Editing Minnesota (section)

== Cities and towns ==

{{See also|List of cities in Minnesota|List of townships in Minnesota|List of counties in Minnesota}}
[[File:OwatonnaBank.JPG|thumb|right|[[National Farmers Bank]] in [[Owatonna, Minnesota|Owatonna]] by [[Louis Sullivan]]]]
[[File:Minnesota Municipalities.png|thumb|Minnesota Municipalities [[List of counties in Minnesota|counties]], [[List of cities in Minnesota|cities]], and [[List of townships in Minnesota|towns]].]]
[[Saint Paul, Minnesota|Saint Paul]], in east-central Minnesota along the banks of the Mississippi River, has been Minnesota's [[List of capitals in the United States|capital city]] since 1849, first as capital of the [[Territory of Minnesota]], and then as the state capital since 1858.

Saint Paul is adjacent to Minnesota's most populous city, Minneapolis; they and their suburbs are collectively known as the [[Minneapolis–Saint Paul#Combined Statistical Area|Twin Cities metropolitan area]], the country's 16th-largest metropolitan area and home to about 55% of the state's population.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hibbs |first1=James |title=Analysis of the 2015 Population and Household Estimates |url=https://mn.gov/admin/assets/analysis-2015-population-household-estimates-msdc-nov2016_tcm36-270612.pdf |website=Demographic Reports and Analysis |publisher=Minnesota State Demographics Center |access-date=June 28, 2018 |page=2 |format=Presentation |date=November 1, 2016 |quote=Minnesota's estimated population in 2015 is 5,485,238. Over half (54.8%) of Minnesota's population lives in the seven Twin Cities area counties that make up Region 11. The population of Region 11 has surpassed three million. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628184332/https://mn.gov/admin/assets/analysis-2015-population-household-estimates-msdc-nov2016_tcm36-270612.pdf |archive-date=June 28, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The remainder of the state is known as "[[Regions of Minnesota|Greater Minnesota]]" or "Outstate Minnesota".<ref>{{cite web |title=Greater Minnesota Refined and Revisited |url=https://mn.gov/admin/assets/greater-mn-refined-and-revisited-msdc-jan2017_tcm36-273216.pdf |website=Minnesota State Demographics Center |publisher=State of Minnesota: Department of Administration |access-date=June 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628181622/https://mn.gov/admin/assets/greater-mn-refined-and-revisited-msdc-jan2017_tcm36-273216.pdf |archive-date=June 28, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The state has 17 cities with populations above 50,000 as of the 2010 census. In descending order of population, they are [[Minneapolis, Minnesota|Minneapolis]], [[Saint Paul, Minnesota|Saint Paul]], [[Rochester, Minnesota|Rochester]], [[Duluth, Minnesota|Duluth]], [[Bloomington, Minnesota|Bloomington]], [[Brooklyn Park, Minnesota|Brooklyn Park]], [[Plymouth, Minnesota|Plymouth]], [[St. Cloud, Minnesota|Saint Cloud]], [[Woodbury, Minnesota|Woodbury]], [[Eagan, Minnesota|Eagan]], [[Maple Grove, Minnesota|Maple Grove]], [[Coon Rapids, Minnesota|Coon Rapids]], [[Eden Prairie, Minnesota|Eden Prairie]], [[Minnetonka, MN|Minnetonka]], [[Burnsville, Minnesota|Burnsville]], [[Apple Valley, Minnesota|Apple Valley]], [[Blaine, Minnesota|Blaine]], and [[Lakeville, Minnesota|Lakeville]].<ref name="popest">{{cite web|title=Population Estimates |publisher=Minnesota Demographic Center |url=http://www.demography.state.mn.us/estimates.html |access-date=April 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307174342/http://www.demography.state.mn.us/estimates.html |archive-date=March 7, 2008 }}</ref> Of these, only Rochester, Duluth, and Saint Cloud are outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

Minnesota's population continues to grow, primarily in the urban centers. The populations of metropolitan [[Sherburne County, Minnesota|Sherburne]] and [[Scott County, Minnesota|Scott]] counties doubled between 1980 and 2000, while 40 of the state's 87 counties lost residents over the same period.<ref name="EIA">{{cite web|title=Environmental Information Report, App. D Socioeconomic Information |publisher=Minnesota Pollution Control Agency |date=May 30, 2003 |url=http://www.pca.state.mn.us/publications/reports/eir-appendix-e.pdf |access-date=April 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406011936/http://www.pca.state.mn.us/publications/reports/eir-appendix-e.pdf |archive-date=April 6, 2008 }}</ref>
{{Largest cities
| country = Minnesota
| stat_ref = Source:<ref name="QuickFacts">{{cite web |title=QuickFacts |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/brooklynparkcityminnesota,duluthcityminnesota,bloomingtoncityminnesota,rochestercityminnesota,stpaulcityminnesota,minneapoliscityminnesota/POP010220 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 1, 2023}}</ref>
| list_by_pop = List of cities in Minnesota
| div_name =
| div_link = List of counties in Minnesota{{!}}County
| city_1 = Minneapolis
| div_1 = Hennepin County, Minnesota{{!}}Hennepin
| pop_1 = 425,336
| img_1 = Minneapolis skyline 51.JPG
| city_2 = Saint Paul, Minnesota{{!}}Saint Paul
| div_2 = Ramsey County, Minnesota{{!}}Ramsey
| pop_2 = 307,193
| img_2 = Saint paul mn.jpg
| city_3 = Rochester, Minnesota{{!}}Rochester
| div_3 = Olmsted County, Minnesota{{!}}Olmsted
| pop_3 = 121,465
| img_3 = SkylineRochesterMNreflectected.JPG
| city_4 = Bloomington, Minnesota{{!}}Bloomington
| div_4 = Hennepin County, Minnesota{{!}}Hennepin
| pop_4 = 89,298
| img_4 = Bloomingtontownhall.jpg
| city_5 = Duluth, Minnesota{{!}}Duluth
| div_5 = St. Louis County, Minnesota{{!}}St. Louis
| pop_5 = 86,372
| img_5 =
| city_6 = Brooklyn Park, Minnesota{{!}}Brooklyn Park
| div_6 = Hennepin County, Minnesota{{!}}Hennepin
| pop_6 = 84,526
| img_6 =
| city_7 = Plymouth, Minnesota{{!}}Plymouth
| div_7 = Hennepin County, Minnesota{{!}}Hennepin
| pop_7 = 79,828
| img_7 =
| city_8 = Woodbury, Minnesota{{!}}Woodbury
| div_8 = Washington County, Minnesota{{!}}Washington
| pop_8 = 76,990
| img_8 =
| city_9 = Lakeville, Minnesota{{!}}Lakeville
| div_9 = Dakota County, Minnesota{{!}}Dakota
| pop_9 = 72,812
| img_9 =
| city_10 = Blaine, Minnesota{{!}}Blaine
| div_10 = Anoka County, Minnesota{{!}}Anoka
| pop_10 = 70,935
| img_10 =
}}

The United States Navy has recognized
[[List of naval ships named for Minnesota|multiple Minnesota communities]].