MN · Hennepin County · 429,954 (2020) · 46th-largest US city · Central time
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis lies on both banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in east-central Minnesota, adjoining the state capital, Saint Paul. It is the largest city in Minnesota and the forty-sixth in the United States.
- State
- Minnesota
- County
- Hennepin County
- Population (2020)
- 429,954
- Rank
- 46th in the US
- Coordinates
- 44.98°N, 93.27°W
- Time zone
- Central
- Metro area
- about 3.7 million (with Saint Paul)
- State capital
- No – Saint Paul
Where Minneapolis is
Minneapolis is at 44.98°N, 93.27°W in Hennepin County, of which it is the county seat. The city covers about 54 square miles of land at roughly 830 feet above sea level, straddling the Mississippi at Saint Anthony Falls, the river's only major waterfall and the reason the city was founded — the falls powered the flour mills that made Minneapolis the milling capital of the world by 1880. Saint Paul, the state capital, adjoins it to the east across the river, and the two are the Twin Cities. The Minnesota River joins the Mississippi at Fort Snelling on the city's southern edge. Chicago is 410 miles southeast and Milwaukee 340 miles.
Population and rank
The 2020 Census counted 429,954 residents, ranking Minneapolis 46th in the US and first in Minnesota; Saint Paul is second with about 311,000. The city grew 12 percent between 2010 and 2020, its first substantial gain since 1950, when it peaked at 522,000. The Minneapolis–Saint Paul–Bloomington metropolitan area covers 14 counties in Minnesota and two in Wisconsin and has about 3.7 million people, the 16th-largest metro in the country and home to about 65 percent of Minnesotans.
Geography
- Mississippi River — flows southeast through the city over Saint Anthony Falls, now a concrete apron with locks; the gorge below the falls is the only true gorge on the river. See the Mississippi River map.
- Chain of Lakes — Bde Maka Ska, Harriet, Isles, Cedar and Nokomis, glacial lakes ringed by parkway inside the city; Minneapolis has 13 lakes within its limits.
- Minnehaha Creek — flows from Lake Minnetonka through south Minneapolis to the 53-foot Minnehaha Falls near the Mississippi.
- Climate — the coldest major metro in the US, with January averages around 15°F; the skyway system links downtown buildings for winter.
Nearest large cities
Saint Paul is ten miles away. Otherwise Minneapolis is remote: Milwaukee and Chicago are five to seven hours southeast. Distances are approximate road miles from downtown.
| City | State | Road distance (mi) | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee | WI | 340 | SE |
| Omaha | NE | 380 | SW |
| Chicago | IL | 410 | SE |
| Kansas City | MO | 440 | S |
| Indianapolis | IN | 590 | SE |
Is Minneapolis the state capital?
No. Minnesota's capital is Saint Paul, directly across the river to the east; it has been the capital since the territory was created in 1849, when it was the head of steamboat navigation and Minneapolis was still a village at the falls. The two downtowns are 10 miles apart. Minneapolis is the seat of Hennepin County and the largest city in the state. It is a rare case of the largest city and the capital sharing one urban area without being the same city.
Related maps
- Minnesota map — the state with its 87 counties.
- Saint Paul — the state capital and twin city.
- US cities map.
- Mississippi River and US lakes maps.
- Nearby: Milwaukee, Chicago, Wisconsin.
- West North Central division · Central Time Zone.