The Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area

Metropolitan area

The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

 is the 15th-largest agglomeration in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and is home to many corporations, companies, and divisions. The core cities of Minneapolis

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

 and Saint Paul

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

 host many companies, but a number are in suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

an cities.

Economy

The Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area

Metropolitan area

The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

 is one of the country's major economic hubs, with several Fortune 1000

Fortune 1000

Fortune 1000 is a reference to a list maintained by the American business magazine Fortune. The list is of the 1000 largest American companies, ranked on revenues alone...

 companies and the world

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

's largest privately held corporation

Corporation

A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...

, Cargill

Cargill

Cargill, Incorporated is a privately held, multinational corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Founded in 1865, it is now the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue. If it were a public company, it would rank, as of 2011, number 13 on the Fortune 500,...

.

As of 2010, the following Fortune 1000

Fortune 1000

Fortune 1000 is a reference to a list maintained by the American business magazine Fortune. The list is of the 1000 largest American companies, ranked on revenues alone...

 and Forbes Largest Private companies have their headquarters in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area

Metropolitan area

The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

:

Minneapolis

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

• Ameriprise Financial
  Ameriprise Financial
  Ameriprise Financial, Inc. is one of the leading diversified financial services companies in the U.S. Ameriprise Financial engages in business through its...
  
   (Fortune 500 #288)
• Buffalo Wild Wings
  Buffalo Wild Wings
  Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar is a casual dining restaurant and sports bar franchise in the United States that is known for its Buffalo wings.-History:...
  
  
• Coloplast
  Coloplast
  Coloplast is an international company that develops, manufactures and markets medical devices and services related to ostomy, urology and continence, and wound treatment....
  
   US
• PepsiAmericas Inc.(Fortune 500 #464)
• Target Corporation
  Target Corporation
  Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
  
   (Fortune 500 #30)
• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
  Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
  Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a Fortune 500 financial services organization with dual corporate headquarters based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Appleton, Wisconsin...
  
   (Fortune 500 #342)
• U.S. Bancorp
  U.S. Bancorp
  U.S. Bancorp is a diversified financial services holding company, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States based on $330 billion in assets. U.S. Bank ranks as the sixth largest bank in the U.S. based on...
  
   (Fortune 500 #121)
• Valspar
  Valspar
  The Valspar Corporation is an international manufacturer of paint and coatings based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the fifth largest paint and coating corporation in the world. The 200+ year old Valspar was founded in 1806 as a paint dealership in Boston, Massachusetts...
  
   (Fortune 1000 #618)
• Xcel Energy
  Xcel Energy
  Xcel Energy, Inc. is a public utility company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving customers in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin. Primary services are electricity and natural gas...
  
   (Fortune 500 #244)
• Room & Board Home Furnishings
• Caribou Coffee Company, Inc.

Saint Paul

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

• Ecolab Inc. (Fortune 500 #365)
• Gander Mountain
  Gander Mountain
  Gander Mountain, headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a retail network of stores for hunting, fishing, camping, marine, and other outdoor recreation products and services...
  
  
• Lawson Software
  Lawson Software
  Lawson Software is an international software company with 4,000 customers in manufacturing, distribution, maintenance and services industries, such as healthcare, financial services, retail and public sector in 33 countries.-Technology:...
  
  
• Marigold Foods
• Securian Financial Group Inc.
  Securian Financial Group Inc.
  Securian Financial Group, Inc. is a mutual financial services corporation that is headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. Founded by Russell Dorr on August 6, 1880, it serves more than nine million clients in the United States and Puerto Rico, manages over $32 billion in assets, and provides over...
  
   (Minnesota Life) (Fortune 1000 #729)
• iLoan
• Patterson Companies
  Patterson Companies
  Patterson Companies Inc is a medical supplies conglomerate primarily in the business of veterinary and dental products . Since 2003 it also distributes general medical rehabilitative devices like braces and wheel chairs...
  
  
• Merrill Corporation

Blaine

Blaine, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 44,942 people, 15,898 households, and 12,177 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,330 people per square mile . There are 16,169 housing units at an average density of 477.6 per square mile...

 

• Aveda Corporation (subsidiary of Estée Lauder Companies
  Estée Lauder Companies
  Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. is a manufacturer and marketer of prestige skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The company has its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-History:...
  
  )

Bloomington

Bloomington, Minnesota

Bloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...

• Bethany House
  Bethany House
  Bethany House Publishers is an evangelical publisher that publishes mostly Christian fiction and Non-Fiction. Bethany House Publishers was bought out in 2003 by Baker Publishing Group. In 2010, Bethany House has been open of fifty-two years....
  
  
• Ceridian
  Ceridian
  Ceridian Corporation is a global business services company in the human resources, transportation and retail markets, serving businesses worldwide with employees in the USA, Canada, Europe and Mauritius. It was a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange until it was acquired in 2007...
  
