Minnesota ranks above Wisconsin in ranking of best states

Minnesota won 51% of its head-to-head matchups.

Author:: Melissa Turtinen
Publish date:: Apr 14, 2021

state of minnesota — Jimmy Emerson, DVM, Flickr

Minnesota ranks in the top half of states when pitted in a head-to-head matchup.

The website YouGov surveyed Americans and asked them to choose the better of two states from the 50 states and Washington, D.C., in a series of head-to-head matchups. The website then ranked the states based on the percentage of times the state won their matchup.

Minnesota came in at No. 24, winning 51% of its matchups. And while the Land of 10,000 Lakes didn't come in at No. 1 (Hawaii did, winning 69% of matchups) it did beat Wisconsin (the Badger state ranked No. 38, winning 44% of matchups) and all of its other neighbors.

North Dakota ranked No. 37 (44%), South Dakota ranked No. 44 (40%) and Iowa ranked No. 46 (39%).

Here are the full rankings:

Given Minnesota's tendency to laud its performances in national rankings, finishing 24th comes as somewhat of a rebuke after a challenging 12 months for the state.

But some on social media pointed out the fact that Minnesota beat Wisconsin, which is truly all that matters in such rankings.