Ham radio operators in Minnesota: new licenses by county
11,260 licensed amateur radio operators; 360 new in the past 12 months. Updated weekly from FCC data.
At a glance · Data as of
- New hams · last 30 days
- 21
- New hams · last 12 months
- 360
- ▲ 15% vs prior 12 mo
- Active licensed hams
- 11,260
- Upgrades · 12 mo
- 161
- Vanity callsigns · 12 mo
- 111
- Address updates · 12 mo
- 149
- Often a move into the area
- Expiring · next 6 mo
- 614
About ham radio in Minnesota
Minnesota added 360 new amateur radio operators in the past 12 months, up 15% from the year before. Minnesota ranks #24 of 52 states and territories for new licenses. Hennepin County leads the state with 90 new hams. Among larger counties, Ramsey County is growing fastest. Technicians make up 45% of the state’s licensees, below the U.S. average of 48%, a sign of an experienced community with many HF operators.
New hams by month
Show data table
| Month | New hams |
|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | 10 |
| Dec 2025 | 33 |
| Jan 2026 | 32 |
| Feb 2026 | 26 |
| Mar 2026 | 40 |
| Apr 2026 | 57 |
| May 2026 | 45 |
| Jun 2026 | 31 |
| Jul 2026 | 49 |
| Aug 2026 | 16 |
| Sep 2026 | 21 |
| Total | 361 |
License classes
| Class | Hams | Share | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technician | 5,069 | 45% | 48% |
| General | 2,916 | 26% | 25% |
| Amateur Extra | 2,569 | 23% | 21% |
| Advanced | 470 | 4% | 3% |
| Novice / Other | 236 | 2% | 2% |
Bar = Minnesota share · Tick = U.S. share
In the past 12 months, 58 operators upgraded to General and 88 to Amateur Extra.
How Minnesota compares
#24 of 52 states and territories for new hams in the past 12 months
| Per 1,000 active hams | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|
| New hams, past 12 months | 32.0 | 32.3 |
| Upgrades, past 12 months | 14.3 | 14.7 |
| Expiring, next 6 months | 54.5 | 57.3 |
360 new hams in Minnesota this past year. Get next month’s list free.
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| # | County | New hams 12 mo | Change vs prior year | Active hams | New per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hennepin County | 90 | ▲ 17% | 2,230 | 40.4 |
| 2 | Ramsey County | 42 | ▲ 62% | 930 | 45.2 |
| 3 | Dakota County | 32 | ▲ 33% | 822 | 38.9 |
| 4 | Anoka County | 17 | ▼ 19% | 745 | 22.8 |
| 5 | Olmsted County | 14 | ▼ 22% | 471 | 29.7 |
| 6 | St. Louis County | 14 | ▲ 17% | 581 | 24.1 |
| 7 | Washington County | 12 | ▼ 37% | 568 | 21.1 |
| 8 | Crow Wing County | 8 | — | 164 | 48.8 |
| 9 | Scott County | 8 | — | 274 | 29.2 |
| 10 | Stearns County | 7 | — | 257 | 27.2 |
— in Change means fewer than 10 new hams the year before.
All Minnesota counties
23 counties with their own page. Numbers are new hams in the past 12 months.
- Anoka County17 new hams in 12 months
- Beltrami County3 new hams in 12 months
- Carlton County2 new hams in 12 months
- Carver County5 new hams in 12 months
- Clay County6 new hams in 12 months
- Crow Wing County8 new hams in 12 months
- Dakota County32 new hams in 12 months
- Goodhue County2 new hams in 12 months
- Hennepin County90 new hams in 12 months
- Isanti County3 new hams in 12 months
- Itasca County1 new hams in 12 months
- Olmsted County14 new hams in 12 months
- Otter Tail County3 new hams in 12 months
- Ramsey County42 new hams in 12 months
- Rice County4 new hams in 12 months
- Scott County8 new hams in 12 months
- Sherburne County2 new hams in 12 months
- St. Louis County14 new hams in 12 months
- Stearns County7 new hams in 12 months
- Steele County6 new hams in 12 months
- Washington County12 new hams in 12 months
- Winona County0 new hams in 12 months
- Wright County6 new hams in 12 months
Smaller Minnesota counties
These 64 counties have too few licensees or too little recent activity for a page of their own, so their numbers are listed here.
