MN · wells & permits

Water wells in Minnesota

Real drilling records, county depth medians, active contractors, and exactly what it takes to pull a well permit in Minnesota.

The permit, in plain language

Files onlineverified landing

MDH Well Management

Minn. Stat. 103I; Minn. R. 4725

Instrument: notification
Fee: $325 (eff. 2025-07-01)
Who files: Licensed driller must file
Timeline: Work may start once notification+fee received

Notification $325; sealing $125

Before the rig arrives

Confirm parcel allows a private well (vs required public water connection).
Select a licensed well contractor; obtain owner authorization as required.
File notification online via the authority portal (deep-link below).
Do not drill until authorization is issued (or notification accepted, per regime).

After drilling: Well & Boring Record + water tests within 30 days → MDH Well Management

Forms: MN well application

Open the filing portal ↗

WellMap prepares estimate-backed quote packets and dual-party approvals. It does not issue permits and never auto-submits to government systems. The licensed driller (and/or owner where required by law) is the submitter of record. Verified 2026-07-14.

Top drillers on record

No contractor statistics for Minnesota yet — several states publish drilling records without contractor names, and a few aren't in bulk form at all. See data & methodology.

Get a depth estimate anywhere in Minnesota

County by county

Depth statistics across Minnesota

Medians from wells with verified total depth. Click a county for its permit authority, fee and filing channel.

County	Wells	With depth	Median	p10–p90
Kittson	34,260	34,001	125 ft	31–397 ft
Anoka	30,984	30,689	123 ft	62–223 ft
Clay	23,405	22,939	142 ft	50–275 ft
Cook	20,069	19,160	107 ft	51–289 ft
Koochiching	16,558	16,503	90 ft	54–198 ft
Washington	15,014	13,572	171 ft	75–300 ft
Otter Tail	14,393	14,349	89 ft	53–190 ft
Big Stone	13,524	13,463	70 ft	50–148 ft
Carver	12,847	12,747	215 ft	51–360 ft
Beltrami	11,977	11,932	90 ft	47–224 ft
Wright	11,197	11,161	112 ft	65–200 ft
Crow Wing	11,163	11,098	80 ft	54–197 ft
Ramsey	9,063	8,578	115 ft	20–240 ft
Aitkin	8,680	8,672	102 ft	50–258 ft
Houston	8,378	6,993	270 ft	31–500 ft
Blue Earth	7,948	7,937	130 ft	65–235 ft
Cass	7,546	7,528	96 ft	52–187 ft
Clearwater	7,380	7,318	70 ft	47–145 ft
Kandiyohi	7,160	7,128	105 ft	44–310 ft
Lac qui Parle	7,058	6,948	71 ft	35–161 ft
Goodhue	6,842	6,784	73 ft	39–154 ft
Scott	6,797	6,758	220 ft	118–360 ft
Isanti	6,523	6,471	107 ft	60–194 ft
Freeborn	6,001	5,970	140 ft	55–252 ft
Brown	5,165	3,858	115 ft	40–210 ft
Dodge	4,594	3,492	125 ft	40–360 ft
Lake of the Woods	4,206	4,150	80 ft	41–170 ft
Lake	4,190	4,025	180 ft	41–1918 ft
Faribault	3,873	3,826	140 ft	81–270 ft
Le Sueur	3,845	3,797	220 ft	65–400 ft
Benton	3,691	3,656	99 ft	42–284 ft
Becker	3,633	3,608	72 ft	40–127 ft
Pine	3,554	3,515	91 ft	50–202 ft
Polk	3,548	3,519	105 ft	20–253 ft
Chippewa	3,341	3,261	230 ft	50–525 ft
Cottonwood	3,337	3,321	87 ft	51–144 ft
Nicollet	2,886	1,591	247 ft	108–408 ft
Grant	2,845	2,834	116 ft	37–256 ft
Mille Lacs	2,844	2,831	69 ft	31–130 ft
Lyon	2,517	2,508	119 ft	20–339 ft
McLeod	2,367	2,281	217 ft	84–578 ft
Wadena	2,334	2,330	67 ft	31–160 ft
Mower	2,312	1,382	155 ft	20–363 ft
Rice	2,294	2,232	218 ft	94–360 ft
Redwood	2,184	2,169	102 ft	28–232 ft
Kanabec	2,180	2,160	148 ft	40–331 ft
Swift	2,160	2,131	100 ft	30–220 ft
Itasca	2,141	2,124	88 ft	35–187 ft
Martin	2,056	2,025	153 ft	36–280 ft
Fillmore	2,017	885	136 ft	16–308 ft
Jackson	1,866	1,762	170 ft	42–397 ft
Chisago	1,625	1,547	303 ft	118–440 ft
Sibley	1,618	1,612	229 ft	121–394 ft
Carlton	1,515	978	90 ft	17–284 ft
Mahnomen	1,514	1,484	110 ft	21–224 ft
Lincoln	1,474	1,471	206 ft	75–385 ft
Hubbard	1,454	1,447	172 ft	50–295 ft
Hennepin	1,332	1,317	125 ft	16–435 ft
Steele	1,282	1,274	164 ft	18–282 ft
Dakota	1,247	1,230	136 ft	55–240 ft