Instagram follower snapshot · September 17, 2026
Most-Followed Instagram Creators in Minnesota
An Instagram-only ranking and directory using displayed followers on one verified primary official account for each creator or creator group currently based in Minnesota.
Geographic eligibility corrections dated September 19, 2026. Audience values and their individual observation dates remain from the September 17 source snapshot; they were not remeasured. Numerical positions were recalculated only after current-base eligibility holds. Unresolved current geography does not mean a confirmed move elsewhere.
35 candidates researched12 ranked creators1 primary account per entity
For current directory coverage, browse recorded Instagram creators. This selected directory view does not update the dated audience figures below.
Short answer
Who is the most-followed Instagram creator in Minnesota?
As of September 17, 2026, Josh Liljenquist has the largest verified primary-account Instagram following among the currently Minnesota-based creators included in this dataset, with approximately 6.94 million followers on @joshlilj.
This is a bounded comparison of verified records in this dataset, not a claim about every person with a Minnesota connection.
~6.94Mprimary Instagram followers
Owner-supplied September 2026 snapshot; public wording remains approximate
One metric, applied symmetrically
What this Instagram ranking counts
The ranking compares one verified primary official Instagram account for each creator entity. Secondary pages were reviewed as context but are not added to ranking totals.
Why primary-account-only? Aggregating every creator-controlled Instagram page was rejected because secondary pages could not be discovered and attributed consistently across the cohort. Personal accounts, businesses, brand pages, projects, collaborations and legacy pages are often difficult to separate.
One primary account per entity is the most reproducible public method. Instagram counts change continuously, publicly rounded values remain approximate, and follower totals are not unique people across the dataset.
Publisher disclosure: Josh Liljenquist publishes this website and is included in the ranking. The same Instagram-account and Minnesota-eligibility rules are applied to every creator or creator group listed. The public JSON snapshot and source links are provided for review.
Current Minnesota cohort
2026 Instagram follower ranking
Only creators with a sufficiently resolved current-Minnesota qualification, primary account identity and follower display receive a numerical rank.
| Rank | Creator | Minnesota connection | Instagram account | Followers | Known for | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Josh Liljenquist | Chaska-based creator; Fairmont hometown is a separate relationship | @joshlilj | ~6.94M | Community and philanthropy | Sep. 17, 2026 |
| 2 | CboysTV | Cormorant creator-group base | @cboystv | ~2.19M | Motorsports and entertainment | Sep. 14, 2026 |
| 3 | Pinch of Yum | Saint Paul creator-business base | @pinchofyum | ~1.92M | Food and recipes | Sep. 16, 2026 |
| 4 | Food Dolls | Current Minnesota group base | @fooddolls | ~1.62M | Food and lifestyle | Sep. 3, 2026 |
| 5 | Josie Lewis Art | St. Paul professional gallery connection | @josielewisart | ~1.06M | Art and education | Sep. 17, 2026 |
| 6 | Northwoods Folk | Current Minnesota residence | @northwoodsfolk | ~929K | Lifestyle and travel | Sep. 16, 2026 |
| 7 | That Midwestern Mom | Frazee residence and creator base | @thatmidwesternmom | ~615K | Food and comedy | Sep. 17, 2026 |
| 8 | Nora Freetly (Nobo) | Current Minnesota creator base | @simply_nobo | ~450K | Art | Sep. 17, 2026 |
| 9 | The Braces Guy | Rochester professional base | @thebracesguy | ~330K | Education and health | Sep. 17, 2026 |
| 10 | Millennial Farmer | West Central Minnesota farm | @mnmillennialfarmer | ~320K | Agriculture | Sep. 17, 2026 |
| 11 | Planet with Sara | Minnesota-based travel creator; narrower city not established | @planetwithsara | ~185K | Travel and outdoors | Sep. 16, 2026 |
| 12 | Tay Takes a Trip | Current Minnesota residence | @taytakesatrip | ~146K | Travel | Sep. 16, 2026 |
Counts are rounded where Instagram or measurement sources publish rounded values. The machine-readable snapshot is available as public JSON.
