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Arsenic in Minnesota well water, by county

By the Tested Water teamLab data from the USGS and EPA Water Quality Portal, 2000 to 2025Updated November 8, 2026

Arsenic is widespread, over the limit in 15% or more of tested wells, in 14 of the 50 Minnesota counties with 10 or more tested wells. 5 more look high, but those results likely overstate it. A county's share tells you how likely a problem is nearby. Only a test of your own well tells you what's in it.

Find an arsenic test See every county

How Minnesota compares with the rest of the country

Across Minnesota, about 1 in 7 tested wells had arsenic over the EPA limit of 10 µg/L (657 of 4,469). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 9. Minnesota is about average, so the county you live in tells you more than the state does.

Why it matters: Drinking it for years raises the risk of skin, bladder and lung cancer.

Arsenic dissolves out of certain rocks and old sediments, so it can be high even where nobody has polluted anything.

Arsenic in tested wells, county by county

Share of each county's tested wells with at least one result over the EPA limit of 10 µg/L. Counties need 10 or more tested wells to be listed. Widespread means 15% or more, worth checking 5 to 15%, rare under 5%.

CountyWells testedWells over the limitLevel
Stevens County 11
64%* 7 of 11
 Widespread
McLeod County 75
53%* 40 of 75
 Widespread
Clay County 90
50%* 45 of 90
 Widespread
Pope County 69
49%* 34 of 69
 Widespread
Meeker County 88
43%* 38 of 88
 Widespread
Sibley County 92
38% 35 of 92
 Widespread
Kandiyohi County 92
37% 34 of 92
 Widespread
Becker County 89
36% 32 of 89
 Widespread
Douglas County 35
34% 12 of 35
 Widespread
Brown County 92
32% 29 of 92
 Widespread
Redwood County 107
30% 32 of 107
 Widespread
Wright County 93
29% 27 of 93
 Widespread
Carver County 65
28% 18 of 65
 Widespread
Otter Tail County 192
28% 53 of 192
 Widespread
Renville County 90
26% 23 of 90
 Widespread
Nobles County 68
22% 15 of 68
 Widespread
Blue Earth County 93
22% 20 of 93
 Widespread
Todd County 89
19% 17 of 89
 Widespread
Nicollet County 95
17% 16 of 95
 Widespread
Anoka County 128
13% 17 of 128
 Worth checking
Lac qui Parle County 90
12% 11 of 90
 Worth checking
Hennepin County 140
11% 15 of 140
 Worth checking
Cass County 100
10% 10 of 100
 Worth checking
Rice County 11
9% 1 of 11
 Worth checking
Aitkin County 91
9% 8 of 91
 Worth checking
Isanti County 100
7% 7 of 100
 Worth checking
Steele County 90
7% 6 of 90
 Worth checking
Rock County 51
6% 3 of 51
 Worth checking
Beltrami County 18
6% 1 of 18
 Worth checking
Carlton County 102
5% 5 of 102
 Rare
Morrison County 104
5% 5 of 104
 Rare
Kanabec County 88
5% 4 of 88
 Rare
Sherburne County 128
4% 5 of 128
 Rare
Pine County 57
4% 2 of 57
 Rare
Hubbard County 92
3% 3 of 92
 Rare
Crow Wing County 106
3% 3 of 106
 Rare
St. Louis County 195
3% 5 of 195
 Rare
Chisago County 81
2% 2 of 81
 Rare
Wadena County 96
2% 2 of 96
 Rare
Benton County 82
1% 1 of 82
 Rare
Lake County 91
1% 1 of 91
 Rare
Washington County 139
1% 1 of 139
 Rare
Dakota County 123
0% 0 of 123
 Rare
Olmsted County 98
0% 0 of 98
 Rare
Dodge County 90
0% 0 of 90
 Rare
Winona County 88
0% 0 of 88
 Rare
Houston County 86
0% 0 of 86
 Rare
Stearns County 61
0% 0 of 61
 Rare
Ramsey County 13
0% 0 of 13
 Rare
Lincoln County 10
0% 0 of 10
 Rare

* Likely overstated. These shares come from a narrow set of wells, so they probably run high for the county as a whole:

  • Stevens County: All of these tests come from Minnesota's natural resources department between 2006 and 2006, so this likely overstates it. The Minnesota Department of Health found about 1 in 10 Minnesota wells over the limit.
  • McLeod County: All of these tests come from Minnesota's natural resources department between 2010 and 2011, so this likely overstates it. The Minnesota Department of Health found about 1 in 10 Minnesota wells over the limit.
  • Clay County: Almost all of these tests come from Minnesota's natural resources department, so this likely overstates it. The Minnesota Department of Health found about 1 in 10 Minnesota wells over the limit.
  • Pope County: All of these tests come from Minnesota's natural resources department between 2004 and 2004, so this likely overstates it. The Minnesota Department of Health found about 1 in 10 Minnesota wells over the limit.
  • Meeker County: All of these tests come from Minnesota's natural resources department, so this likely overstates it. The Minnesota Department of Health found about 1 in 10 Minnesota wells over the limit.

25 more Minnesota counties have 1 to 9 tested wells for arsenic, too few to rate.

Download this table (CSV) · Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0

Where to get your well tested for arsenic in Minnesota

1

Your county health department

Minnesota doesn't run a statewide free testing program that we know of. Some county health departments test wells or sell kits, so call yours first.

Minnesota's private well page
3

A mail-in kit

Fill the bottles at your kitchen tap and mail them back. We mark the kits that include arsenic.

Compare kits

Keep reading about wells in Minnesota

Questions people ask about arsenic in Minnesota

Is there arsenic in Minnesota well water?

Arsenic is widespread, over the limit in 15% or more of tested wells, in 14 of the 50 Minnesota counties with 10 or more tested wells. 5 more look high, but those results likely overstate it. Across Minnesota, about 1 in 7 tested wells had arsenic over the EPA limit of 10 µg/L (657 of 4,469). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 9. Minnesota is about average, so the county you live in tells you more than the state does.

Where can I get my well tested for arsenic in Minnesota?

Use a lab certified by Minnesota for drinking water, or a mail-in kit that includes arsenic from a certified lab. Some county health departments test wells too, so call yours first.

See Minnesota's list of certified labs, or compare mail-in kits.

Where these numbers come from

  • Lab tests: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA), well samples since 2000. A well counts as over if any of its tests was over the EPA limit of 10 µg/L. Wells tested for studies and monitoring, not a random sample of homes.
  • Likely overstated: our own check of who tested the wells, when and where. How we check.
  • State programs and links: Minnesota Department of Health.