The Largest Cities in Minnesota (2026)
Minnesota's 25 biggest cities ranked by population — where each one sits, what the housing looks like, and what it takes to move there. Written by a Minnesota moving company that works in all of them.
Minnesota has more than 850 incorporated cities, but the population is heavily concentrated: the seven-county Twin Cities metro holds the majority of the state's residents, and most of the largest cities on this list are either one of the Twin Cities themselves or a suburb inside that metro. The exceptions — Rochester, Duluth, St. Cloud, Mankato, and Moorhead — anchor their own regions.
We put this list together from the moving side. Every city below links to what a move there actually involves: the housing stock, the street and driveway access, the school-district splits, and typical flat-fee pricing.
| # | City | County | What it's like |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minneapolis | Hennepin County | Minnesota's largest city and the western half of the Twin Cities. Dense pre-war housing, skyway-connected downtown towers, and the Chain of Lakes. |
| 2 | St. Paul | Ramsey County | The state capital and the eastern Twin City. Historic neighborhoods, Victorian housing stock, and the tightest street access in Minnesota. |
| 3 | Rochester | Olmsted County | Home of the Mayo Clinic and the state's largest city outside the metro. Heavy medical-sector relocation year-round. |
| 4 | Bloomington Living in Bloomington guide | Hennepin County | Mall of America, MSP airport, and the I-494 job corridor, with block after block of postwar ramblers. |
| 5 | Duluth | St. Louis County | Lake Superior port city built on a hillside — steep streets and stair-heavy housing make it a specialist's move. |
| 6 | Brooklyn Park | Hennepin County | One of the metro's most diverse cities, with a broad mix of 1970s–2000s housing along Hwy 610 and 169. |
| 7 | Plymouth Living in Plymouth guide | Hennepin County | Big northwest-metro suburb spanning four school districts, lakes, and housing from 1960s ramblers to new executive builds. |
| 8 | Woodbury Living in Woodbury guide | Washington County | The east metro's growth engine, pulling households from St. Paul and western Wisconsin. |
| 9 | Maple Grove Living in Maple Grove guide | Hennepin County | Northwest-metro retail and housing hub built around Arbor Lakes and Elm Creek Park Reserve. |
| 10 | Lakeville Living in Lakeville guide | Dakota County | The metro's southern growth edge along I-35 — the newest and largest homes on this list. |
| 11 | Blaine Living in Blaine guide | Anoka County | North-metro growth city anchored by the National Sports Center and TPC Twin Cities. |
| 12 | St. Cloud | Stearns County | Central Minnesota's regional hub on the Mississippi, about an hour northwest of the Twin Cities. |
| 13 | Eagan Living in Eagan guide | Dakota County | South-metro corporate campus city minutes from MSP, with heavy split-level housing stock. |
| 14 | Eden Prairie Living in Eden Prairie guide | Hennepin County | Southwest job hub with newer housing and the easiest truck access in the metro. |
| 15 | Coon Rapids | Anoka County | Established north-metro city along the Mississippi with affordable 1970s–90s housing. |
| 16 | Burnsville Living in Burnsville guide | Dakota County | South-metro crossroads at the I-35W/35E split, with a big affordable townhome and apartment market. |
| 17 | Apple Valley Living in Apple Valley guide | Dakota County | Family- and downsizer-focused suburb on the Red Line, next door to the Minnesota Zoo. |
| 18 | Minnetonka Living in Minnetonka guide | Hennepin County | Wooded west-metro city with hilly, tree-canopied driveways that regularly require a shuttle truck. |
| 19 | Edina Living in Edina guide | Hennepin County | Classic first-ring suburb: strong schools, 50th & France, and access-sensitive historic streets. |
| 20 | St. Louis Park Living in St. Louis Park guide | Hennepin County | Dense first-ring city with pre-1960 housing, narrow streets, and new mixed-use towers at the West End. |
| 21 | Moorhead | Clay County | Red River Valley college town paired with Fargo, ND, across the river. |
| 22 | Mankato | Blue Earth County | Southern Minnesota's regional center and a large university town. |
| 23 | Shakopee | Scott County | Fast-growing southwest city along the Minnesota River, home to Valleyfair and major distribution employers. |
| 24 | Maplewood | Ramsey County | East-metro first-ring city with 3M's headquarters campus and a mix of postwar housing. |
| 25 | Richfield Living in Richfield guide | Hennepin County | Compact, affordable first-ring city closest to MSP airport. |
How Minnesota's biggest cities differ on move day
Minneapolis and St. Paul are the hardest cities in the state to move in, and it has nothing to do with distance. Pre-war triplexes and story-and-a-half homes have steep, turning staircases; streets have parking on both sides; and downtown towers require certificates of insurance, reserved elevators, and dock windows. Hourly crews make more money in these cities; flat-fee crews just plan better.
First-ring suburbs — Edina, St. Louis Park, Richfield, Roseville — are postwar and compact. Ramblers move fast; tuck-under garages and narrow basement stairs slow the big items.
Outer-ring suburbs — Lakeville, Woodbury, Maple Grove, Blaine, Eden Prairie — have the easiest access in the state, but the largest inventories. Three-car garages plus finished basements routinely add 20–30% more volume than the bedroom count suggests.
Greater Minnesota — Rochester, Duluth, St. Cloud, Mankato, Moorhead — adds drive time and, in Duluth's case, genuinely steep terrain. We quote these as flat-fee long-local or intrastate moves so the mileage never becomes a line item you argue about later.
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