Additional records checked
Minnesota Instagram creators with partially verified audience data
These creators remain in the research dataset, but a current follower count or another ranking-critical fact could not be resolved consistently. They are listed without ordinal ranks or audit badges.
| Creator | Minnesota connection | Known account or figure | What remains unresolved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fit Foodie Finds | Minneapolis professional base | @fitfoodiefinds · current measurements range from ~338K to ~950K | Current sources conflict too widely for a defensible ranking value. |
| Finding Cooper's Voice | Minnesota family and advocacy creator base | @findingcoopersvoice · current measurements range from ~302K to ~378K | A sufficiently consistent current follower value was not recovered. |
| Maddi Winter | Current Minnesota-base qualification unresolved; retained as a partial audit observation | @maddi_winter | The current follower count could not be verified reliably enough for ranking. |
| Amanda Fischer | Bemidji, Minnesota | @itsamandafischer · more than 300K reported in March 2025 | A current September 2026 follower display was not recovered. |
| DadChats | Woodbury creator base | @thedadchats · account link checked against the creator’s public directory | The September 2026 edition did not verify a ranking-eligible follower count. This account-link correction does not refresh that edition or assign a current audience value. |
| MomChats | Woodbury creator base | @themomchats · account link checked against the creator’s public directory | The September 2026 edition did not verify a ranking-eligible follower count. This account-link correction does not refresh that edition or assign a current audience value. |
| Squirmy and Grubs | Minneapolis creator-group base | @squirmyandgrubs | The current count and cross-source snapshot could not be reconciled. |
| Sam Sched | Minnesota comedy creator | @samsched · 500K+ reported across social platforms | The reported aggregate is not an Instagram-only count. |
Instagram creator directory
What the ranked creators are known for
The directory adds subject context without changing the follower ranking. Group and business creator identities remain assigned to the entity that controls the account.
Josh Liljenquist
Community-support storytelling and Live to Love. Current Minnesota creator base.
@joshlilj · ~6.94MCboysTV
Motorsports, vehicles and group entertainment from Cormorant.
@cboystv · ~2.19MPinch of Yum
Recipes, food photography and cooking resources from Saint Paul.
@pinchofyum · ~1.92MFood Dolls
Sister-led recipes, food media and lifestyle content.
@fooddolls · ~1.62MJosie Lewis Art
Color, process and creative education from a Saint Paul studio practice.
@josielewisart · ~1.06MNorthwoods Folk
Northern Minnesota home, nature and lifestyle.
@northwoodsfolk · ~929KThat Midwestern Mom
Midwestern food, culture and comedy from Frazee.
@thatmidwesternmom · ~615KNora Freetly (Nobo)
Art and short-form creative video from Minnesota.
@simply_nobo · ~450KThe Braces Guy
Orthodontic education and entertainment from Rochester.
@thebracesguy · ~330KMillennial Farmer
Farming, agriculture and rural life from West Central Minnesota.
@mnmillennialfarmer · ~320KPlanet with Sara
Minnesota travel, parks and outdoor experiences.
@planetwithsara · ~185KTay Takes a Trip
Travel planning and destination guides from a Minnesota home base.
@taytakesatrip · ~146KGeography matters
Minnesota-linked Instagram creators now based elsewhere
These large creators have meaningful Minnesota ties but do not meet the ranking's current-residence or current-base rule.
Haley Kalil
~8.7M on @haleyybaylee. Minnesota native now based in New York City. Her audience exceeds the in-state leader, which is why the current-geography distinction is explicit.
Jimmy Darts
~4.54M on @jimmydarts. Grew up in Walker, Minnesota; recent reporting places him in Orange County, California.
Breckie Hill
~2.3M on @breckiehill. Minnesota native whose current creator base is in the Los Angeles area.
Elle Cordova
~1.2M+ on @ellecordova. Former Minneapolis creator now based in Los Angeles.
