10 Best Counties To Live In Minnesota [2025]

Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is Minnesota a good place?

The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in Minnesota.

Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the North Star State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.

The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of Minnesota, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 87 counties in the state.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table | FAQs | Summary

The 10 Best Counties To Live In Minnesota For 2025

Carver County
Washington County
Scott County
Dakota County
Sherburne County
Wright County
Chisago County
Nicollet County
Houston County
Douglas County

Carver County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Minnesota. And you should avoid Mahnomen County if you can — at least according to the data.

Now you know exactly where to move in Minnesota. Keep on reading for more about the top ten and a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Minnesota and the cheapest places to live in Minnesota.

Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table

The Best Counties To Live In Minnesota For 2025

1. Carver County

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0

Biggest Place: Chaska
Population: 108,622
Median Income: $123,144 (best)
Median Home Price: $426,900 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.1% (3best)
More on Carver County:

2. Washington County

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Woodbury
Population: 272,298
Median Income: $114,457 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $400,900 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.3% (34th best)
More on Washington County:

3. Scott County

Source: Wikipedia User Appraiser | GFDL

Biggest Place: Shakopee
Population: 152,957
Median Income: $120,247 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $393,500 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.0% (24th best)
More on Scott County:

4. Dakota County

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Lakeville
Population: 442,204
Median Income: $105,212 (5th best)
Median Home Price: $362,100 (5th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.6% (43rd best)
More on Dakota County:

5. Sherburne County

Source: Wikipedia User KAM32296 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Biggest Place: St. Cloud
Population: 99,178
Median Income: $102,965 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $332,700 (7th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.3% (33rd best)
More on Sherburne County:

6. Wright County

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0

Biggest Place: Otsego
Population: 145,270
Median Income: $106,666 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $332,800 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.1% (9th best)
More on Wright County:

7. Chisago County

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: North Branch
Population: 57,434
Median Income: $98,260 (8th best)
Median Home Price: $326,600 (8th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.9% (50th best)
More on Chisago County:

8. Nicollet County

Source: Wikipedia User Bobak Ha’Eri | CC BY 3.0

Biggest Place: Mankato
Population: 34,350
Median Income: $80,362 (18th best)
Median Home Price: $258,500 (22nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.6% (4th best)
More on Nicollet County:

9. Houston County

Source: Wikipedia User Jonathunder | GFDL

Biggest Place: La Crescent
Population: 18,768
Median Income: $77,087 (25th best)
Median Home Price: $226,300 (39th best)
Unemployment Rate: 1.9% (7th best)
More on Houston County:

10. Douglas County

Source: Wikipedia User Omar David Sandoval Sida | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Alexandria
Population: 39,354
Median Income: $77,264 (24th best)
Median Home Price: $291,700 (14th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.7% (20th best)
More on Douglas County:

Best Places To Raise A Family In Minnesota

Methodology: How do you determine which Minnesota county is the best?

To give you the best county in Minnesota, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.

We paid particular attention to:

Violent Crime Rates
Property Crime Rates
Median Home Values
Median Income
Unemployment Rates
Adult Education Levels
Health Insurance Coverage
Poverty Rates

We then ranked each county in Minnesota across each of the criteria from one to 87, with one being the best.

Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In Minnesota.”

The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the North Star State.

We updated this article for 2025. This report is our tenth time ranking the best counties to live in Minnesota.

Read on to see why Carver County is the best county, while Mahnomen County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Minnesota.

Summary: The Best Counties In Minnesota To Call Home For 2025

Living in Minnesota can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

The best counties in Minnesota are Carver County, Washington County, Scott County, Dakota County, Sherburne County, Wright County, Chisago County, Nicollet County, Houston County, and Douglas County.

But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.

You are welcome.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in Minnesota according to the data:

Mahnomen County
Clearwater County
Watonwan County

For more Minnesota reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Minnesota