  
• Donaldson Company, Inc. (Fortune 1000 #836)
• Holiday Companies (Forbes #204)
• Katun Company
  Katun Company
  Founded in 1979, is the world’s largest supplier of OEM compatible imaging supplies, photoreceptors and parts for the office equipment industry. They serve more than 18,000 customers in more than 150 countries. Katun headquarters is located in Bloomington, Minnesota...
  
  
• Pearson VUE
  Pearson VUE
  Pearson VUE is an electronic testing company owned by British media company Pearson PLC. Founded in 1994 by E. Clarke Porter as Virtual University Enterprises, the company now operates in 165 countries with more than 5,000 authorized test centres ....
  
  
• Quality Bicycle Products
  Quality Bicycle Products
  Quality Bicycle Products is the largest distributor of bicycle parts and accessories in the bicycle industry, with revenues of $150 million in 2008. In addition to wholesaling bicycles and components from other manufacturers, QBP owns and manufactures several brands of its own...
  
   (QBP)
• RSM McGladrey
  RSM McGladrey
  McGladrey is the 5th largest accounting firm in the United States by revenue and a member of the global accounting network RSM International.The firm has more than 8,000 employees across 85 offices nationwide providing assurance, tax, and consulting services...
  
  
• The Toro Company (Fortune 1000 #936)
• Thermo King

Edina

Edina, Minnesota

Edina is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and a first-ring suburb situated immediately southwest of Minneapolis. Edina began as a small farming and milling community in the 1860s. The population was 47,941 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...

• Alliant Techsystems Inc. (Fortune 1000 #539)
• Dairy Queen
  Dairy Queen
  Dairy Queen, often abbreviated DQ, is a chain of soft serve and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc, who also owns Orange Julius and Karmelkorn. The name "Dairy Queen" is taken from the name of their soft serve product, which the company refers to as "Dairy Queen" or...
  
   - A unit of Berkshire Hathaway
  Berkshire Hathaway
  Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that oversees and manages a number of subsidiary companies. The company averaged an annual growth in book value of 20.3% to its shareholders for the last 44 years,...
  
  
• Nash Finch Company
  Nash Finch Company
  The Nash Finch Company is a Fortune 500 company based in Edina, Minnesota, United States. The company is involved in food distribution to private companies, primarily independent supermarkets, and military commissaries; and the operation of retail stores....
  
   (Fortune 500 #400)
• Regis Corporation
  Regis Corporation
  Regis Corporation is the largest hair salon chain in the world, with over 11,000 salons , it is ranked 712 on the Fortune 1000...
  
   (Fortune 1000 #730)

Eden Prairie

Eden Prairie, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 54,901 people, 20,457 households, and 14,579 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 21,026 housing units at an average density of 649.2 per square mile...

• ADC Telecommunications
  ADC Telecommunications
  ADC Telecommunications was a communications company located in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a southwest suburb of Minneapolis. It was acquired by TE Connectivity in December 2010 and now ceases to exist as a separate entity...
  
  
• C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (Fortune 500 #301)
• Lifetouch
  Lifetouch
  Lifetouch, originally named National School Studios, is a photography company founded in 1936 by Bruce Reinecker and Eldon Rothgeb. Lifetouch has its corporate headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, with production plants in Chesapeake, Virginia; Chico, California; Ohio; Muncie, Indiana;...
  
  
• Supervalu
  Supervalu (United States)
  SuperValu Inc. is a United States grocery retailer and distributor. The corporation, headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, has been in business for over a century. It is the third-largest food retailing company in the United States , and ranks #51 on the Fortune 100 list.On June 2, 2006,...
  
   (Fortune 500 #47)

Fridley

Fridley, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 27,449 people, 11,328 households, and 7,317 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,701.3 people per square mile . There were 11,504 housing units at an average density of 1,132.1 per square mile...

• Medtronic Inc. (Fortune 500 #160)
• Cummins Power Generation (Fortune 500 #218 [Cummins Inc.])

Golden Valley

Golden Valley, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,281 people, 8,449 households, and 5,508 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,982.3 people per square mile . There were 8,589 housing units at an average density of 839.5 per square mile...

• Allianz Life
  Allianz Life
  Minneapolis-based Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America provides annuities and life insurance products in the United States in all states except for New York...
  
  
• General Mills
  General Mills
  General Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green...
  
   (Fortune 500 #155)
• Pentair Inc. (Fortune 1000 #627)
• Tennant Co.

Minnetonka

Minnetonka, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 51,301 people, 21,393 households, and 14,097 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,893.0 persons per square mile . There were 22,228 housing units at an average density of 818.9 per square mile...

• Archiver's
• Cargill
  Cargill
  Cargill, Incorporated is a privately held, multinational corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Founded in 1865, it is now the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue. If it were a public company, it would rank, as of 2011, number 13 on the Fortune 500,...
  
