countyscore

Water Quality · Minnesota

Best Water Quality Counties in Minnesota 2026

Ranked by EPA drinking water health violations.

Top 10 — Water Quality in Minnesota

Score reflects water quality only — not overall county quality.

1Anoka County, MN
86
2Benton County, MN
86
3Big Stone County, MN
86
4Brown County, MN
86
5Carlton County, MN
86
6Carver County, MN
86
7Cass County, MN
86
8Chippewa County, MN
86
9Clearwater County, MN
86
10Cook County, MN
86

All Minnesota Counties — Water Quality Rankings

87 counties ranked by water quality score. Overall Score shown for context.

#CountyWater Quality ScoreOverall Score
1Anoka County, MN
86
43.7
2Benton County, MN
86
41
3Big Stone County, MN
86
68.8
4Brown County, MN
86
60.3
5Carlton County, MN
86
49.8
6Carver County, MN
86
56
7Cass County, MN
86
57.2
8Chippewa County, MN
86
59.5
9Clearwater County, MN
86
65.2
10Cook County, MN
86
61.6
11Cottonwood County, MN
86
63.2
12Dodge County, MN
86
58.4
13Faribault County, MN
86
61.9
14Fillmore County, MN
86
65.1
15Hennepin County, MN
86
36
16Houston County, MN
86
59.8
17Hubbard County, MN
86
50.3
18Isanti County, MN
86
43.6
19Itasca County, MN
86
56.5
20Kanabec County, MN
86
52.6
21Kittson County, MN
86
69.5
22Koochiching County, MN
86
59.9
23Lac qui Parle County, MN
86
72.5
24Lake County, MN
86
65.5
25Lake of the Woods County, MN
86
74.3
26Le Sueur County, MN
86
56.3
27Lincoln County, MN
86
69.3
28Lyon County, MN
86
64.5
29Mahnomen County, MN
86
47
30Mille Lacs County, MN
86
42.6
31Murray County, MN
86
72.7
32Olmsted County, MN
86
43.7
33Pipestone County, MN
86
67
34Pope County, MN
86
65.4
35Ramsey County, MN
86
32.6
36Red Lake County, MN
86
73.1
37Redwood County, MN
86
62.9
38Renville County, MN
86
57.4
39Rock County, MN
86
70.7
40Sherburne County, MN
86
55.7
41Stevens County, MN
86
65.6
42Swift County, MN
86
65.2
43Todd County, MN
86
55.4
44Wabasha County, MN
86
64.4
45Wadena County, MN
86
62.5
46Waseca County, MN
86
52.5
47Washington County, MN
86
47.6
48Watonwan County, MN
86
53.6
49Wilkin County, MN
86
65.3
50Stearns County, MN
69
50.3
51Wright County, MN
68.2
56.5
52Dakota County, MN
66.2
43
53Crow Wing County, MN
65.3
49.3
54Rice County, MN
64.8
49.3
55Clay County, MN
62
41.8
56Beltrami County, MN
61
36
57Goodhue County, MN
60.4
47.8
58Scott County, MN
59.8
45.8
59Steele County, MN
59.8
49.6
60Winona County, MN
58.6
48
61St. Louis County, MN
57.2
40.7
62Pennington County, MN
54.5
43.9
63Blue Earth County, MN
54.4
41.7
64Mower County, MN
53
44.7
65Martin County, MN
52.3
59.2
66Yellow Medicine County, MN
51
66.5
67McLeod County, MN
50.9
50.1
68Chisago County, MN
49
46.2
69Freeborn County, MN
46.4
47.5
70Nicollet County, MN
44.6
54.4
71Morrison County, MN
42.6
50.8
72Meeker County, MN
39.2
57.7
73Pine County, MN
38.3
46.9
74Marshall County, MN
37.3
69.1
75Nobles County, MN
35.6
50.4
76Jackson County, MN
34.2
72.5
77Polk County, MN
31.7
50.9
78Aitkin County, MN
25.8
53.3
79Kandiyohi County, MN
23.7
46.2
80Becker County, MN
21.3
52.7
81Norman County, MN
20.5
68.8
82Douglas County, MN
18.6
56.4
83Grant County, MN
16.4
66.1
84Traverse County, MN
16
68.1
85Otter Tail County, MN
12
51.7
86Roseau County, MN
7.4
56.2
87Sibley County, MN
5.5
57.3

Explore More

Best overall counties in MinnesotaFull Water Quality data on WaterByCounty