Minnesota and Wisconsin
Two bordering states in these United States.
Both in the Upper Midwest. Both get very, very, very cold in the winter.
Grumpy Old Men clip
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?
Sorry about that. I’ll stop now.
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.
For the most part, the French got along with and traded with the various American Indian tribes in what is today both states.
The largest tribe was the Dakota Sioux.
The Ojibwe also lived in and continue to live in both states.
Other tribes native to Wisconsin include the Ho-Chunk, Menominee, and Potawatomie.
After the French lost control of the area, several American Indians there continued to resist the rising number of first British and then later Americans
encroaching on their territory.
After the United States was established, both states were once part of the Northwest Territory.
Much of modern-day Minnesota was once part of Wisconsin Territory after folks created it in 1836.
Minnesota folks formed their own territory in 1849.
Wisconsin is older than Minnesota.
It became a state almost exactly ten years before Minnesota.
Early industries in both states included logging-thanks to those mad forests in the north amiright?- mining, and agriculture of course.
The earliest European settlers in both were mostly Yankees from back east.
During the Civil War, both states actively supported the Union.
After the war was over, as industry grew and cheap land became available in both states, a flood of immigrants followed, many of them coming from Germany and the Scandinavian countries.
That’s right. People from colder, dark places seemed fine with cold, dark Wisconsin and Minnesota.
But those Germans. More of them settled in Wisconsin, which, coincidentally, also became one of the brewing capitals of the country by the end of the 1800s.
In the early 1900s, Wisconsin also became one of the progressive capitals of the country with dudes like Robert La Follette.
After World War II, Minnesota became known for computer technology with companies like Sperry Rand and Control Data.
Both have a lot of good rock bands.
Now, let’s have a rundown of the differences between the two states.
Minnesota has more citizens who have at least a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Related to this...Minnesota has a lower poverty rate.
Minnesota leans more to the left politically than Wisconsin.
Residents there tend to vote more for Democratic Party candidates, and haven’t voted for a Republican for President since Nixon in 1972.
Wisconsin has voted mostly for Democrats for President in recent decades, too, but they did surprise and vote for Trump in 2016.
But yeah, Wisconsin is a swing state, meaning people’s votes go back and forth between the two major political parties and their votes actually count in presidential elections.
Minnesota tends to be more independent minded when it comes to elections, and is not afraid to take chances on outsiders running for office.
Minnesota is about a third bigger than Wisconsin. Not that size matters.
Residents in Minnesota tend to be a bit younger.
Minnesota does not have taxes on basic need items like food and clothing.
But while residents of Wisconsin have to pay taxes on all clothing, they pay less taxes overall compared to residents in Minnesota.
As matter of fact, Minnesota has some of the highest tax rates in the country.
But they do spend more on education than Wisconsin.
It’s more expensive to live in Minnesota, mostly due to housing.
Related to this...Minnesota has a higher minimum wage.
Minnesota prides itself in building public structures using stuff actually found in the state.
For example, Target Field, the ballpark where the Twins play, was partially built with limestone from the state, and features native spruce trees near center field and local producers of food and drink in its concession stands.
Minnesota is the only state in the country that currently has a split in its state legislature.
The Democratic Party there currently controls the House, while the Republican Party controls the Senate.
Minnesota may be known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” but they actually have 11,842.
But Wisconsin has more lakes. Supposedly 15,074.
But here’s the thing. Wisconsin calls almost any thing slightly bigger than a pond a lake, sooo….you know...
Minnesota has a national park.
Wisconsin? Nope.
In fact, Minnesota has more than 10 times more wilderness than Wisconsin.
Minnesota has pretty much the best hospital in the world- the Mayo Clinic, founded way back in 1864 in Rochester.
It seems like I’m bragging on Minnesota so much, so let me brag about Wisconsin.
Wisconsin has Wisconsin freaking Dells, the 14th happiest place on earth.
Seriously. I love that place.
Other random yet interesting differences.
Wisconsinites call drinking fountains “bubblers.”
Minnesotans call this “pop” but Wisconsinites tend to call it “soda.”
Apparently some Wisconsinites also call themselves “Sconnies.”
And finally, recently more Wisconsinites have been moving to Minnesota than Minnesotans moving to Wisconsin.
And this has worried several politicians in Wisconsin.
as you could imagine.
But don’t worry, Wisconsin. Minnesota might be all cocky right now, but I’m sure this trend won’t last forever.
By the way, I can’t wait to see all the trash talking in the comments from people of both states for this one.
Sooo many people requested that I compare these two states, and I am a big fan of both, so I’m glad I finally got around to making this video.
If you are from Wisconsin or Minnesota, please feel free to let me know what I got right and definitely let me know what I got wrong.
After days of research, I love being told I am utterly wrong.
Also, which states should I compare next? Let me know, eh?
And finally, I can’t believe I haven’t announced this yet, but I started a Reddit page.
So if you Reddit, subscribe to the sub and upvote and stuff. Don’t downvote. That’s unethical.
Thanks for watching, and go Chiefs!