Rank	County	Population	Median Income	Median Home Price
1	Carver County	108,622	$123,144	$426,900
2	Washington County	272,298	$114,457	$400,900
3	Scott County	152,957	$120,247	$393,500
4	Dakota County	442,204	$105,212	$362,100
5	Sherburne County	99,178	$102,965	$332,700
6	Wright County	145,270	$106,666	$332,800
7	Chisago County	57,434	$98,260	$326,600
8	Nicollet County	34,350	$80,362	$258,500
9	Houston County	18,768	$77,087	$226,300
10	Douglas County	39,354	$77,264	$291,700
11	Anoka County	367,095	$98,764	$325,800
12	Red Lake County	3,922	$77,500	$157,200
13	Pope County	11,363	$72,205	$242,800
14	Steele County	37,413	$83,448	$234,200
15	Wabasha County	21,519	$80,133	$245,800
16	Olmsted County	163,425	$93,494	$304,500
17	Dodge County	20,962	$92,943	$267,500
18	Lake Of The Woods County	3,800	$70,091	$215,000
19	Lac Qui Parle County	6,694	$71,639	$143,400
20	Goodhue County	47,844	$82,749	$269,400
21	Meeker County	23,422	$75,037	$228,900
22	Clay County	65,628	$77,664	$256,000
23	Hennepin County	1,268,903	$96,339	$376,500
24	Le Sueur County	28,936	$90,218	$287,700
25	Cook County	5,633	$71,643	$294,000
26	Lake County	10,911	$75,621	$222,900
27	Waseca County	18,958	$75,052	$213,200
28	Pennington County	13,877	$72,561	$188,900
29	Isanti County	41,934	$86,573	$283,200
30	Mcleod County	36,771	$78,468	$233,400
31	Jackson County	9,964	$69,955	$145,400
32	Grant County	6,108	$72,957	$178,600
33	Marshall County	8,961	$71,701	$153,300
34	Rock County	9,628	$70,698	$201,600
35	Murray County	8,119	$74,475	$179,400
36	Brown County	25,826	$68,690	$181,700
37	Benton County	41,458	$71,480	$247,100
38	Fillmore County	21,346	$75,225	$204,000
39	Hubbard County	21,700	$70,622	$255,900
40	Stearns County	159,358	$76,447	$256,500
41	Yellow Medicine County	9,509	$71,573	$148,200
42	Rice County	67,389	$82,792	$298,500
43	Stevens County	9,686	$71,060	$180,800
44	Carlton County	36,457	$80,042	$232,000
45	Sibley County	14,933	$76,082	$215,000
46	Kittson County	4,163	$69,615	$134,400
47	Becker County	35,260	$71,117	$266,900
48	Morrison County	34,131	$68,640	$237,000
49	Otter Tail County	60,281	$70,912	$252,500
50	Lincoln County	5,594	$67,715	$152,200
51	Crow Wing County	67,113	$71,343	$274,400
52	St. Louis County	200,056	$69,455	$208,500
53	Blue Earth County	69,386	$72,623	$252,800
54	Winona County	49,705	$70,198	$222,900
55	Renville County	14,587	$69,086	$151,900
56	Big Stone County	5,152	$65,475	$135,700
57	Ramsey County	544,438	$81,004	$304,900
58	Roseau County	15,301	$73,611	$177,100
59	Kandiyohi County	43,757	$75,097	$230,500
60	Kanabec County	16,261	$71,915	$221,100
61	Mille Lacs County	26,912	$71,455	$237,500
62	Polk County	30,905	$69,136	$211,100
63	Martin County	19,864	$62,969	$158,800
64	Traverse County	3,279	$65,931	$110,100
65	Redwood County	15,383	$67,024	$150,400
66	Itasca County	45,141	$66,380	$212,000
67	Lyon County	25,498	$72,761	$193,100
68	Koochiching County	11,950	$69,115	$143,700
69	Wilkin County	6,413	$69,635	$172,300
70	Cass County	30,688	$64,937	$262,300
71	Freeborn County	30,752	$69,012	$164,900
72	Pine County	29,411	$69,666	$225,600
73	Swift County	9,787	$62,601	$147,100
74	Aitkin County	15,930	$59,498	$235,100
75	Mower County	40,069	$71,495	$172,000
76	Norman County	6,411	$69,833	$135,700
77	Pipestone County	9,352	$66,073	$126,700
78	Cottonwood County	11,458	$68,239	$154,000
79	Nobles County	22,067	$65,509	$179,200
80	Faribault County	13,909	$64,391	$120,200
81	Beltrami County	46,421	$67,257	$222,300
82	Wadena County	14,135	$56,882	$170,500
83	Todd County	25,402	$63,039	$188,400
84	Chippewa County	12,388	$69,192	$149,000
85	Watonwan County	11,169	$70,593	$151,600
86	Clearwater County	8,579	$64,934	$177,100
87	Mahnomen County	5,371	$53,925	$146,500