Greater Minnesota, also known as Outstate Minnesota, is the common name for the region of Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, that is to say, outside of the seven county Metro area comprised of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington counties. The area is far less urbanized, not to mention not very homogenous as there are noticeable geographic and cultural differences between the farmlands of Southern Minnesota, the Iron Range, the lake country of Central Minnesota, and the plains of Western Minnesota. According to the 2000 Census, approximately two out of five Minnesotans live in Greater Minnesota.

Major Cities

The major population centers in Outstate Minnesota include: Duluth, Rochester, Moorhead, St. Cloud, and Mankato.

College and Universities

There are a number of four-year colleges and universities Outstate. These include:

• Bemidji State University
• Carleton College, Northfield
• College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University, St. Joseph/Collegeville
• Concordia College, Moorhead
• Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter
• Minnesota State University, Mankato
• Minnesota State University, Moorhead
• St. Cloud State University
• St. Olaf College, Northfield
• Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall
• University of Minnesota, Crookston
• University of Minnesota, Duluth
• University of Minnesota, Morris
• Winona State University

Outstate residents sometimes jokingly refer to the Twin Cities as "Lesser Minnesota."