Twin Cities
Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a major metropolitan area built around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota, and St. Croix rivers in east central Minnesota. The area is commonly known as the Twin Cities after its two largest cities, Minneapolis, the state's most populous city, and its neighbor to the east, Saint Paul, the capital. Minnesotans often refer to the two together (or the metro area collectively) as "the Cities." It is the third-largest metropolitan area in the Midwest and the 16th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S.
Minneapolis and Saint Paul are independent municipalities with defined borders. Minneapolis is mostly west of the Mississippi River and is somewhat more modern, with a relatively young downtown and trendy uptown. Saint Paul, which is mostly east of the river, has been likened to an East Coast city, with quaint neighborhoods and many well-preserved houses with late-Victorian architecture. The cities' distinct cultures led an observer to say, "St. Paul is the last city of the East; Minneapolis the first city of the West."
Originally inhabited by Ojibwe and Dakota people, the area was settled by many European groups. Minneapolis was influenced by early Scandinavian and Lutheran settlers, while Saint Paul was settled predominantly by French, Irish, and German Catholic communities. Today, the cities are home to large immigrant communities, including Somali, Hmong, and Oromo groups.
"Twin Cities" is sometimes used to refer to the seven-county region governed by the Metropolitan Council regional governmental agency and planning organization. The Office of Management and Budget designates 15 counties as the "Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington MN–WI Metropolitan Statistical Area". It had a population of 3,690,261 at the 2020 census. The larger 21-county Minneapolis–St. Paul MN–WI Combined Statistical Area, the nation's 16th-largest combined statistical area, had a population of 4,078,788 at the 2020 census.
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