Minnesota Secretary Of State - Minnesota in Profile
Skip to main content

Minnesota in Profile


Organized as territory: March 3, 1849

Entered Union: May 11, 1858 (32nd state)

Motto: L’ Étoile du Nord (The North Star)

Nicknames: “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” “The Gopher State,” “The North Star State”

Area: 86,938.87 square miles (12th largest state)

Land area: 79,610.08 square miles

Inland waters: 7,328.79 square miles

Width: 348 miles

Length: 406 miles

Highest point: Eagle Mountain (Cook County), 2,301 feet above sea level

Lowest point: Surface of Lake Superior, 602 feet above sea level

Major river systems: Mississippi, Minnesota, and Red River of the North; Minnesota water flows in three directions: north toHudson Bay, east to the Atlantic Ocean, and south to the Gulf of Mexico; no water flows into the state.

Number of lakes: 11,842 that are larger than 10 acres

Number of rivers and streams: 6,564 (69,200 miles)

Population: 5,742,036 (2021 estimate from Minnesota State Demographic Center)

Population density per square mile: 72.13 (Minnesota State Demographic Center/Minnesota Department of Natural Resources)

Largest cities: (2021 State Demographer’s Office population estimates)

  • Minneapolis 434,346
  • Saint Paul 312,040
  • Rochester 122,065
  • Bloomington 90,874
  • Brooklyn Park 86,106
  • Duluth 85,667

Urban population: 4,101,754 (2020 U.S. Census)

Rural population: 1,604,720 (2021 U.S. Census)
(Urban-rural populations defined by U.S. Census Bureau classifications)

For a complete profile of Minnesota including educational, energy, employment, agricultural, transportation and exports, download the first chapter of the 2023-24 Blue Book.