These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In Minnesota For 2018

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 places 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 helping people find the best places to live in America for years.

So, the question becomes, if you wanted to relocate to the best pat of Minnesota, where would you go? To answer that we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 74 counties in the state.

After the analytic dust settled, we identified the 10 best counties to live in North Star State for 2018:

1. Carver County (Photos)
2. Sherburne County (Photos)
3. Washington County (Photos)
4. Dodge County (Photos)
5. Scott County (Photos)
6. Wright County (Photos)
7. Nicollet County (Photos)
8. Jackson County (Photos)
9. Chisago County (Photos)
10. Houston County (Photos)

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

So if you’re thinking of making the move Minnesota, we’ve got you covered. Keep on reading for a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Minnesota and the best places to raise a family in Minnesota.

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 need to make some assumptions about what’s a ‘best county’ and what isn’t. And, for reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, don’t take this analysis to court.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best sources of data on the internet; the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent time 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 74, 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, quiet, and best counties to raise a family in the North Star State.

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

1. Carver County

Biggest Place: Chaska
Population: 97,143
Median Income: $88,638 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $277,600 (11th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.0% (8th best)
More on Carver County: Photos | Data

2. Sherburne County

Biggest Place: St. Cloud
Population: 91,188
Median Income: $78,081 (4th best)
Median Home Price: $193,300 (19th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.1% (35th best)
More on Sherburne County: Photos | Data

3. Washington County

Biggest Place: Woodbury
Population: 248,745
Median Income: $86,689 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $253,300 (13th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.0% (31st best)
More on Washington County: Photos | Data

4. Dodge County

Biggest Place: Kasson
Population: 20,361
Median Income: $68,718 (10th best)
Median Home Price: $162,000 (40th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.3% (15th best)
More on Dodge County: Photos | Data

5. Scott County

Biggest Place: Shakopee
Population: 139,490
Median Income: $90,198 (1st best)
Median Home Price: $258,400 (12th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.0% (31st best)
More on Scott County: Photos | Data

6. Wright County

Biggest Place: St. Michael
Population: 129,922
Median Income: $75,705 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $201,500 (16th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.4% (48th best)
More on Wright County: Photos | Data

7. Nicollet County

Biggest Place: Mankato
Population: 33,226
Median Income: $61,501 (15th best)
Median Home Price: $174,200 (29th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.5% (21st best)
More on Nicollet County: Photos | Data

8. Jackson County

Biggest Place: Jackson
Population: 10,163
Median Income: $55,114 (30th best)
Median Home Price: $115,100 (65th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.3% (15th best)
More on Jackson County: Photos | Data

9. Chisago County

Biggest Place: North Branch
Population: 54,041
Median Income: $72,908 (8th best)
Median Home Price: $195,600 (18th best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.4% (63rd best)
More on Chisago County: Photos | Data

10. Houston County

Biggest Place: La Crescent
Population: 18,791
Median Income: $55,550 (28th best)
Median Home Price: $162,300 (39th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.0% (31st best)
More on Houston County: Photos | Data

There You Have It – The Best Counties In Minnesota To Call Home For 2018

It turns out living in Minnesota can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

But now you the know the really good parts and the parts to avoid and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day. And for that, you are welcome.

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

1. Beltrami County
2. Mower County
3. Nobles County

For more Minnesota reading, check out:

• 10 Most Diverse Cities In Minnesota
• 10 Worst Places To Live In Minnesota
• 10 Cheapest Places To Live In Minnesota
• 10 Best Cities For Singles In Minnesota

