Relocate to Minnesota

Learn More About Moving To Minnesota

The Louisiana Purchase bought the land now known as Minnesota in 1803. Settlement was slow at first, the first wave came from New England to exploit the tree population in the 1820s. By the 1880s, settlers spread to all corners of the state. Germans, Swedes and Finns populated the areas that would eventually become the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul. Although there was no fighting within its borders, Minnesota offered the first troops to the Union side in the Civil War.

Prior to World War II farming was the major economic provider. However, recently, industry, commerce, and services have surpassed farming. Minnesota is also know as a leader in high technology, with supercomputers, medical technology and software development all doing considerable business there. Agriculture generates over $7 billion annually from 20 million productive farming acres. Lumbering was the primary industry in the state’s early days which was used for building. Today lumber provides the basis for pulp and paper enterprises by planting "weed" trees solely for this purpose. The Mesabi Mining range, north of Duluth, has yielded 1.5 billion tons of iron ore since opening in the 1880s. It is continues to prosper through the development of the taconite industry, which processes hard ore bearing taconite into rich iron concentrate.

The statewide sales tax is 6.5 percent, with local options for additional increments. Cities may also levy taxes on lodgings, admissions or food and beverages.

With more than 4,000 square miles of water, ranging from drops to vast, Minnesota’s main activities are boating, canoeing, swimming, water skiing and fishing. The Chippewa and Superior national forests are two of the largest recreation areas in the state. Winter brings hunting, snow skiing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling and ice skating for those seeking cold weather activities.