Minneapolis often tops the chart when it comes to ranking the best places to live, work and enjoy life. Known as the Twin Cities, these two cities form the core of Minneapolis-St. Paul. the sixteenth largest metropolitan area in the United States, with about 3.2 million residents.

The standard of living is on the rise, with incomes among the highest in the midwest. The economy of Minneapolis today is based in commerce, finance, rail and trucking services, health care and industry. Smaller components are in publishing, milling, food processing, graphic arts, insurance, and high technology.

Nineteen Fortune 500 headquarters are located in Minneapolis proper as well as 33 Fortune 1000 companies. Together with the government these are the city's largest employers.

The Twin Cities ranked the country's second best city in 2006 Kiplinger's poll of Smart Places to Live and Minneapolis was one of the Seven Cool Cities for young professionals.

Minneapolis has been ranked as America's most literate city and is a center for printing and publishing. Minneapolis' collegiate scene is dominated by the main campus of the University of Minnesota where more than 50,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students attend twenty colleges, schools, and institutes. The graduate school programs ranked highest in the past years and were in the areas of counseling, and personal services, chemical engineering, psychology, macroeconomics, applied mathmatics, and non-profit management. University of Minnesota is the fourth largest campus in the U.S. in terms of enrollment.