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I should have specified compared to great lakes cities. But even though Minneapolis has been gaining more in recent decades, it is not on the same level as Chicago due to the long history of immigration to Chicago.
15 versus 20 percent ... not so different. And Minneapolis has just as long of a history of immigration as does Chicago. Who do you think lived in Minneapolis in years past? It's just a different ethnic mix these days. During my grandparent's youth the immigrants were mostly white and European, when I was a kid there were a lot of SE Asian immigrants, and these days I think the majority of new immigrants (to the state, anyway) are African.
There are plenty of smaller Midwestern cities that have large immigrant populations. An international population is not exclusive to Chicago. Worthington, Minnesota, for example, has a higher percentage (I think it's more than a third) of foreign-born residents than does Chicago or Minneapolis. I assume there are similar stories across the Midwest.
And in response to another post: people (especially those of college age) do the Madison-Twin Cities drive ALL THE TIME. Not sure why some people think that's rarely done! Not for commuting, of course, but lots of people do it on weekends. A ton of kids from the Twin Cities attend college in Madison, and thanks to reciprocity you also find tons of WI kids at school in MN. I'm sure lots of people also do a Madison-Chicago drive on weekends, but when it comes right down to it, some parts of WI are more oriented towards the Twin Cities, others are more oriented towards Chicago. But... it's all Midwestern, even if Minneapolis is not identical to Madison which is not identical to Chicago which is not identical to Galena, or Springfield, or Indianapolis, or Peoria, or Columbus, or wherever else. It's one big vast region, but it's all Midwestern.
In raw numbers it's a big difference. Don't forget how much larger the Chicago area is than the Twin Cities.
I was thinking in raw numbers and also in diversity. I'm aware that most cities historically grew because of immigration, but the diversity of Chicago is on another level when compared to other places in the midwest historically.
that's counterintuitive so please post some evidence. The most populated portions of wisconsin are closer to chicago than minneapolis. that's not even speaking to the fact chicago is a larger city with more stuff to do and buy than minneapolis.
Part of the reason that Minneapolis has a disproportionately larger influence on Wisconsin than you would expect based on population is specifically because southern and eastern WI have plenty of metro areas of their own. If you cut off the southern and eastern quarters of Wisconsin, the largest city is... Eau Claire.
What is a common thread that makes Bismarck, North Dakota and Akron, Ohio both Midwestern? Would you say it's the farming/blue collar roots of the places? The relatively level terrain? The average personality traits?
Part of the reason that Minneapolis has a disproportionately larger influence on Wisconsin than you would expect based on population is specifically because southern and eastern WI have plenty of metro areas of their own. If you cut off the southern and eastern quarters of Wisconsin, the largest city is... Eau Claire.
Wisconsin has it's own identify, thank you. It has numerous larger cities than does Minnesota, and a higher population with a smaller land area. Stop trying to make it sound like Wisconsin is influenced by Minneapolis, for crying out loud. Maybe Minneapolis is influenced by Wisconsin - it's practically on the Wisconsin border.
Wisconsin has it's own identify, thank you. It has numerous larger cities than does Minnesota, and a higher population with a smaller land area. Stop trying to make it sound like Wisconsin is influenced by Minneapolis, for crying out loud. Maybe Minneapolis is influenced by Wisconsin - it's practically on the Wisconsin border.
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Wisconsin is influenced by Minnesota. Minnesota is also influenced by Wisconsin. I'm sorry that notion offends you.
Wisconsin is influenced by Minnesota. Minnesota is also influenced by Wisconsin. I'm sorry that notion offends you.
I don't even know how we got here.
I agree--both states influence each other. There are numerous similarities.
As far as a common attribue among all Midwestern states, I would say that agriculture as a strong feature would be a good leveling point (regardles of whether it's corn or wheat)...
What is a common thread that makes Bismarck, North Dakota and Akron, Ohio both Midwestern? Would you say it's the farming/blue collar roots of the places? The relatively level terrain? The average personality traits?
We are a stubborn people who can debate a whole lot of nothing for hours.
But we'll give you the shirt off our back when you're in distress.
Everyone has got some facts wrong since we're typing off the cuff. I got wrong that Minneapolis peeked around 1950. Big deal, I corrected myself when I researched it. That was the only one. What other fact I get wrong?
People from the western UP and northern Wisconsin are real close. If it has no pull for Yupers, then it's similarly not a destination for people in northern Wisconsin. It's my impression that only Wisconsites near the TC drive there, which is only those near the Wisconsin-Minnesota border. You'll see a ton of Wisconsin plates in Chicago. Second only to Illinois.
Now you may see a 1000 Wisconsin tags in Minnesota over the summer. But how do you know you won't see 10,000 Wisconsin tags if you lived in Chicago
I've lived in BOTH cities and there are too many Wisconsin "tags" in both!
BTW, a drive from Minneapolis to Madison or Chicago isn't a big deal in that region....people from all 3 cities (4 with Milwaukee) do it regularly, and I-90/94 is chock full of Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota plates.....in fact, I'd say there's possibly less than 50% Wisconsin plates/tags in its own state along that freeway.
I think it's a pretty safe claim to say there are more ties to Chicago than the Twin Cities for the State of Wisconsin and Madison and Milwaukee in particular, but that really almost goes without saying. There IS a lot of back and forth between Madison and Milwaukee to the Twin Cities as well, seeing as though about 50% of the new people I've met in MN since highschool are Wisconsinites from that region. A lot of people with families throughout the Midwest travel back and forth to see family (like me), so there's going to be a lot of intra-regional traveling going on for just about any city, but I can at least defend the 410 miles between Chicago and Minneapolis, since I have family and friends in the largest cities along that stretch of the Midwest.
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