Fastest-growing counties in Minnesota

Written by:
February 23, 2021
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Fastest-growing counties in Minnesota

From 2018 to 2019, the U.S. population grew by .48%, its slowest rate in 100 years. Declining births, increasing deaths largely due to the graying Baby Boomer population, and a crackdown on immigration have contributed to many states seeing net population losses in recent years.

But in other pockets of the country, populations are growing. These shifts can be due to job opportunities, high quality of life, easy commutability to job centers, low rents, or any combination of these or other factors. Stacker compiled a list of the fastest-growing counties in Minnesota using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the highest population growth from 2010 to 2019, based on 5-year estimates.

A county typically sees population growth as a “bedroom community” (a municipality with an atypically large commuting population) to a large city. These communities are typically quieter than their feeder cities, offer lower rents and a higher quality of living, and are remote enough to be immune to the feeder city’s crime, traffic, and crowds. Keep reading to see if your home county made the list.

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McGhiever // Wikimedia Commons

#30. Cass County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +620
--- #1,112 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +2.2%
--- #32 among counties in Minnesota, #1,184 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 29,268
--- #36 largest county in Minnesota, #1,447 largest county nationwide
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SH5544 // Wikimedia Commons

#29. Otter Tail County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +656
--- #1,096 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +1.1%
--- #35 among counties in Minnesota, #1,347 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 58,195
--- #17 largest county in Minnesota, #885 largest county nationwide
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Tony Webster // Wikimedia Commons

#28. Carlton County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +675
--- #1,084 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +1.9%
--- #33 among counties in Minnesota, #1,217 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 35,633
--- #30 largest county in Minnesota, #1,283 largest county nationwide
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McGhiever // Wikimedia Commons

#27. Nobles County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +704
--- #1,075 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +3.3%
--- #25 among counties in Minnesota, #998 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 21,734
--- #44 largest county in Minnesota, #1,737 largest county nationwide
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McGhiever // Wikimedia Commons

#26. Hubbard County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +814
--- #1,033 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +4.0%
--- #23 among counties in Minnesota, #909 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 21,019
--- #46 largest county in Minnesota, #1,773 largest county nationwide
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Jonathunder // Wikimedia Commons

#25. Dodge County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +840
--- #1,023 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +4.2%
--- #22 among counties in Minnesota, #884 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 20,669
--- #48 largest county in Minnesota, #1,791 largest county nationwide
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Darb02 // Wikimedia Commons

#24. Mower County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +952
--- #992 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +2.5%
--- #29 among counties in Minnesota, #1,134 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 39,807
--- #25 largest county in Minnesota, #1,180 largest county nationwide
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McGhiever // Wikimedia Commons

#23. Kandiyohi County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +972
--- #985 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +2.3%
--- #30 among counties in Minnesota, #1,160 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 42,841
--- #23 largest county in Minnesota, #1,117 largest county nationwide
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McGhiever // Wikimedia Commons

#22. Douglas County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +1,604
--- #837 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +4.5%
--- #21 among counties in Minnesota, #861 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 37,513
--- #27 largest county in Minnesota, #1,234 largest county nationwide
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McGhiever // Wikimedia Commons

#21. Nicollet County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +1,683
--- #825 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +5.2%
--- #16 among counties in Minnesota, #779 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 33,954
--- #32 largest county in Minnesota, #1,330 largest county nationwide
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McGhiever // Wikimedia Commons

#20. Becker County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +1,737
--- #811 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +5.4%
--- #15 among counties in Minnesota, #754 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 34,011
--- #31 largest county in Minnesota, #1,328 largest county nationwide
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McGhiever // Wikimedia Commons

#19. Isanti County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +1,748
--- #809 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +4.6%
--- #20 among counties in Minnesota, #839 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 39,430
--- #26 largest county in Minnesota, #1,191 largest county nationwide
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McGhiever // Wikimedia Commons

#18. Benton County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +1,981
--- #777 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +5.2%
--- #17 among counties in Minnesota, #782 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 40,129
--- #24 largest county in Minnesota, #1,174 largest county nationwide
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McGhiever // Wikimedia Commons

