County Maps US

Stearns County, Minnesota

A county in Minnesota, ranked 8 of 87 by population.

CountyFIPS 27145

Within Minnesota
Stearns County, highlighted, with the areas around it. Boundaries generalised from the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file; neighbour fills carry no data. The dot marks St. Cloud, the county seat, located via the 2025 Census Gazetteer.

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Population
164,110
+5,654 (+3.6%) since 2020
Land area
1,343
square miles. A further 3.4% of the total area is water
Population density
122
people per square mile, computed rather than published
County seat
St. Cloud
Seat of county government.
Established
1855
170 years ago
Largest city
St. Cloud city
Population 57,657 for the whole place, which extends beyond this county.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; Wikidata (CC0), Wikidata. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

Satellite view

Aerial imagery of Stearns County with its boundary drawn on top. A map shows you the shape; this shows you what is inside it, and which side of the line a place falls on.

Aerial view of Stearns County, Minnesota from the USGS National Map, with its boundary outlined
Imagery: USGS National Map, USGS Imagery Only, public domain, requested from USGS by your browser when you reach this point on the page, at 800 by 546 pixels. The boundary is the 2025 Census cartographic boundary file, reprojected to Web Mercator to match the imagery. You can also open the USGS National Map viewer.

Where Stearns County ranks

Position among the 87 counties of Minnesota, and among all 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents. Computed from the figures on this page.

MeasureValueIn MinnesotaNationally
Population164,1108th of 87427th of 3,144
Land area1,343 sq mi14th of 87445th of 3,144
Population density122 per sq mi13th of 87787th of 3,144
Median household income$77,06630th of 87723rd of 3,143

Full data for Stearns County

Every figure below is attributed to the Census Bureau product it came from, with the vintage of that product.
MeasureValueSource and vintage
Population164,110Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Population in 2020158,456Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
2020 estimates base?158,282Vintage 2025 Population Estimates
Land area1,343 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Water area47.0 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Total area1,390 sq mi2025 Gazetteer Files
Population density?122 per sq miComputed: Vintage 2025 estimates divided by 2025 Gazetteer land area
Median household income$77,066American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median home value$273,400American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Median age35.1American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Households61,403American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates
Housing units66,625American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates

Sources: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026; US Census Bureau, Gazetteer Files, 2025 Gazetteer Files, released 10 September 2025; US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, released 29 January 2026. Population density is computed here, not published: it divides the Vintage 2025 population estimate by the 2025 Gazetteer land area, which are two different Census products. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

How the population changed

The Census Bureau publishes the components behind an estimate, not just the total. For the year to July 2025:

Births minus deaths
+797
2,025 births, 1,228 deaths
Net migration
+189
More people moved in than moved out.

Source: US Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates, released 26 March 2026. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

The 9 areas bordering Stearns County

Ordered by the length of the border actually shared, which the Census Bureau publishes in its county adjacency file and which no other county reference presents.

Bordering areaStateShared borderPopulation
Meeker CountyMinnesota27 mi23,603
Pope CountyMinnesota24 mi11,420
Todd CountyMinnesota24 mi26,060
Kandiyohi CountyMinnesota24 mi44,720
Wright CountyMinnesota23 mi157,559
Benton CountyMinnesota20 mi41,744
Morrison CountyMinnesota18 mi34,620
Sherburne CountyMinnesota14 mi104,194
Douglas CountyMinnesota1.0 mi40,120

Source: US Census Bureau, County Adjacency File, 2025 County Adjacency File, released 15 September 2025. Retrieved 30 August 2026.

All 87 counties of Minnesota

Open the interactive Minnesota county map, or jump straight to any of them.

Data on this page last rebuilt 30 August 2026. How these figures are produced.