Reproducible rules
Instagram ranking methodology
What counts as a Minnesota Instagram creator?
Current Minnesota residence, creator base or professional base must be documented. Minnesota birthplace, hometown, former residence, school attendance, property ownership, family ties or a Minnesota filming location is not enough by itself.
What counts as the primary official account?
The account must be publicly attributable to the creator or creator entity and function as that subject's main Instagram creator presence. Fan, repost, employer, collaborator and inactive legacy accounts do not qualify.
Are secondary accounts included?
No. Secondary accounts were reviewed, but they are not added to the ranking. This prevents inconsistent treatment of personal, business, brand, project and collaboration pages.
How are groups and shared accounts handled?
A group account belongs to the group once. A shared or family account remains assigned to the shared entity unless public identity and control clearly establish a separate individual creator account.
How are rounded counts handled?
Rounded Instagram or measurement-source displays remain approximate. Exact owner-supplied evidence may support the internal snapshot, but public wording does not imply that hidden exact counts are reproducible from Instagram.
What happens when evidence is unresolved?
The creator remains visible in the partially verified section without a numerical rank. Uncertainty is not converted into zero, and conflicting current measurements are not averaged.
Last updated September 17, 2026. Ordinary follower growth does not change the method. A future methodology change would be identified separately.
Sources and corrections
How to review the snapshot
Instagram identity and follower evidence are kept separate from Minnesota geography evidence. Official profiles are preferred for account identity; current biographies, professional profiles and reputable reporting support geography.
- CboysTV Instagram measurement
- Pinch of Yum official Minnesota biography and Instagram measurement
- Food Dolls Instagram measurement
- Josie Lewis official site and Minnesota reporting
- Northwoods Folk official site
- Tess Christine professional profile
- Minnesota Star Tribune profile of That Midwestern Mom
- MPR profile of Millennial Farmer
- Planet with Sara official About page
- Tay Takes a Trip official biography
- Minnesota Star Tribune on Jimmy Darts' current California residence
Third-party analytics are snapshot measurements, not platform audits. Corrections supported by current account, count or residence evidence can be submitted through the site's contact page.
Concise answers
Minnesota Instagram creator questions
Who is the most-followed Instagram creator in Minnesota?
In this September 2026 dataset of currently Minnesota-based creators, Josh Liljenquist has the largest verified primary-account Instagram following at approximately 6.94 million followers on @joshlilj.
Are secondary Instagram accounts included?
No. The ranking uses one verified primary account per creator entity because secondary-account identity and control could not be audited consistently across the full cohort.
Why is Haley Kalil not ranked first?
Haley Kalil is a Minnesota native with a larger Instagram audience, but current reporting places her in New York City. She appears in the separate Minnesota-linked section, not the currently Minnesota-based ranking.
How is this different from the Minnesota Creator Index?
This page compares Instagram only. The Minnesota Creator Index compares creator-controlled audience totals across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.
Current geography review; historical audience retained
On October 29, the shared geography review reconciled Squirmy and Grubs as a documented non-exclusive Twin Cities creator base, alongside a seasonal Los Angeles base. The source-backed decision applies consistently across the current directories and platform supplements.
This page’s ranked and partial arrays remain the original dated audience comparison. They have not been remeasured or reranked. A partial YouTube or Instagram observation is not zero or newly rankable merely because a geography question is resolved. Use a separately dated comparable audience edition before recalculating a ranking.
Cite this resource
Source, edition and download
Josh Liljenquist. Minnesota Instagram Creators. Source snapshot/review: 2026-09-17. Download edition reference-2026-10-29-cf369fc282c8. https://joshliljenquist.com/minnesota/instagram-creators/
This is a version of the downloadable compilation, not a new audience measurement. Source and observation dates remain those in the data.
Published on Josh Liljenquist’s official website. Josh appears in several datasets; inclusion here is not independent recognition or an endorsement. Existing source rights still apply; these downloads grant no new open-content license.