The map above shows Illinois and Minnesota side by side at exactly the same scale, using equal-area projections, so their true relative sizes are preserved.
Illinois vs Minnesota Geography
Land area
- Illinois has a land area of 55,513 square miles (143,778 km²), while Minnesota has 79,632 square miles (206,245 km²).
- Minnesota's land area is 1.4 times (43%) larger than Illinois'.
Total area
- Illinois: 57,913 square miles (149,995 km²) vs Minnesota: 86,943 square miles (225,182 km²), including inland and coastal water.
- Minnesota's total area is 1.5 times (50%) larger than Illinois'.
Length
- Illinois is 390 miles (628 km) long from north to south; Minnesota is 408 miles (657 km).
- Illinois and Minnesota have about the same north-south length.
Width
- Illinois spans 283 miles (456 km) east to west; Minnesota spans 360 miles (580 km).
- Minnesota's east-west width is 1.3 times (27%) wider than Illinois'.
Highest point
- Illinois's highest point is Charles Mound at 1,232 feet (376 m); Minnesota's is Eagle Mountain at 2,292 feet (699 m).
- Eagle Mountain is 1,060 feet higher than Charles Mound.
Lowest point
- Illinois's lowest point is Mississippi River at 292 feet; Minnesota's is Lake Superior at 601 feet.
- Illinois's lowest point is 309 feet lower.
Illinois vs Minnesota Population and History
Population
- Illinois has a population of 12,710,158 (2024), while Minnesota has 5,793,151 (2024).
- Illinois' population is 2.2 times (119%) larger than Minnesota's.
Population density
- Illinois: 229.0 people per square mile vs Minnesota: 72.7.
- Illinois' population density is 3.1 times (215%) higher than Minnesota's.
Biggest city
- Illinois's biggest city is Chicago with 2,721,308 people; Minnesota's is Minneapolis with 428,579.
- Chicago's population is 6.3 times (535%) larger than Minneapolis'.
Largest metro area
- Illinois's largest metropolitan area is Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area (9,408,576 people) vs Minnesota's Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area (3,757,952).
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area's population is 2.5 times (150%) larger than Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metro area's.
History
- Illinois: Admitted to the Union on December 3, 1818, as the 21st state.
- Minnesota: Admitted to the Union on May 11, 1858, as the 32nd state.
- In its current form, Illinois is the older of the two by 40 years.
Illinois vs Minnesota Economy
GDP
- Illinois's GDP is $1,148.1 billion (2024) vs Minnesota's $507.7 billion.
- Illinois' economic output is 2.3 times (126%) larger than Minnesota's.
GDP per capita
- Illinois: $90,330 per person vs Minnesota: $87,636.
- Illinois and Minnesota have about the same GDP per capita.
Average income
- Illinois: $74,522 vs Minnesota: $75,603 average income per person (per capita personal income).
- Illinois and Minnesota have about the same average income.
Illinois vs Minnesota Counties
Number of counties
- Illinois has 102 counties, while Minnesota has 87.
- Illinois' county count is 1.2 times (17%) higher than Minnesota's.
Biggest county by area
- Illinois's largest county is McLean County at 1,183 square miles; Minnesota's is St. Louis County at 6,248 square miles.
- St. Louis County's land area is 5.3 times (428%) larger than McLean County's.
Smallest county by area
- Illinois: Putnam County (160 sq mi) vs Minnesota: Ramsey County (152 sq mi).
- Putnam County's land area is 1.1 times (5%) larger than Ramsey County's.
Most populous county
- Illinois: Cook County (5,182,617 people) vs Minnesota: Hennepin County (1,273,334 people).
- Cook County's population is 4.1 times (307%) larger than Hennepin County's.
Least populous county
- Illinois: Hardin County (3,550 people) vs Minnesota: Traverse County (3,134 people).
- Hardin County's population is 1.1 times (13%) larger than Traverse County's.
Richest county
- Illinois: Cumberland County ($104,890 per capita income) vs Minnesota: Hennepin County ($100,352).
- Cumberland County and Hennepin County have about the same income.
Poorest county
- Illinois: Lawrence County ($43,606 per capita income) vs Minnesota: Pine County ($48,677).
- Pine County's income is 1.1 times (12%) richer than Lawrence County's.
Illinois vs Minnesota Taxes
State income tax
- Illinois has a top income tax rate of 4.95%, while Minnesota has a top income tax rate of 9.85%.
- Minnesota's top rate is 4.9 percentage points higher.
Property tax
- Illinois: 1.92% effective rate vs Minnesota: 1.02% of home value per year.
- Illinois's rate is 0.9 percentage points higher.
Sales tax
- Illinois: 8.98% combined state and average local rate vs Minnesota: 8.14%.
- Illinois's combined rate is 0.84 percentage points higher.
Official Websites
Illinois official website · Minnesota official website
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More Size Comparisons
All Illinois size comparisons · All Minnesota size comparisons
Area, elevation and boundary figures come from official national statistics and US Census Bureau and Natural Earth boundary data; US state population, economic, county and tax figures come from the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Tax Foundation. Figures are rounded and for general reference.