Minnesota's state capital, St. Paul, and neighboring Minneapolis make up the Twin Cities.

Minneapolis - Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix rivers in the state of Minnesota. It is commonly known as the Twin Cities after the area's two largest cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

Minnesotans often refer to the two together simply as "the cities". It is Minnesota's economic, cultural, and political center. Minneapolis and Saint Paul are independent municipalities with defined borders.

Minneapolis sits mostly on the west side of the Mississippi River on lake-covered terrain. Although most of the city is residential neighborhoods, it has a business-dominated downtown area with some historic industrial areas, the Mill District and the Warehouse District. Minneapolis also has a popular uptown area. Saint Paul, which sits mostly on the east side of the river, has quaint tree-lined neighborhoods, a vast collection of well-preserved late-Victorian architecture, and a number of colleges.

Both cities and the surrounding areas are known for their woods, lakes, hills and creeks.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area is a thriving community of nearly 3 million people, in 7 counties and 182 communities, encompassing nearly 3,000 square miles.

A strong, diversified economy, excellent education system, and a high quality of life attract people to the region and keep them here. It’s a great place to live, work, raise a family, and do business.