Data / Rankings / Population / Cities in Minnesota

Cities in Minnesota by population

Minneapolis, MN had the highest population of 103 cities in 2021, at 424,963. Dayton, MN had the lowest, at 8,212. The median was 21,880 and the figure for Minnesota was 5.71 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest424,963Minneapolis, MN
Lowest8,212Dayton, MN
Median21,880103 cities
Minnesota5,714,055History

Top 40 cities, 2021

Minneapolis, MN: 424,963 personsMinneapolis, MN424,963St. Paul, MN: 307,633 personsSt. Paul, MN307,633Rochester, MN: 121,808 personsRochester, MN121,808Bloomington, MN: 89,454 personsBloomington, MN89,454Duluth, MN: 86,722 personsDuluth, MN86,722Brooklyn Park, MN: 84,499 personsBrooklyn Park, MN84,499Plymouth, MN: 79,842 personsPlymouth, MN79,842Woodbury, MN: 77,097 personsWoodbury, MN77,097Lakeville, MN: 72,737 personsLakeville, MN72,737Blaine, MN: 71,029 personsBlaine, MN71,029Maple Grove, MN: 70,607 personsMaple Grove, MN70,607St. Cloud, MN: 69,802 personsSt. Cloud, MN69,802Eagan, MN: 68,728 personsEagan, MN68,728Burnsville, MN: 64,043 personsBurnsville, MN64,043Coon Rapids, MN: 63,516 personsCoon Rapids, MN63,516Eden Prairie, MN: 63,112 personsEden Prairie, MN63,112Apple Valley, MN: 55,869 personsApple Valley, MN55,869Edina, MN: 53,340 personsEdina, MN53,340Minnetonka, MN: 53,235 personsMinnetonka, MN53,235St. Louis Park, MN: 49,283 personsSt. Louis Park, MN49,283Mankato, MN: 44,912 personsMankato, MN44,912Moorhead, MN: 44,797 personsMoorhead, MN44,797Shakopee, MN: 44,562 personsShakopee, MN44,562Maplewood, MN: 40,977 personsMaplewood, MN40,977Cottage Grove, MN: 39,966 personsCottage Grove, MN39,966Richfield, MN: 36,547 personsRichfield, MN36,547Roseville, MN: 35,839 personsRoseville, MN35,839Inver Grove Heights, MN: 35,633 personsInver Grove Heights, MN35,633Savage, MN: 33,037 personsSavage, MN33,037Andover, MN: 32,967 personsAndover, MN32,967Brooklyn Center, MN: 32,925 personsBrooklyn Center, MN32,925Fridley, MN: 30,381 personsFridley, MN30,381Ramsey, MN: 28,216 personsRamsey, MN28,216Prior Lake, MN: 28,148 personsPrior Lake, MN28,148Chaska, MN: 28,105 personsChaska, MN28,105Oakdale, MN: 28,015 personsOakdale, MN28,015Shoreview, MN: 26,676 personsShoreview, MN26,676Rosemount, MN: 26,642 personsRosemount, MN26,642Owatonna, MN: 26,447 personsOwatonna, MN26,447Austin, MN: 26,301 personsAustin, MN26,301Minneapolis, MN: 424,963 personsMinneapolis, MN424,963St. Paul, MN: 307,633 personsSt. Paul, MN307,633Rochester, MN: 121,808 personsRochester, MN121,808Bloomington, MN: 89,454 personsBloomington, MN89,454Duluth, MN: 86,722 personsDuluth, MN86,722Brooklyn Park, MN: 84,499 personsBrooklyn Park, MN84,499Plymouth, MN: 79,842 personsPlymouth, MN79,842Woodbury, MN: 77,097 personsWoodbury, MN77,097Lakeville, MN: 72,737 personsLakeville, MN72,737Blaine, MN: 71,029 personsBlaine, MN71,029Maple Grove, MN: 70,607 personsMaple Grove, MN70,607St. Cloud, MN: 69,802 personsSt. Cloud, MN69,802Eagan, MN: 68,728 personsEagan, MN68,728Burnsville, MN: 64,043 personsBurnsville, MN64,043Coon Rapids, MN: 63,516 personsCoon Rapids, MN63,516Eden Prairie, MN: 63,112 personsEden Prairie, MN63,112Apple Valley, MN: 55,869 personsApple Valley, MN55,869Edina, MN: 53,340 personsEdina, MN53,340Minnetonka, MN: 53,235 personsMinnetonka, MN53,235St. Louis Park, MN: 49,283 personsSt. Louis Park, MN49,283Mankato, MN: 44,912 personsMankato, MN44,912Moorhead, MN: 44,797 personsMoorhead, MN44,797Shakopee, MN: 44,562 personsShakopee, MN44,562Maplewood, MN: 40,977 personsMaplewood, MN40,977Cottage Grove, MN: 39,966 personsCottage Grove, MN39,966Richfield, MN: 