Minnesota is a state located in the Midwestern United States. As of the 2020 census, 5,706,494 lived in Minnesota, further growing to 5,830,405 in the 2025 estimate.
Minnesota is the 22nd-most populous state and 14th-largest by land area, spanning of land. Minnesota is divided into 87 counties and contains 856 municipalities consisting of cities.
City requirements All incorporated communities in Minnesota are called cities, unlike in some states where some are called towns or villages (11 of 50 states only have cities).
Once a city is incorporated in Minnesota, it will continue to be a city even after falling below the minimum required to become a city, and even if the minimum is later raised. A city can de-incorporate, but if citizens decide to re-incorporate at a later date, then new minimum requirements must be met.
By State law, cities in Minnesota are divided into four classes. First class: Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants. Once a city is in the first class, it is not reclassified unless its population decreases by 25 percent from the census figures that last qualified the city as first class. Second class: Cities with a population between 20,001 and 100,000 Third class: Cities with a population between 10,001 and 20,000 Fourth class: Cities with not more than 10,000 inhabitants
Cities