MN · North Star State · Midwest · admitted 1858 (#32)
Minnesota map
Minnesota highlighted on the US map, with its capital Saint Paul and largest city Minneapolis. The Mississippi River begins here, and the Northwest Angle is the northernmost point of the contiguous US.
- Capital
- Saint Paul
- Largest city
- Minneapolis
- Population (2020)
- 5,706,494
- Area
- 86,936 sq mi
- Counties
- 87
- Time zone
- Central
- Region
- Midwest · West North Central
- Statehood
- May 11, 1858
Where Minnesota is
Minnesota is the northernmost state of the contiguous US, in the upper Midwest. It measures about 400 miles north to south and 350 miles east to west at its widest. Canada — Manitoba and Ontario — lies to the north, Lake Superior and Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the south, and South Dakota and North Dakota to the west. Minneapolis and Saint Paul face each other across the Mississippi in the east-central part of the state; Duluth is at the western tip of Lake Superior. The Northwest Angle, cut off by Lake of the Woods, can be reached by land only through Manitoba.
Major cities
| City | Region of state | Population (2020) |
|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis | Twin Cities | 429,954 |
| Saint Paul (capital) | Twin Cities | 311,527 |
| Rochester | Southeast Minnesota | 121,395 |
| Bloomington | Twin Cities (south suburbs) | 89,987 |
| Duluth | Arrowhead (Lake Superior) | 86,697 |
| Brooklyn Park | Twin Cities (north suburbs) | 86,478 |
| Plymouth | Twin Cities (west suburbs) | 81,026 |
| St. Cloud | Central Minnesota | 68,881 |
Geography
- Eagle Mountain — 2,301 feet, the highest point, in the Boundary Waters country of the Arrowhead, only 15 miles from the lowest point, Lake Superior at 601 feet.
- Mississippi River — rises at Lake Itasca in the north and flows about 680 miles within the state through the Twin Cities before forming the Wisconsin border. See the Mississippi River map.
- Minnesota, St. Croix and Red rivers — the Minnesota joins the Mississippi at Fort Snelling; the St. Croix forms the border with Wisconsin; the Red River of the North forms the North Dakota border and flows to Hudson Bay.
- Lakes — about 11,800 lakes over 10 acres; Red Lake is the largest wholly within the state, and Lake of the Woods and Lake Superior are shared. See US lakes and the Great Lakes map.
- Iron Range — the Mesabi Range north of Duluth supplies most US iron ore; Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters lie along the Ontario line.
- Three watersheds — Minnesota's water drains to the Gulf of Mexico (Mississippi), the Atlantic (Lake Superior) and Hudson Bay (Red River).
Borders
The Canadian border runs along the 49th parallel from North Dakota to Lake of the Woods, then jogs north around the Northwest Angle — a mapping error from 1783 — and follows the Rainy River, Rainy Lake and the Boundary Waters chain to the Pigeon River at Lake Superior. The Wisconsin border is natural: the St. Louis River, the St. Croix and then the Mississippi. The Iowa border is the surveyed parallel 43°30′N. The western border with the Dakotas follows the Red River, Lake Traverse, Big Stone Lake and the Bois de Sioux, with a surveyed meridian south of Big Stone Lake.
Regions of Minnesota
The Twin Cities metro, the Arrowhead and North Shore (Duluth, Grand Marais, the Iron Range), Northwest Minnesota and the Red River Valley (Moorhead, Bemidji), Central Minnesota and the lake country (St. Cloud, Brainerd), Southeast Minnesota and the bluff country (Rochester, Winona) and Southwest Minnesota on the prairie (Mankato, Marshall).
Related maps
- Minnesota county map — all 87 counties with seats.
- Blank Minnesota map — outline for printing.
- Printable Minnesota map.
- Saint Paul — the smaller of the Twin Cities, on the Mississippi bluffs.
- Neighbors: Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Michigan (across Lake Superior).
- Region: Midwest · West North Central · Great Lakes.
- Time zone: Central.
- Geography: Mississippi River, Great Lakes, US lakes.