Twin Ports

Duluth–Superior Duluth, MN–WI MSA Twin Ports
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Duluth skyline
Map of Duluth–Grand Rapids, MN–WI CSA   Duluth, MN–WI MSA   Grand Rapids, MN µSA   City of Duluth   City of Superior
Country	United States
State	Minnesota Wisconsin
Principal cities	Duluth, MN Superior, WI Grand Rapids, MN
Area
• Urban	208 km2 (80 sq mi)
Population
• Metropolitan Statistical Area	291,638
GDP [1]
• Metro	$16.822 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code(s)	218, 715, 320

The Duluth MN–WI Metropolitan Area,^[2] commonly called the Twin Ports, is a small metropolitan area centered around the cities of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. The Twin Ports are located at the western part of Lake Superior (the westernmost part of North America's Great Lakes) and together are considered one of the larger cargo ports in the United States.^[3] The Twin Ports are close to many natural attractions such as the North Shore, the Apostle Islands, and the Superior National Forest.

The area is home to two long bridges: the Richard I. Bong Memorial Bridge (carrying U.S. Route 2) and the John Blatnik Bridge (carrying Interstate 535 and U.S. Route 53).^[4] Each bridge reaches across more than 1.5 miles (2.5 km) across the mouth of the Saint Louis River.^[4] The Aerial Lift Bridge was constructed in 1905 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It must be raised each time a vessel enters or leaves Duluth's harbor; the inlet on the Wisconsin side is not similarly obstructed.

Together, the cities rank as the 19th-busiest port in the country overall (44.2 million short tons [40.1 million tonnes] per year) as of 2002, though the area is the 7th-busiest port (13.8 million short tons [12.5 million tonnes] per year) when measured on foreign exports alone.

The census bureau's Twin Ports metropolitan statistical area, an area much larger than the Duluth metropolitan area includes all of Wisconsin's Douglas County, and Minnesota's Carlton and Saint Louis counties. With a 2020 census population of 291,638, the Duluth MSA ranked as the 170th largest metropolitan area in the United States. A tourist location that boasts many scenic natural amenities, approximately 6.7 million tourists visit The City of Duluth each year.