CountyGEOID 27079	448.8 mi²	25.2 mi²	5.3%
73	Nicollet CountyGEOID 27103	448.3 mi²	18.3 mi²	3.9%
74	Dodge CountyGEOID 27039	439.4 mi²	0.3 mi²	0.1%
75	Isanti CountyGEOID 27059	435.8 mi²	15.9 mi²	3.5%
76	Watonwan CountyGEOID 27165	435 mi²	4.8 mi²	1.1%
77	Sherburne CountyGEOID 27141	432.9 mi²	18.2 mi²	4%
78	Red Lake CountyGEOID 27125	432.4 mi²	0.1 mi²	0%
79	Steele CountyGEOID 27147	429.6 mi²	2.7 mi²	0.6%
80	Waseca CountyGEOID 27161	423.4 mi²	9.6 mi²	2.2%
81	Anoka CountyGEOID 27003	422 mi²	24.1 mi²	5.4%
82	Chisago CountyGEOID 27025	414.9 mi²	27.5 mi²	6.2%
83	Benton CountyGEOID 27009	408.3 mi²	4.7 mi²	1.1%
84	Washington CountyGEOID 27163	384.8 mi²	38.5 mi²	9.1%
85	Scott CountyGEOID 27139	356.1 mi²	12.2 mi²	3.3%
86	Carver CountyGEOID 27019	353.9 mi²	22 mi²	5.9%
87	Ramsey CountyGEOID 27123	152.3 mi²	17.8 mi²	10.4%

How to read this table. Land and water areas are Census statistical measurements in square miles. Adding county rows can differ slightly from separately published state totals because of rounding and geographic treatment.