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Minnesota

A guide to help you understand the ins and outs of business in Minnesota

Overview

Minnesota is another midwestern state that is along the north border of the country. Its capital city is St. Paul and its largest city is Minneapolis. The two cities are roughly ten miles apart and together they are known as the Twin Cities. Minnesota's population ranks 22nd with 5.86 million residents, while it is the 12th largest state in the nation by land mass. The state's GDP reached $531,464,900,000.

The top industries in Minnesota by overall economic output are professional and business services, finance, insurance, and real estate, and manufacturing, while the state maintains deep national leadership in healthcare, medical technology, clean energy, and corporate management. Minnesota is home to 18 of the Fortune 500 companies, alongside the nation's largest privately held corporation, Cargill, and the globally renowned Mayo Clinic. Its powerhouse corporate ecosystem includes 3M, Best Buy, Ecolab, General Mills, Hormel, Target, U.S. Bank, UnitedHealth Group, and Xcel Energy, while Medtronic continues to base its primary operational headquarters in the state.

Minnesota channels roughly $60 million in direct annual goods exports to Qatar. This bilateral relationship is heavily anchored by the state's medical technology, industrial machinery, and agricultural sectors. Prominent Minnesota-based corporations supply precision medical instruments, heavy machinery, and food logistics directly to the Qatari market.

Minnesota maintains a flat corporate income tax rate of 9.8%, ranking it as the highest effective corporate tax rate on base corporate net income in the country. The state operates three primary foreign-trade zones designated to minimize custom tariff burdens, including regional custom-duty networks established around Duluth (FTZ 51), the Minneapolis-St. Paul area (FTZ 119), and International Falls (FTZ 259). Minnesota structures its business support through specialized investment portfolios managed by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, focusing financial aid through primary vehicles like the Job Creation Fund and the Minnesota Investment Fund.

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