Ranked from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals
Driest Counties in Minnesota
The least rainfall in the country. Dry is easier on a building than wet, but it moves the cost somewhere else: irrigation, foundation movement in shrink-swell soils, and in the driest counties the price and reliability of water itself. Figures are NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals from the weather station nearest each county seat, so they describe a thirty-year average rather than any single year.
Where does yours land?
Every county in America is somewhere on this scale, including the one you live in.
Minnesota ranked
| # | County | Annual rainfall | FEMA risk rating | Median home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kittson County | 22.3" | Very Low | $134,400 |
| 2 | Beltrami County | 22.8" | Relatively Low | $222,300 |
| 3 | Lake of the Woods County | 23.2" | Very Low | $215,000 |
| 4 | Becker County | 23.9" | Very Low | $266,900 |
| 5 | Cass County | 23.9" | Relatively Low | $262,300 |
| 6 | Hubbard County | 23.9" | Very Low | $255,900 |
| 7 | Wadena County | 23.9" | Very Low | $170,500 |
| 8 | Clay County | 23.9" | Relatively Low | $256,000 |
| 9 | Wilkin County | 23.9" | Very Low | $172,300 |
| 10 | Douglas County | 24.1" | Relatively Low | $291,700 |
| 11 | Grant County | 24.1" | Very Low | $178,600 |
| 12 | Marshall County | 24.3" | Very Low | $153,300 |
| 13 | Pennington County | 24.3" | Relatively Low | $188,900 |
| 14 | Roseau County | 24.3" | Relatively Low | $177,100 |
| 15 | Polk County | 24.3" | Relatively Low | $211,100 |
| 16 | Red Lake County | 24.3" | Very Low | $157,200 |
| 17 | Crow Wing County | 24.5" | Relatively Low | $274,400 |
| 18 | Norman County | 25.0" | Very Low | $135,700 |
| 19 | Traverse County | 25.3" | Very Low | $110,100 |
| 20 | Lac qui Parle County | 25.6" | Very Low | $143,400 |
| 21 | Cook County | 25.9" | Very Low | $294,000 |
| 22 | Mahnomen County | 26.4" | Very Low | $146,500 |
| 23 | Pope County | 26.4" | Very Low | $242,800 |
| 24 | Big Stone County | 26.4" | Very Low | $135,700 |
| 25 | Clearwater County | 26.6" | Very Low | $177,100 |
| 26 | Stevens County | 26.9" | Very Low | $180,800 |
| 27 | Morrison County | 27.2" | Relatively Low | $237,000 |
| 28 | Koochiching County | 27.3" | Very Low | $143,700 |
| 29 | St. Louis County | 27.6" | Relatively Moderate | $208,500 |
| 30 | Renville County | 27.9" | Very Low | $151,900 |
| 31 | Redwood County | 28.0" | Very Low | $150,400 |
| 32 | Swift County | 28.1" | Very Low | $147,100 |
| 33 | Otter Tail County | 28.2" | Relatively Low | $252,500 |
| 34 | Benton County | 28.5" | Relatively Low | $247,100 |
| 35 | Pipestone County | 28.6" | Very Low | $126,700 |
| 36 | Kandiyohi County | 28.7" | Relatively Low | $230,500 |
| 37 | Anoka County | 28.8" | Relatively Moderate | $325,800 |
| 38 | Lincoln County | 28.9" | Very Low | $152,200 |
| 39 | Lyon County | 28.9" | Relatively Low | $193,100 |
| 40 | Chippewa County | 29.4" | Very Low | $149,000 |
| 41 | Yellow Medicine County | 29.4" | Very Low | $148,200 |
| 42 | Brown County | 29.6" | Relatively Low | $181,700 |
| 43 | Rock County | 29.6" | Very Low | $201,600 |
| 44 | Isanti County | 29.7" | Very Low | $283,200 |
| 45 | Meeker County | 29.8" | Very Low | $228,900 |
| 46 | Murray County | 30.1" | Very Low | $179,400 |
| 47 | Jackson County | 30.5" | Very Low | $145,400 |
| 48 | Nobles County | 30.5" | Relatively Low | $179,200 |
| 49 | Carver County | 30.6" | Relatively Low | $426,900 |
| 50 | Sherburne County | 30.7" | Relatively Low | $332,700 |
| 51 | Hennepin County | 30.7" | Relatively High | $376,500 |
| 52 | Mille Lacs County | 30.8" | Very Low | $237,500 |
| 53 | Todd County | 31.0" | Very Low | $188,400 |
| 54 | Stearns County | 31.0" | Relatively Moderate | $256,500 |
| 55 | Itasca County | 31.1" | Relatively Low | $212,000 |
| 56 | Kanabec County | 31.7" | Very Low | $221,100 |
| 57 | McLeod County | 31.7" | Relatively Low | $233,400 |
| 58 | Sibley County | 31.7" | Very Low | $215,000 |
| 59 | Cottonwood County | 31.7" | Very Low | $154,000 |
| 60 | Wright County | 31.7" | Relatively Low | $332,800 |
| 61 | Aitkin County | 31.9" | Relatively Low | $235,100 |
| 62 | Chisago County | 32.4" | Relatively Low | $326,600 |
| 63 | Le Sueur County | 32.4" | Very Low | $287,700 |
| 64 | Lake County | 32.5" | Very Low | $222,900 |
| 65 | Carlton County | 32.7" | Relatively Low | $232,000 |
| 66 | Nicollet County | 32.8" | Relatively Low | $258,500 |
| 67 | Ramsey County | 33.1" | Relatively High | $304,900 |
| 68 | Watonwan County | 33.1" | Very Low | $151,600 |
| 69 | Washington County | 33.2" | Relatively Moderate | $400,900 |
| 70 | Scott County | 33.3" | Relatively Low | $393,500 |
| 71 | Pine County | 33.3" | Relatively Low | $225,600 |
| 72 | Martin County | 33.5" | Relatively Low | $158,800 |
| 73 | Blue Earth County | 33.9" | Relatively Low | $252,800 |
| 74 | Dakota County | 34.1" | Relatively Moderate | $362,100 |
| 75 | Faribault County | 34.5" | Relatively Low | $120,200 |
| 76 | Dodge County | 34.7" | Very Low | $267,500 |
| 77 | Olmsted County | 34.7" | Relatively Moderate | $304,500 |
| 78 | Goodhue County | 35.2" | Relatively Low | $269,400 |
| 79 | Winona County | 35.2" | Relatively Low | $222,900 |
| 80 | Rice County | 35.5" | Relatively Low | $298,500 |
| 81 | Steele County | 35.5" | Very Low | $234,200 |
| 82 | Wabasha County | 35.5" | Relatively Low | $245,800 |
| 83 | Freeborn County | 35.8" | Relatively Low | $164,900 |
| 84 | Fillmore County | 36.8" | Relatively Low | $204,000 |
| 85 | Mower County | 37.4" | Relatively Low | $172,000 |
| 86 | Waseca County | 37.9" | Very Low | $213,200 |
| 87 | Houston County | 38.3" | Very Low | $226,300 |
Every figure is modelled on the county's own median home with 20% down at 7.03%. Property tax and electricity are county and state specific; homeowners insurance uses the NAIC average premium for that state, which ranges from 0.16% of home value in Hawaii to 1.16% in Oklahoma. Maintenance and water are national estimates. Full methodology.
Nationwide
Driest Counties across all 3,133 US counties · Every county in Minnesota