Wright County is a county in the East Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 141,337 at the 2020 census, then growing to an estimated 157,557 in 2025. Its county seat is Buffalo. The county was founded in 1855. Wright County is part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. In terms of population, Wright County is the tenth-largest county in Minnesota and the fastest growing.
History
The county was established in 1855, and was named for New York politician Silas Wright. The first county seat was Monticello; in 1868 the county seat was changed to Buffalo. Most of the area's first settlers were of German and Swedish origin. The county's population in 1860 was 3,729; in 1875, it was 13,775.]]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an area of , of which is land and (7.4%) is water. The terrain is undulating and contains numerous small lakes. The county is bounded on the northeast by the Mississippi River. Wright is one of 17 Minnesota savanna region counties with more savanna soils than either prairie or forest soils, and one of only two Minnesota counties where savanna soils make up more than 75% of the county area (the other is the adjacent Hennepin County).
thumb|Soils of Lake Maria State Park
Major highways
- 20px Interstate 94
- 20px U.S. Highway 12
- 20px U.S. Highway 52 (runs hidden with I-94)
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 24
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 25
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 55
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 101
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 241
Adjacent counties
- Sherburne County - northeast
- Hennepin County - east
- Carver County - southeast
- McLeod County - southwest
- Meeker County - west
- Stearns County - northwest