Regional Overview
Minneapolis/St.Paul and the surrounding metropolitan area has an unusually strong, diversified economy, providing residents with a quality of life regularly listed among the very best in the United States. This high quality of life is rooted in the region’s tradition of clean government, corporate community involvement and a resilient economy spread among agriculture, food processing, computing, printing and publishing, large and small-scale manufacturing, health care, arts and entertainment as well as medical instruments, education and finance.
The metropolitan area is made up of seven counties. They include: Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington. Included in this area, which has a current population of 2.77 million, are 188 cities, 949 lakes, and three major rivers; the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix.
The Minneapolis/St.Paul area has long been an unusually hospitable place to do business, large or small. As of 2007, 19 Fortune 500 companies and nearly three-dozen Fortune 1,000 companies are registered in Minnesota. Entrepreneur Magazine has called the Minneapolis/St.Paul area, the best place in the country to operate a small business. In 2004, the area totaled $162 billion in Gross Metro Product, good for 14th among U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
The Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce is committed to sustaining and enhancing the region’s economic opportunity, growth and prosperity.