36,547 personsRichfield, MN36,547Roseville, MN: 35,839 personsRoseville, MN35,839Inver Grove Heights, MN: 35,633 personsInver Grove Heights, MN35,633Savage, MN: 33,037 personsSavage, MN33,037Andover, MN: 32,967 personsAndover, MN32,967Brooklyn Center, MN: 32,925 personsBrooklyn Center, MN32,925Fridley, MN: 30,381 personsFridley, MN30,381Ramsey, MN: 28,216 personsRamsey, MN28,216Prior Lake, MN: 28,148 personsPrior Lake, MN28,148Chaska, MN: 28,105 personsChaska, MN28,105Oakdale, MN: 28,015 personsOakdale, MN28,015Shoreview, MN: 26,676 personsShoreview, MN26,676Rosemount, MN: 26,642 personsRosemount, MN26,642Owatonna, MN: 26,447 personsOwatonna, MN26,447Austin, MN: 26,301 personsAustin, MN26,301
persons. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2021
persons		Change on 2020
1Minneapolis, MN424,963-1.3%
2St. Paul, MN307,633-1.1%
3Rochester, MN121,808+0.2%
4Bloomington, MN89,454-0.4%
5Duluth, MN86,722-0.2%
6Brooklyn Park, MN84,499-2%
7Plymouth, MN79,842-1.4%
8Woodbury, MN77,097+2.2%
9Lakeville, MN72,737+3.9%
10Blaine, MN71,029+0.8%
11Maple Grove, MN70,607+0.5%
12St. Cloud, MN69,802+0.3%
13Eagan, MN68,728-0%
14Burnsville, MN64,043-0.7%
15Coon Rapids, MN63,516-0.1%
16Eden Prairie, MN63,112-1.6%
17Apple Valley, MN55,869-0.7%
18Edina, MN53,340-0%
19Minnetonka, MN53,235-1.6%
20St. Louis Park, MN49,283-1.5%
21Mankato, MN44,912+0.6%
22Moorhead, MN44,797+0.6%
23Shakopee, MN44,562+1.1%
24Maplewood, MN40,977-2.4%
25Cottage Grove, MN39,966+2.5%
26Richfield, MN36,547-1%
27Roseville, MN35,839-1%
28Inver Grove Heights, MN35,633-0.5%
29Savage, MN33,037+1.4%
30Andover, MN32,967+1%
31Brooklyn Center, MN32,925-2.2%
32Fridley, MN30,381+2.7%
33Ramsey, MN28,216+1.5%
34Prior Lake, MN28,148+1.9%
35Chaska, MN28,105+0.8%
36Oakdale, MN28,015-0.9%
37Shoreview, MN26,676-0.9%
38Rosemount, MN26,642+3.3%
39Owatonna, MN26,447+0.1%
40Austin, MN26,301+0.3%
41Elk River, MN26,268+1.3%
42Chanhassen, MN26,085+0.4%
43Winona, MN25,998+0.1%
44Faribault, MN24,4590%
45White Bear Lake, MN24,172-2.5%
46Farmington, MN23,717+0.2%
47Champlin, MN23,451-1.7%
48New Brighton, MN22,769-2.3%
49Crystal, MN22,746-2.1%
50Hastings, MN22,038-0.5%
51Golden Valley, MN21,995-2.1%
52Columbia Heights, MN21,880-0.3%
53Lino Lakes, MN21,581+0.5%
54New Hope, MN21,467-2%
55Otsego, MN21,435+6.3%
56Willmar, MN21,101+0.2%
57West St. Paul, MN20,881+1.6%
58Northfield, MN20,849+0.1%
59Forest Lake, MN20,649-0.3%
60South St. Paul, MN20,556-0.8%
61Sartell, MN19,462+0.4%
62Stillwater, MN19,440+0.2%
63St. Michael, MN19,016+4.1%
64Hopkins, MN18,592-2.2%
65Albert Lea, MN18,442-0.3%
66Anoka, MN17,955+0.3%
67Red Wing, MN16,850+1.3%
68Ham Lake, MN16,647+0.9%
69Buffalo, MN16,454+1.1%
70Hugo, MN16,129+2%
71Hibbing, MN16,099-0.5%
72Bemidji, MN15,471+0.5%
73Hutchinson, MN14,654+0.4%
74Monticello, MN14,627+1%
75Alexandria, MN14,612+1.4%
76Brainerd, MN14,531+1.1%
77Robbinsdale, MN14,273-2.1%
78North Mankato, MN14,272-0.2%
79New Ulm, MN14,1320%
80Fergus Falls, MN14,121+0.1%
81Sauk Rapids, MN13,893-0.1%
82Marshall, MN13,873+0.2%
83Worthington, MN13,813-0.5%
84Rogers, MN13,383+0.5%
85Waconia, MN13,116+0.6%
86Mounds View, MN12,956-2.5%
87Lake Elmo, MN12,902+13.7%
88Cloquet, MN12,631+0.5%
89Vadnais Heights, MN12,630-2.5%
90North St. Paul, MN12,607+2.1%
91Big Lake, MN12,190+3.5%
92East Bethel, MN12,046+2.2%
93St. Peter, MN12,019-0.6%
94Mendota Heights, MN11,612-0.6%
95Grand Rapids, MN11,243+1.5%
96North Branch, MN11,200+3.2%
97Victoria, MN11,067+3.7%
98Little Canada, MN10,529-2.5%
99Fairmont, MN10,402-0.4%
100Detroit Lakes, MN10,016-0%
101Cambridge, MN9,898+2.3%
101Hermantown, MN9,898-1.5%
103Dayton, MN8,212+10.5%