#17. Crow Wing County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +2,381
--- #724 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +3.9%
--- #24 among counties in Minnesota, #933 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 64,217
--- #15 largest county in Minnesota, #824 largest county nationwide
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Tony Webster // Wikimedia Commons

#16. Chisago County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +2,471
--- #714 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +4.7%
--- #19 among counties in Minnesota, #834 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 55,315
--- #18 largest county in Minnesota, #916 largest county nationwide
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McGhiever // Wikimedia Commons

#15. Beltrami County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +2,622
--- #702 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +6.0%
--- #14 among counties in Minnesota, #699 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 46,403
--- #20 largest county in Minnesota, #1,043 largest county nationwide
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McGhiever // Wikimedia Commons

#14. Rice County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +3,098
--- #652 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +4.9%
--- #18 among counties in Minnesota, #809 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 66,185
--- #14 largest county in Minnesota, #807 largest county nationwide
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Bobak Ha'Eri // Wikimedia Commons

#13. Blue Earth County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +4,076
--- #588 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +6.5%
--- #13 among counties in Minnesota, #653 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 66,795
--- #13 largest county in Minnesota, #795 largest county nationwide
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McGhiever // Wikimedia Commons

#12. Clay County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +6,357
--- #485 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +11.1%
--- #4 among counties in Minnesota, #334 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 63,446
--- #16 largest county in Minnesota, #837 largest county nationwide
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Bobak Ha'Eri // Wikimedia Commons

#11. Sherburne County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +7,640
--- #451 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +8.8%
--- #8 among counties in Minnesota, #483 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 94,463
--- #12 largest county in Minnesota, #623 largest county nationwide
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McGhiever // Wikicommons

#10. Stearns County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +10,525
--- #381 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +7.1%
--- #11 among counties in Minnesota, #606 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 158,452
--- #7 largest county in Minnesota, #415 largest county nationwide
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Myotus // Wikimedia Commons

#9. Carver County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +13,281
--- #338 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +15.0%
--- #2 among counties in Minnesota, #197 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 101,949
--- #11 largest county in Minnesota, #594 largest county nationwide
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Jonathunder // Wikimedia Commons

#8. Olmsted County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +13,565
--- #336 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +9.6%
--- #7 among counties in Minnesota, #428 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 154,809
--- #8 largest county in Minnesota, #424 largest county nationwide
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Bobak Ha'Eri // Wikimedia Commons

#7. Wright County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +13,674
--- #334 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +11.3%
--- #3 among counties in Minnesota, #326 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 134,438
--- #10 largest county in Minnesota, #472 largest county nationwide
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Appraiser // Wikimedia Commons

#6. Scott County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +19,136
--- #272 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +15.2%
--- #1 among counties in Minnesota, #190 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 145,275
--- #9 largest county in Minnesota, #446 largest county nationwide
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McGhiever // Wikimedia Commons

#5. Anoka County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +22,709
--- #240 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +6.9%
--- #12 among counties in Minnesota, #616 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 350,253
--- #4 largest county in Minnesota, #199 largest county nationwide
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Iulus Ascanius // Wikimedia Commons

#4. Washington County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +23,402
--- #233 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +10.1%
--- #5 among counties in Minnesota, #399 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 255,938
--- #5 largest county in Minnesota, #265 largest county nationwide
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McGhiever // Wikimedia Commons

#3. Dakota County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +28,073
--- #195 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +7.1%
--- #10 among counties in Minnesota, #602 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 421,453
--- #3 largest county in Minnesota, #166 largest county nationwide
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Mulad // Wikimedia Commons

#2. Ramsey County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +41,329
--- #124 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +8.2%
--- #9 among counties in Minnesota, #519 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 544,442
--- #2 largest county in Minnesota, #123 largest county nationwide
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Checubus // Shutterstock

#1. Hennepin County

- 2010 to 2019 population change: +109,315
--- #40 among all counties nationwide
- 2010 to 2019 percent population change: +9.6%
--- #6 among counties in Minnesota, #426 among all counties nationwide
- 2019 population: 1,245,837
--- #1 largest county in Minnesota, #34 largest county nationwide

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