Minnesota and Wisconsin Compared

Mr. Beat compares and contrasts Minnesota and Wisconsin, two fairly similar Upper Midwestern states. #geography #minnesota #wisconsin

Produced by Matt Beat. Music by Electric Needle Room. All images and footage either by Matt Beat, found in the public domain, or used under fair use guidelines.

Sources:
Katherine Beat (my wonderful sister-in-law)

Photo/footage credits:
Adam Petersen
Royalbroil
Tony Webster
Sodacan
Golbez
Adamantios
TogaParty
Jonathunder
Pdlars
DeepSouth2010
Danieljordahl
GothEric
Randallclarence
Jonathunder
Fibonacci Blue
Saint Paul Public Schools
Todd Murray
Jasontish
LightSoup
Chris Gaukel
Chris Light
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Richard Hurd

Minnesota and Wisconsin. Two bordering states in these United States. Both in the Upper Midwest. Both get very, very, very, very cold in the winter. And are still pretty cold in early spring and late fall as well. But the summers in both states are nice. Except for the crazy terrorist mosquitoes. But yeah, both have humid continental climates. Wisconsin gets a bit more precipitation, though.

Both are great. And Great Lakes states. Minnesota borders Lake Superior. Ah, but Wisconsin borders Lake Superior AND Lake Michigan, so does that MAKE it superior? But yeah, both states don’t ever have to worry about having enough access to fresh water. Both have similar populations, although Minnesota is growing at a faster rate. Both states are more heavily populated in the southern portion of the state, with large areas of wilderness covering the northern portions. However, Wisconsin’s population is a bit more spread out throughout the state. About 2/3 of the population of Minnesota lives in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.

Both have similar size economies. Minnesota’s GDP per capita is higher than Wisconsin’s though. Since the Great Recession, the economies of the two states have been compared a lot, and while there is a debate about the “why,” there is no doubt Minnesota’s economy has grown more. According to Forbes magazine, Minnesota is a better state for business, but both have similar unemployment rates and projected job growth. Wisconsin’s biggest industries include manufacturing, agriculture, and healthcare. And yep, it holds true to its stereotype. It’s the biggest producer of cheese in the country. Boy do they take their cheese seriously. Like, really seriously. There are cheese snobs everywhere man. Anyway, Minnesota’s biggest industries are also manufacturing and agriculture, but also professional and business services.

The biggest religion in both states is...you guessed it...Christianity. Minnesota appears to be a bit more religious than Wisconsin. Both states have low crime compared to the rest of the country. You know, because they’re too cold to commit crime there.

The majority of residents from both states have ancestors from Europe. While humans have lived in both areas for thousands of years, the first Europeans to settle both were the French.

[iammrbeat]

One big difference that I can't believe I left out...Minnesota borders Canada, Wisconsin does not. What else did I forget? Which state is better?

[theaverage]

I grew up in Minnesota, and currently live in Wisconsin. And there are truly only 2 seasons in both states. Winter, and construction

[CityBeautiful]

As a proud Wisconsinite, it's hard to hate on Minnesota. The states are like bros and they even look like they are hugging. Don't get me started on Illinois, though...

[simdoughnut]

You forgot the one thing that Minnesota and Wisconsin have in common, neither one likes Iowa. :)

[josephklosowski]

We both say "ya know it would be fine outside if it wasn't for the wind"

[mikethebeginner]

Having grown up in Wisconsin I don't think you emphasized the mosquitoes enough. To this day the thing that amazes me the most about Northern California is that they leave their doors and windows open for extended periods of time. With no screens. If you did that in Wisconsin or Minnesota, in no time the insects would move in and kick you right out.

[andrews]

You forgot the bitter rivalry between the Vikings and the Packers

[steveb]

Leave a Coke outside in the winter in Minnesota and you'll know why we call it pop.

[Peteiredale]

Winter: it would be find without the wind

Summer: if it wasn't so humid it would be beautiful

[RandomPerson-]

Fall, winter, and spring are known as winter and so called “summer” is actually road construction

[jjj]

Fun Fact: Iowa is our inside joke

No idea why, we just hate em

[tomschloesser]

The average Wisconsinite's blood- alcohol content is 43.3% higher than the average Minnesotan's.

[kosmosici]

Fun fact: There's a law in Wisconsin that specifically states "The cheese must be pleasing", and as a Wisconsinite I don't know what this means, other than the fact there's no fake cheese.

[fivenightsofben]

How did he talk about Wisconsin and forget Culver's

[rachelcollins]

Lakes in Minnesota are defined as being bodies of water 10 acres of more, where as in Wisconsin to be classified as a lake it only has to be 2.2 acres or more. If Wisconsin was going by MN standards it would only have about 5, 300 lakes.

[shelbyvanhecke]

Who else cringed when he pronounced ‘Ojibwe’?

Z O O W E E M A M A

[sydneyfiler]

As wisconsinite, we love our Minnesotan brothers and sisters. We just want to share in the joy of lake life--fishing, tubing, skiing, etc

[smaple]

YouTube algorithm: Wanna see the comparison between Minnesota and Wisconsin?

Me in South Jersey: *interesting*

[ryangonia]

I’m from Wisconsin but I live in Alabama now and I can tell you they are both better than Alabama

[swapsplat]

Don't forget, Minnesota has more fortune 500 companies per capita than any other state.
And the are more theaters in Minneapolis than any city outside of New York.