How Many Lakes Are in Minnesota?
Minnesota has 11,842 lakes 10 acres or larger, despite the famous "Land of 10,000 Lakes" license-plate slogan. Of these, 2,248 are actively monitored for water quality and graded on LakeQuality. The total climbs above 14,000 if you include lakes under 10 acres, and above 21,000 if you count every named pond and slough.
Why "10,000" undersells the truth
The Minnesota DNR's official count, using a 10-acre threshold, is 11,842 lakes — already 18% more than the "10,000 lakes" slogan. The 10-acre cutoff is arbitrary; the true count of standing water bodies in Minnesota approaches 21,871 (USGS).
About 4,500 are routinely sampled for water quality. The rest are too small or too remote for state monitoring programs. LakeQuality covers the monitored set.
How Minnesota compares
Minnesota does not actually have the most lakes in the U.S. — Alaska has more (over 3 million if you count tiny tundra ponds), and Wisconsin has more lakes by some counts (~15,074). But Minnesota has more lakes per square mile of land than any state except Alaska, and more named, mapped, recreational lakes than any Lower 48 state.