Minneapolis' economy is based on commerce, finance, rail and highway transportation, health care, and industry, as well as publishing, flour, food processing, figurative arts, insurance, and high-tech industries. Industrial products include flour, metals, automobiles, chemicals, electronics, computers, and precision medical device machinery.
AmeripriseFinancial is located at the IDS Center on the left, with Wells Fargo Group on the right Five of the Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Minneapolis: Target Corporation, U.S. Bancorp, XcelEnergy, AmeriCorp, and AmeriCorp. XcelEnergy, AmeripriseFinancial and ThriventFinancialforLutherans.Included in the Fortune 1000 are PepsiAmericas, Valspar and Donaldson. Target grew out of the George Dayton store that opened in 1902 on Nicole AvenueCargill, GeneralMills and other companies are sometimes considered Minneapolis businesses, even though they are based in the suburbs.
In 2005, Minneapolis far exceeded national averages for transportation problem solving, medical trials, university research and development funding, advanced degrees held by the working population, use of wireless LANs, and energy conservation. Popular Science has called Minneapolis America's "high-tech city." In 2006, Minneapolis was ranked the No. 2 best city in the country to live in by Kiplinger's Personal Finance and the No. 1 best city to live in for young professionals by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. and one of the "7 Coolest Cities" for young professionals. The Twin Cities region has an annual gross domestic product of $148.5 billion, contributing 63.8% of Minnesota's gross domestic product and ranking 8th in the U.S. in per capita income. This region is recovering from the national slump of 2000, with personal income growing 3.8% in 2005, though still 5% below the national average. The city's employment rate returned to its highest level in the fourth quarter of that year.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (and its branch in Helena (Montana)) serves Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and portions of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the smallest of the Federal Reserve Bank's 12 Federal Reserve Districts and operates a national payments system, supervises member banks and bank holding companies, and plays the role of banker to the U.S. Treasury. The Minneapolis Grain Exchange, founded in 1881 and located on the banks of the river, is the only exchange for hard spring wheat futures and options.
In 1993 Fortune magazine named Minneapolis one of the top 10 U.S. cities with the best international business environment for business. Of the 500 largest companies listed by Fortune, 31 are headquartered here.