{"id":4983,"date":"2023-07-02T10:42:37","date_gmt":"2023-07-02T10:42:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=4983"},"modified":"2026-08-22T01:45:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T01:45:39","slug":"kandiyohi-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/kandiyohi-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Kandiyohi County, Minnesota"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Kandiyohi County is a county in Minnesota, United States, centred on the city of Willmar in the west-central part of the state. It had a population of 43,732 at the 2020 census and covers 862 square miles (2,230 km2) &mdash; 797 square miles (2,060 km2) of land and 66 square miles (170 km2) of water &mdash; centred near 45\u00b009\u2032N 95\u00b001\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Willmar is the county seat and its postal code is 56201. The county holds 12 incorporated cities, 5 unincorporated communities, and 24 organized townships. It sits in the Central time zone and carries FIPS code 27067.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Kandiyohi County<\/h2>\n<p>Kandiyohi County has 12 incorporated cities and 5 unincorporated communities. Populations below are 2020 census figures where confirmed; unincorporated places and smaller cities are marked with a dash where a verified count was not available.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Willmar<\/td>\n<td>City &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>21,015<\/td>\n<td>56201<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Atwater<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>56209<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Blomkest<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>56216<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Kandiyohi<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>56251<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lake Lillian<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>56253<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>New London<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>56273<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Pennock<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>56279<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Prinsburg<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>56281<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Raymond<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>56282<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Regal<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Spicer<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>56288<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sunburg<\/td>\n<td>City<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>56289<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Hawick<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Norway Lake<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Priam<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Roseland<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Svea<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Regal, the county&#8217;s smallest city, has no post office of its own; mail there is handled by a neighboring ZIP. The county&#8217;s 24 civil townships add further rural addresses not tied to any of the places above.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>56201 &mdash; Willmar (also serves the surrounding township area)<\/li>\n<li>56209 &mdash; Atwater<\/li>\n<li>56216 &mdash; Blomkest<\/li>\n<li>56251 &mdash; Kandiyohi<\/li>\n<li>56253 &mdash; Lake Lillian<\/li>\n<li>56273 &mdash; New London<\/li>\n<li>56279 &mdash; Pennock<\/li>\n<li>56281 &mdash; Prinsburg<\/li>\n<li>56282 &mdash; Raymond<\/li>\n<li>56288 &mdash; Spicer<\/li>\n<li>56289 &mdash; Sunburg (also covers Regal)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Blomkest carries its own ZIP despite its small size; the unincorporated communities of Hawick, Norway Lake, Priam, Roseland, and Svea use the ZIP of their nearest incorporated post office town rather than one of their own.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Kandiyohi County lies in the prairie-pothole region of west-central Minnesota, a landscape of glacial lakes, rolling farmland, and open prairie rather than forest &mdash; the county is one of a handful in southern Minnesota with no native forest soils. Green Lake, near Spicer, and Lake Andrew, near New London, are among the county&#8217;s largest of more than 200 lakes. The Middle Fork Crow River drains much of the county eastward toward the Mississippi.<\/p>\n<p>Kandiyohi County borders six other Minnesota counties: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/stearns-county\/\">Stearns County<\/a> to the north, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/meeker-county\/\">Meeker County<\/a> to the east, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/renville-county\/\">Renville County<\/a> to the south, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/chippewa-county\/\">Chippewa County<\/a> to the southwest, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/swift-county\/\">Swift County<\/a> to the west, and <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/pope-county\/\">Pope County<\/a> to the northwest.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Kandiyohi County had 43,732 residents at the 2020 census. Willmar, the county seat, is by far the largest place with 21,015 people &mdash; roughly half the county&#8217;s population &mdash; followed at much smaller scale by the lake towns of New London and Spicer. The county&#8217;s median household income runs below the Minnesota median of $85,086, reflecting its farm-and-manufacturing economic base. Population density is about 55 people per square mile of land.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Agriculture, food processing, and health care anchor the county economy. Willmar is home to Jennie-O Turkey Store&#8217;s headquarters and a major processing plant, one of the largest employers in the region, alongside Rice Memorial Hospital (part of CentraCare) and Ridgewater College. The lakes around Spicer and New London draw a summer tourism and second-home economy, with Green Lake a focal point for boating and fishing.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>Kandiyohi County was organized on March 20, 1858, one of Minnesota&#8217;s original counties at statehood. Its name comes from a Dakota phrase referring to a place associated with buffalo fish. Willmar was named county seat on November 20, 1871, as the railroad reached the area and displaced the earlier settlement at New London as the commercial center. Until May 1965, when Minnesota eliminated county-by-county liquor option, Kandiyohi was a legally &#8220;dry&#8221; county in which no beverage over 3.2% alcohol could be sold.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>U.S. Highway 12 and Minnesota Highway 23 cross the county through Willmar, with Highway 40 and Highway 71 serving the northern and eastern towns.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>St. Cloud &mdash; 40 miles northeast<\/li>\n<li>Minneapolis &mdash; 95 miles east<\/li>\n<li>Marshall &mdash; 55 miles southwest<\/li>\n<li>Alexandria &mdash; 45 miles north<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Willmar Municipal Airport offers general aviation service; the nearest commercial airport is Minneapolis&ndash;St. Paul International, about a two-hour drive.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Kandiyohi County?<\/strong><br \/>It is in west-central Minnesota, about 95 miles west of Minneapolis, centred on the city of Willmar.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Kandiyohi County?<\/strong><br \/>43,732 people at the 2020 census.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Kandiyohi County?<\/strong><br \/>862 square miles (2,230 km2), including 66 square miles of lakes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Kandiyohi County?<\/strong><br \/>Willmar is the county seat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in Kandiyohi County?<\/strong><br \/>12 incorporated cities and 5 unincorporated communities, spread across 24 townships.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes are in Kandiyohi County?<\/strong><br \/>Eleven ZIP codes, from 56201 (Willmar) to 56289 (Sunburg); see the ZIP Codes section above.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why was Kandiyohi County once a &#8220;dry&#8221; county?<\/strong><br \/>A local liquor option kept sales of beverages over 3.2% alcohol illegal countywide until Minnesota abolished the county-option system in May 1965.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/minnesota\/\">Towns and villages in Minnesota<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kandiyohi County is a county in Minnesota, United States, centred on the city of Willmar in the west-central part of the state. It had a population of 43,732 at the 2020 census and covers 862 square miles (2,230 km2) &mdash; 797 square miles (2,060 km2) of land and 66 square miles (170 km2) of water [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota","_seopress_titles_desc":"Kandiyohi County, Minnesota: 12 cities incl. 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