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Minnesota

County	Rank	Population	Median Income	Median Home Price
Carver County	1	97,143	$88,638	$277,600
Sherburne County	2	91,188	$78,081	$193,300
Washington County	3	248,745	$86,689	$253,300
Dodge County	4	20,361	$68,718	$162,000
Scott County	5	139,490	$90,198	$258,400
Wright County	6	129,922	$75,705	$201,500
Nicollet County	7	33,226	$61,501	$174,200
Jackson County	8	10,163	$55,114	$115,100
Chisago County	9	54,041	$72,908	$195,600
Houston County	10	18,791	$55,550	$162,300
Brown County	11	25,327	$53,319	$132,300
Pope County	12	10,975	$55,180	$153,000
Kittson County	13	4,436	$51,484	$72,400
Lake County	14	10,721	$52,320	$164,700
Douglas County	15	36,862	$56,347	$189,900
Roseau County	16	15,609	$54,827	$115,700
Wabasha County	17	21,327	$58,865	$160,900
Wilkin County	18	6,479	$52,963	$110,800
Olmsted County	19	150,104	$69,308	$178,000
Big Stone County	20	5,098	$47,132	$96,900
Pennington County	21	14,156	$51,156	$123,300
Yellow Medicine County	22	10,038	$54,717	$98,100
Le Sueur County	23	27,650	$62,462	$182,000
Clay County	24	61,402	$59,614	$166,600
Meeker County	25	23,094	$58,574	$157,600
Dakota County	26	411,402	$77,321	$226,900
Steele County	27	36,541	$58,141	$149,700
Mcleod County	28	35,926	$57,738	$148,400
Stevens County	29	9,762	$55,941	$146,400
Grant County	30	5,943	$53,828	$100,800
Waseca County	31	19,034	$53,199	$142,800
Anoka County	32	341,249	$73,579	$193,200
Goodhue County	33	46,450	$60,452	$185,800
Lake Of The Woods County	34	3,901	$45,732	$122,400
Swift County	35	9,483	$49,956	$97,100
Isanti County	36	38,461	$62,733	$166,900
Becker County	37	33,375	$54,115	$177,600
Traverse County	38	3,397	$50,333	$72,800
Renville County	39	14,995	$54,824	$99,300
Chippewa County	40	12,126	$54,041	$102,400
Otter Tail County	41	57,694	$53,351	$168,900
Faribault County	42	14,119	$49,101	$85,400
Rice County	43	65,116	$61,683	$184,400
Polk County	44	31,550	$53,059	$145,100
Watonwan County	45	10,996	$50,068	$94,900
Morrison County	46	32,850	$51,456	$155,600
Cottonwood County	47	11,557	$47,407	$88,800
Fillmore County	48	20,877	$54,358	$143,700
Murray County	49	8,463	$51,801	$105,000
Lyon County	50	25,670	$51,920	$134,500
Hennepin County	51	1,209,265	$67,989	$235,800
Blue Earth County	52	65,524	$52,119	$166,200
Stearns County	53	153,661	$56,977	$168,200
Sibley County	54	14,957	$59,596	$134,300
Kandiyohi County	55	42,510	$53,514	$164,300
Martin County	56	20,193	$51,984	$108,500
Carlton County	57	35,482	$55,607	$160,900
Crow Wing County	58	63,321	$50,893	$181,800
Itasca County	59	45,356	$49,507	$155,400
Redwood County	60	15,578	$48,891	$96,900
Wadena County	61	13,755	$42,689	$113,400
Winona County	62	51,145	$52,840	$156,500
Freeborn County	63	30,751	$48,827	$106,600
Hubbard County	64	20,640	$49,742	$177,800
Cass County	65	28,633	$47,926	$174,000
Ramsey County	66	531,528	$57,717	$199,200
Benton County	67	39,457	$51,841	$158,400
Aitkin County	68	15,722	$44,524	$165,300
Mille Lacs County	69	25,788	$51,232	$143,500
St. Louis County	70	200,353	$49,395	$143,200
Todd County	71	24,335	$47,549	$132,100
Nobles County	72	21,729	$53,269	$113,100
Mower County	73	39,248	$51,778	$114,100
Beltrami County	74	45,644	$45,201	$148,600