   (Forbes #1)
• Carlson
  Carlson Companies
  Carlson is a privately held international corporation in the hotel, restaurant, and travel industries. Headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, near Minneapolis, Carlson brands and services, including franchised operations, employ more than 170,000 people in more than 150 countries and territories...
  
   (Forbes #44)
• Famous Dave's
  Famous Dave's
  Famous Dave's Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que, formerly Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que Shack, is a chain of southern-style barbecue restaurants serving pork ribs, chicken, and beef brisket. Dave Anderson, an Ojibwe who served as the head of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs from 2004 to 2005, started the...
  
  
• Michael Foods (Fortune 1000 #961)
• UnitedHealth Group
  UnitedHealth Group
  UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is a diversified health and "well-being" company. Headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, UnitedHealth Group offers a spectrum of products and services through two operating businesses: United Healthcare and Optum. Through its family of subsidiaries and divisions,...
  
   (Fortune 500 #21)

Plymouth

Plymouth, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 65,894 people, 24,820 households, and 17,647 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,002.0 persons per square mile . There were 25,258 housing units at an average density of 767.4 per square mile...

• Christopher & Banks
  Christopher & Banks
  Christopher & Banks is an American retail company based in Plymouth, Minnesota that specializes in women's clothing. The company operates more than 500 Christopher & Banks locations and more than 250 CJ Banks locations. Former Lane Bryant president Lorna Nagler is the company's president.The chain...
  
  
• Select Comfort
  Select Comfort
  Select Comfort is a U.S.-based manufacturer that manufactures the Sleep Number bed as well as foundations and bedding accessories. The company is based in Plymouth, Minnesota. In addition to its Minnesota headquarters, Select Comfort has manufacturing and distribution facilities in South Carolina...
  
  
• The Mosaic Company
  The Mosaic Company
  The Mosaic Company is a Fortune 500 company based in Plymouth, Minnesota. Mosaic offers two key crop nutrients—phosphate and potash—plus specialty products K-Mag®, MicroEssentials® and Pegasus™...
  
   (Fortune 500 #231)

St. Louis Park

• ARCA - Appliance Recycling Centers of America Inc. - ApplianceSmart
• Nordic Ware
  Nordic Ware
  Nordic Ware is a company based in St. Louis Park, Minnesota that introduced the Bundt cake pan in 1950. It was founded in 1946 by H. David Dalquist....
  
   / Northland Aluminum Products

Merged or defunct companies

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...

 continues to have a major presence in Minneapolis, and the city is home to the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage division. In 1998, Norwest Bank of Minneapolis bought Wells Fargo Bank of San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

. Because Wells Fargo had more brand recognition, Norwest chose to rename itself Wells Fargo Bank and moved its headquarters from Minneapolis to San Francisco.

Honeywell

Honeywell

Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....

 was headquartered in Minneapolis but moved to Morristown, New Jersey

Morristown, New Jersey

Morristown is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 18,411. It is the county seat of Morris County. Morristown became characterized as "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the...

 to occupy Allied Signal's headquarters after the two companies merged in 1999. Honeywell

Honeywell

Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....

's former headquarters is now occupied by Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...

.

The Soo Line Railroad

Soo Line Railroad

The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , controlled through the Soo Line Corporation, and one of seven U.S. Class I railroads. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste...

 is based in Minneapolis, but is owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

. The company headquarters still exist as the Soo Line Building.

Northwestern Consolidated Milling Company

Northwestern Consolidated Milling Company

Northwestern Consolidated Milling Company was an American flour milling company that operated about one quarter of the mills in Minneapolis, Minnesota when the city was the flour milling capital of the world. Formed as a business entity, Northwestern produced flour for the half century between 1891...

 produced Ceresota flour in Minneapolis from 1891 to 1953. Its Elevator A, and A and F mills are still standing and two of these structures are in use as office buildings.

ReliaStar Life Insurance Co. was bought by ING

ING Group

The ING Group is a global financial institution offering retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, asset management, and insurance services. ING is the Dutch member of the Inter-Alpha Group of Banks, a cooperative consortium of 11 prominent European banks...

 of the Netherlands but still maintains division headquarters in Minneapolis.

Dain Rauscher was bought by RBC

Royal Bank of Canada

The Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...

 of Canada but still maintains division headquarters in Minneapolis.

Burlington Northern was based in St. Paul until it merged with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to form the BNSF Railway

BNSF Railway

The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...

. It is now based in Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...

.

The St. Paul Companies was the oldest company in Minnesota. In 2004, they merged with Travelers and in 2009 they moved their headquarters to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

In 2008, Northwest Airlines

Northwest Airlines

Northwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world...

 announced that it was merging with Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...

 and moving its headquarters to Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

.