Which counties in Minnesota are adding jobs fastest?

Cottonwood County (+32.0%), Scott County (+20.4%) and Washington County (+16.5%) added private-sector jobs fastest in Minnesota between 2018 and 2023.

Data as of 2023 · updated November 5, 2026

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All 87 ranked Minnesota counties

Minnesota counties ranked by private-sector job growth
Rank	County	Change 2018–23	Private jobs 2023	Residents
1	Cottonwood County	+32.0%	5,046	11,405
2	Scott County	+20.4%	60,419	159,017
3	Washington County	+16.5%	95,631	286,895
4	Cass County	+14.2%	7,493	31,430
5	Swift County	+13.3%	3,382	9,763
6	Wright County	+11.9%	42,944	157,559
7	Kanabec County	+11.2%	3,371	16,628
8	Roseau County	+9.8%	7,162	15,246
9	Sibley County	+9.5%	3,390	15,356
10	Olmsted County	+9.4%	107,285	166,731
11	Sherburne County	+8.8%	24,222	104,194
12	Meeker County	+7.3%	6,775	23,603
13	Morrison County	+6.0%	8,532	34,620
14	Chisago County	+6.0%	15,081	59,142
15	Carlton County	+5.9%	7,855	36,711
16	Crow Wing County	+5.3%	28,209	69,132
17	Aitkin County	+5.2%	3,632	16,252
18	Beltrami County	+5.0%	16,073	47,055
19	Benton County	+4.7%	16,944	41,744
20	Rock County	+4.6%	3,070	9,524
21	Grant County	+4.1%	1,533	6,085
22	Isanti County	+3.8%	9,859	44,386
23	Dodge County	+3.8%	4,822	21,376
24	Becker County	+3.7%	10,874	35,497
25	Pipestone County	+3.4%	3,196	9,260
26	Todd County	+2.8%	6,073	26,060
27	Hennepin County	+2.3%	939,201	1,284,784
28	Rice County	+2.0%	25,126	69,939
29	Carver County	+1.7%	39,280	114,379
30	Fillmore County	+1.7%	4,608	21,540
31	Lac qui Parle County	+1.5%	1,712	6,704
32	Nobles County	+1.3%	8,853	22,338
33	Renville County	+1.2%	4,140	14,356
34	Douglas County	+1.2%	18,208	40,120
35	Jackson County	+1.0%	3,953	9,857
36	Anoka County	+0.7%	123,486	381,605
37	Mower County	+0.6%	13,890	40,971
38	Winona County	+0.5%	23,937	50,523
39	Houston County	+0.4%	4,309	18,400
40	Hubbard County	+0.4%	4,685	22,369
41	Le Sueur County	−0.3%	7,817	29,453
42	Pennington County	−0.3%	8,929	13,686
43	Otter Tail County	−0.4%	18,813	61,041
44	Itasca County	−0.6%	13,380	45,404
45	Stearns County	−0.6%	84,123	164,110
46	Wilkin County	−1.0%	1,638	6,288
47	Watonwan County	−1.1%	3,793	11,459
48	Dakota County	−1.2%	185,426	457,710
49	Lyon County	−1.3%	12,732	25,684
50	Red Lake County	−1.7%	642	3,940
51	Lake County	−1.8%	3,213	10,746
52	Blue Earth County	−1.9%	35,883	70,634
53	Wadena County	−2.0%	3,946	14,388
54	Kandiyohi County	−2.6%	18,568	44,720
55	Brown County	−2.9%	12,995	25,517
56	Ramsey County	−2.9%	294,664	541,623
57	Martin County	−3.1%	7,402	19,440
58	Big Stone County	−3.1%	1,372	5,054
59	Freeborn County	−3.4%	10,861	30,440
60	Marshall County	−3.5%	1,525	8,798
61	Lake of the Woods County	−3.6%	1,352	3,770
62	Yellow Medicine County	−3.6%	3,603	9,477
63	Waseca County	−3.9%	4,108	18,688
64	Polk County	−3.9%	8,944	30,545
65	McLeod County	−4.0%	14,890	36,631
66	Wabasha County	−4.2%	5,125	21,537
67	Steele County	−4.4%	18,853	37,464
68	St. Louis County	−5.2%	84,223	200,518
69	Nicollet County	−5.2%	13,540	34,273
70	Faribault County	−6.3%	3,758	13,888
71	Traverse County	−6.3%	732	3,130
72	Koochiching County	−6.5%	3,520	11,587
73	Cook County	−6.7%	1,965	5,522
74	Clay County	−6.8%	16,761	67,734
75	Lincoln County	−7.0%	1,176	5,583
76	Chippewa County	−8.6%	4,524	12,406
77	Goodhue County	−8.8%	18,951	48,195
78	Stevens County	−8.9%	4,051	9,747
79	Mille Lacs County	−9.1%	8,011	27,753
80	Clearwater County	−9.4%	2,107	8,647
81	Pine County	−9.9%	6,406	30,472
82	Redwood County	−11.3%	5,143	15,265
83	Norman County	−12.4%	1,206	6,336
84	Kittson County	−13.5%	1,067	4,031
85	Murray County	−15.3%	2,175	7,942
86	Mahnomen County	−16.4%	1,458	5,153
87	Pope County	−21.4%	3,137	11,420

How this is ranked

The change in paid employees of private employers in mid-March between 2018 and 2023 (Census Bureau County Business Patterns). Government jobs and the self-employed are not counted. Counties with fewer than 1,000 residents, or without a figure for the same period as the others, are not ranked.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns. Figures come from public federal statistics and are informational only, not investment advice. Check the source before relying on a number. Methodology: how ranks and figures are built. More on every layer: data sources and licences.

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Questions

Which county in Minnesota has the fastest job growth?

Cottonwood County: +32.0%, ahead of Scott County (+20.4%) and Washington County (+16.5%), of 87 Minnesota counties ranked.

How is this ranking calculated?

More county rankings for Minnesota

Private-sector job growth in other states

Across the U.S.