State of the United States

Minnesota

Minnesota is a state of the United States. It covers about 225,000 km² (86,800 mi²), the 12th largest of the 51 states and districts in Natural Earth’s file for the United States, and about the same size as Laos. About 5.7 million people live there (Wikidata, 2020).

In area0.99×the size ofLaos228,000 km² In people1.01×as many people asFinland5.7 million

200 km

Laos
Minnesota

Facts

Area, measured	225,000 km²86,800 mi²
Official area	225,000 km²Wikidata · agrees with our measure
Share of the United States	2.4%of the area of the 51 states and districts
Rank by area	12th of 51states and districts of the United States
Population	5.7 millionWikidata, 2020 · the census year of every unit
Density	25 people per km²
Capital	Saint Paul
Latitude range	44°N to 49°N
Type	StateUS-MN

What the numbers say about Minnesota

Minnesota covers 2.4% of the area of the United States and ranks 22nd of 51 by population, against 12th by area.
It would take 42.1 states and districts the size of Minnesota to cover the United States.
Minnesota holds 1.7% of the 331.4 million people that Wikidata’s 2020 figures give for the 51 states and districts together: about 1 in 58.
The largest, Alaska, is 6.70× the size of Minnesota; the smallest, Washington, D.C., is less than 0.1% of it.
Closest in size within the United States: Utah (220,000 km², 1.02×) and Idaho (216,000 km², 1.04×).
Counted as a country, Minnesota would be larger than 156 of the 239 countries and territories listed on sizeversus, and would rank 84th by area, between Laos (228,000 km²) and Guyana (211,000 km²).
With 5.7 million people it would rank 116th of 238 by population.
Minnesota has 25 people per km², about the density of Brazil, which has 25 per km².
That makes Minnesota the 32nd most densely populated of the 51 states and districts, 72% of the average for the United States (35 per km²).
On a standard web map (Web Mercator), a place at 46°N is drawn about 2.1× too large in area, so Minnesota looks bigger there than it is.
Laid out flat, Minnesota stretches about 650 km north to south and 570 km east to west.
Wikidata's official figure of 225,000 km² agrees with our measured area of 225,000 km², to within 2%.

About the same size as

About as many people as

Beside the regions of other countries

The closest region by area and by people in each of the other countries that have regional pages here, within a factor of 2. All 395 regions side by side.

ChinaAreaGuangxi0.95× · 237,000 km² PeopleQinghai0.96× · 5.9 million (2020)
IndiaAreaUttar Pradesh0.94× · 240,000 km² PeopleHimachal Pradesh83% · 6.9 million (2011)
GermanyAreanone within 2×PeopleHesse0.92× · 6.2 million (2022)
FranceAreanone within 2×PeopleGrand Est1.03× · 5.6 million (2022)
ItalyAreanone within 2×PeopleCampania0.99× · 5.8 million (2019)
SpainAreanone within 2×PeopleValencian Community1.07× · 5.3 million (2024)
JapanAreanone within 2×PeopleHyogo1.05× · 5.5 million (2021)
BrazilAreaRoraima1.00× · 225,000 km² PeopleMaranhão84% · 6.8 million (2022)
CanadaAreaNewfoundland and Labrador56% · 403,000 km² PeopleBritish Columbia1.14× · 5.0 million (2021)
AustraliaAreaVictoria0.99× · 228,000 km² PeopleQueensland1.02× · 5.6 million (2024)
MexicoAreaChihuahua0.91× · 248,000 km² PeopleGuanajuato0.97× · 5.9 million (2015)
ThailandAreanone within 2×PeopleBangkok1.01× · 5.7 million (2018)

Where Minnesota ranks

Minnesota is the 12th largest of the 51 states and districts of the United States.

Ranked within the United States

All 51 states and districts of the United States, matched to countries

Compare Minnesota

Sources and method

Outline: Natural Earth, 1:10m Admin 1 - States, Provinces, public domain
Boundary: De facto, as drawn by Natural Earth.
Area: Measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid from the full-detail outline, shown rounded. The region’s whole area is counted, every island included.
Official figures: Area, population and capital from Wikidata (CC0), fetched 2026-11-12
Population: Wikidata, 2020. United States’s units share the 2020 figures where Wikidata has them; the year is shown wherever the figure is.
Matching: Countries come from Natural Earth’s country file. Places whose status is contested and dependencies are never used as automatic matches. A region under 2,500 km² is matched against the small countries and island nations.
Data built: 2026-11-12

Full method