The name of this state comes from a Dakota word meaning “clear water”, and with Minnesota’s nickname Land of 10,000 Lakes you get the idea that water plays an important part in the geography of this state. Minnesota is the 21st most populous state in the country and almost 60% of those people live within the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. With so many people attracted to the big cities they must be nice places to live, right? Well, we’ve taken the 10 biggest cities in Minnesota and ranked them according to how livable they are: cost of living, amenities, crime rates, education, employment, weather, and the housing market are all considered.
10. Minneapolis, MN
Despite their popularity the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul only rank ninth and tenth best cities in Minnesota. Minneapolis is the largest city in the state and suffers the same problems as many of the nation’s biggest cities: high crime rates, and a high cost of living, but for that you get great amenities, and a stable housing market.
9. Saint Paul, MN
The second largest city, and the ninth best place to live, in Minnesota is Saint Paul. Saint Paul is the capital of the state, and like its neighbor has a high cost of living. The crime rate isn’t quite so high here, while amenities, education, and employment levels are about the same.
8. Duluth, MN
Set on the shores of Lake Superior is the port city of Duluth. Duluth is the fourth largest city in the state and benefits from a low cost of living, great amenities, and a stable housing market. The trade off is that the weather isn’t so great in Duluth!
7. Brooklyn Park, MN
Although the cost of living is quite high in Brooklyn Park, the city does have a low crime index, good schools, low unemployment, and a stable housing market, which puts this as the seventh best city in Minnesota. Brooklyn Park is a northwest suburb of Minneapolis and it’s the sixth largest city in the state.
6. Bloomington, MN
Set just 10 miles south of downtown Minneapolis is the city of Bloomington. It’s considered to be a bedroom community though actually has lower unemployment figures than Minneapolis or Saint Paul. Bloomington also scores highly for having a low crime rate, stable housing market, and good schools.
5. St. Cloud, Minnesota
St. Cloud is the eighth largest city in Minnesota and it’s located about 65 miles northwest of the Twin Cities. St. Cloud is the fifth best city in Minnesota, taking the mid ranking for its low cost of living, excellent amenities, good schools, and relatively low crime index. But, St. Cloud doesn’t have very good weather.
4. Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is the county seat of Olmstead County, and the third largest city in the state. Set on the banks of the Zumbro River, Rochester is an attractive city and a nice place to live because of its low crime index, average cost of living, and low unemployment. This is the fourth best city in Minnesota.
3. Eagan, Minnesota
Eagan is home to around 64,200 people, and it’s been ranked among the best places to live in the U.S. by Money magazine. It gets the number 3 spot on our list of best cities in Minnesota because of its very low crime index, great schools, high levels of employment, and stable housing market.
2. Woodbury, Minnesota
Woodbury is the smallest city on our list and it’s a suburb of the Twin Cities. Woodbury ranks as the second best city in Minnesota, beating Eagan only marginally because it has better access to amenities. Crime levels are very low, schools are good, employment is high, but this is an expensive city to live in.
1. Plymouth, Minnesota
Plymouth was Money magazine’s best place to live in 2008 and today it gets the top spot on our list as the best city in Minnesota. A high cost of living, and not so great weather are the only bad things about life in Plymouth, otherwise everything else ranks very highly.
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