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    Codes for the Identification of Counties in Minnesota

    Date Issued: Approved by the Minnesota Governor's Council on Geographic Information on April 3, 1997

    Introduction:

    This standard provides a set of codes that uniquely identify each of the 87 counties within the state of Minnesota for the purpose of information interchange among data processing systems. This standard originates from the International Committee for Information Standards INCITS 31:2009 and is recognized as a formal national standard by ANSI, the American National Standards Institute.

    Applicability: Who cares about these standards? This standard is important to all developers of public databases containing information about Minnesota counties

    When do they apply? When do they not apply? This standard has been developed to improve the exchange of public data about counties. Use of this standard is mandatory when both of the following conditions exist:

    • a state agency is transferring data to an external customer, AND
    • no other previously-agreed-to coding scheme for counties has been designated.

    Use of this standard is recommended when local governments exchange data, or when any new public databases are being designed that incorporate a coding scheme for counties. Use of this standard by local government, the private sector and the public is strongly encouraged, but voluntary. This standard applies to data that are being transferred, and does not attempt to restrict how those data are internally stored or used.

    Purpose of this Standard: The purpose of this standard is to provide a single, common coding scheme to identify all counties in Minnesota. It is intended to be used primarily when data are being transferred between a state agency and external customers. Its use will improve the sharing of data resources by avoiding unnecessary duplication and reducing incompatibilities in collecting, processing and disseminating data.

    Standard Requirements: This standard provides a structure for establishing a set of three-digit codes to be used when representing the 87 counties of the state of Minnesota. This standard is equivalent to the Minnesota portion of INCITS 31:2009. County names and identifying data codes are listed below.

    COUNTY NAME CODE
    Aitkin 001
    Anoka 003
    Becker 005
    Beltrami 007
    Benton 009
    Big Stone 011
    Blue Earth 013
    Brown 015
    Carlton 017
    Carver 019
    Cass 021
    Chippewa 023
    Chisago 025
    Clay 027
    Clearwater 029
    Cook 031
    Cottonwood 033
    Crow Wing 035
    Dakota 037
    Dodge 039
    Douglas 041
    Faribault 043
    Fillmore 045
    Freeborn 047
    Goodhue 049
    Grant 051
    Hennepin 053
    Houston 055
    Hubbard 057
    Isanti 059
    Itasca 061
    Jackson 063
    Kanabec 065
    Kandiyohi 067
    Kittson 069
    Koochiching 071
    Lac qui Parle 073
    Lake of the Woods 077
    Lake 075
    Le Sueur 079
    Lincoln 081
    Lyon 083
    Mahnomen 087
    Marshall 089
    Martin 091
    McLeod 085
    Meeker 093
    Mille Lacs 095
    Morrison 097
    Mower 099
    Murray 101
    Nicollet 103
    Nobles 105
    Norman 107
    Olmsted 109
    Otter Tail 111
    Pennington 113
    Pine 115
    Pipestone 117
    Polk 119
    Pope 121
    Ramsey 123
    Red Lake 125
    Redwood 127
    Renville 129
    Rice 131
    Rock 133
    Roseau 135
    Saint Louis 137
    Scott 139
    Sherburne 141
    Sibley 143
    Stearns 145
    Steele 147
    Stevens 149
    Swift 151
    Todd 153
    Traverse 155
    Wabasha 157
    Wadena 159
    Waseca 161
    Washington 163
    Watonwan 165
    Wilkin 167
    Winona 169
    Wright 171
    Yellow Medicine 173
    Compliance: What constitutes compliance? Agencies must be capable of translating their data into a form consistent with this standard for the purpose of exchanging data between organizations. Agencies may continue to store data in alternate formats of their choice, provided the capability exists to readily convert them, if requested by a customer. It is recommended that agencies integrate this standard into their data processing systems whenever possible.

    How will compliance be measured? Evidence of compliance will be determined based on reports of satisfactory data transfers from receiving customers.

    References and Sources of More Information: The International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) is a recognized forum for information technology developers, producers and users for the creation and maintenance of formal IT standards. INCITS is accredited by, and operates under rules approved by, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

    The standard, INCITS 31:2009 is titled, Information Technology - Codes for the Identification of Counties and Equivalent Areas of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Insular Areas. INCITS 31:2009 replaces the Federal Information Processing Standard FIPS 6-4, which was withdrawn from service by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2002.

    Contact

    Further information about this standard may be obtained from the Minnesota Geospatial Information Office (MnGeo).

    300 Centennial Building
    658 Cedar Street
    St. Paul, MN 55155

    phone: 651-201-2499

    email: gisinfo.mngeo@state.mn.us

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