Other periods

About this ranking

Resident population.

More on how it is measured
  • Spain and the EU: 1 January, with Spanish figures from the official municipal register (Padrón).
  • Norway: Statistics Norway, 1 January.
  • Iceland and its municipalities: Statistics Iceland, 1 January.
  • United States: Census Bureau population estimates for 1 July.
  • United Kingdom regions and local authorities: Office for National Statistics estimates for 30 June.
  • Other countries and the World: World Bank mid-year estimates, which count all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.
  • UN World Population Prospects estimates for 1 July cover the years before 1960 and the areas the World Bank does not publish, such as Taiwan.

The World Bank series exists for every country, so use it (through compare) to rank countries on one basis.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2026). Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals) (Cities in Minnesota by population, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/

MLA 9

Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in Minnesota by population, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 May 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/minnesota-cities?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Cities in Minnesota by population, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/minnesota-cities?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals), Cities in Minnesota by population, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/minnesota-cities?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_cities_in_minnesota_by_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in Minnesota by population, 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/minnesota-cities?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals): Cities in Minnesota by population, 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/14
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/minnesota-cities?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/population/minnesota-cities?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which city has the highest population?

Minneapolis, MN, with 424,963 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which city has the lowest population?

Dayton, MN, with 8,212 in 2021.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual estimates of the resident population for incorporated places, 1 July (Population Estimates Program, subcounty totals). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Population: other rankings

Cities in Minnesota: more rankings