Show all 64 smaller counties
| County | Active hams | New hams · 12 mo |
|---|---|---|
| Aitkin County | 46 | 0 |
| Becker County | 47 | 1 |
| Benton County | 83 | 1 |
| Big Stone County | 8 | 0 |
| Blue Earth County | 113 | 0 |
| Brown County | 30 | 0 |
| Cass County | 62 | 1 |
| Chippewa County | 12 | 0 |
| Chisago County | 125 | 3 |
| Clearwater County | 14 | 3 |
| Cook County | 42 | 0 |
| Cottonwood County | 15 | 0 |
| Dodge County | 40 | 0 |
| Douglas County | 70 | 3 |
| Faribault County | 22 | 2 |
| Fillmore County | 38 | 2 |
| Freeborn County | 69 | 0 |
| Grant County | 12 | 0 |
| Houston County | 36 | 1 |
| Hubbard County | 55 | 1 |
| Jackson County | 10 | 0 |
| Kanabec County | 40 | 0 |
| Kandiyohi County | 72 | 2 |
| Kittson County | 10 | 0 |
| Koochiching County | 44 | 0 |
| Lac qui Parle County | 10 | 0 |
| Lake County | 52 | 0 |
| Lake of the Woods County | 5 | 0 |
| Le Sueur County | 56 | 0 |
| Lincoln County | 17 | 0 |
| Lyon County | 33 | 0 |
| Mahnomen County | 2 | 0 |
| Marshall County | 14 | 0 |
| Martin County | 18 | 0 |
| McLeod County | 61 | 2 |
| Meeker County | 58 | 2 |
| Mille Lacs County | 52 | 2 |
| Morrison County | 54 | 2 |
| Mower County | 60 | 0 |
| Murray County | 19 | 1 |
| Nicollet County | 67 | 1 |
| Nobles County | 26 | 0 |
| Norman County | 5 | 0 |
| Pennington County | 24 | 0 |
| Pine County | 50 | 1 |
| Pipestone County | 6 | 0 |
| Polk County | 57 | 2 |
| Pope County | 30 | 1 |
| Red Lake County | 3 | 0 |
| Redwood County | 16 | 1 |
| Renville County | 14 | 0 |
| Rock County | 25 | 0 |
| Roseau County | 43 | 3 |
| Sibley County | 24 | 3 |
| Stevens County | 11 | 2 |
| Swift County | 12 | 0 |
| Todd County | 50 | 0 |
| Traverse County | 4 | 0 |
| Wabasha County | 63 | 0 |
| Wadena County | 30 | 0 |
| Waseca County | 85 | 1 |
| Watonwan County | 11 | 0 |
| Wilkin County | 7 | 0 |
| Yellow Medicine County | 10 | 0 |
Neighboring states
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Figures may be reused with credit to Ham Recruiter (CC BY 4.0).
Questions about hams in Minnesota
How many ham radio operators are in Minnesota?
11,260 active amateur radio licensees are on file for Minnesota as of Oct 1, 2026.
How many new hams were licensed in Minnesota last year?
360 people in Minnesota received their first FCC amateur radio license in the 12 months ending Oct 1, 2026.
Which Minnesota counties have the most new hams?
In the past 12 months: Hennepin County (90), Ramsey County (42) and Dakota County (32).
Where does this data come from?
From the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) public amateur license database, which we download every Monday. Addresses are matched to counties with the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder. This page shows totals only.
Can I see the names or call signs on this page?
No. Public pages show totals only. Verified Ham Recruiter users can search and export lists for outreach; see how licensee information is handled.
About this data
Data as of . Source: FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS) weekly amateur license database; county from U.S. Census Bureau geocoding. Aggregates only, no individual licensee data is shown. Aggregate figures © Ham Recruiter, CC BY 4.0.
How we count
- New ham: an active licensee whose first license was granted in the period.
- Address updates: a change of FCC mailing address, often a move into the area.
- Counts use each licensee’s current FCC address. Someone licensed here who later moved is counted where they live now.
- Each license keeps only its most recent event of each type, so two upgrades in one year count once.
- PO-box-only addresses often can’t be matched to a county, so rural counties are slightly undercounted.
100% of Minnesota licensees could be matched to a county.