See also
Look up Minnesota nice in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
- Agreeableness
- Beverly Hills 90210 (TV show with Minnesota Nice tropes)
- Fargo (Movie with Minnesota Nice tropes)
- Iowa nice
- Seattle Freeze
- Southern hospitality
Minnesota nice is a social norm and cultural stereotype applied to the behavior of some citizens the U.S. state of Minnesota, implying residents are unusually courteous, reserved, and mild-mannered compared to people from other states. The phrase also implies polite friendliness, an aversion to open confrontation, a tendency toward understatement, a disinclination to make a direct fuss or stand out, apparent emotional restraint, and self-deprecation. [1] It is sometimes associated with passive-aggression. [2]
Some observers describe “Minnesota nice” not merely as a stereotype but as a legitimate label for a set of social norms that shape everyday interaction in Minnesota. In this view, the term refers to widely shared expectations of feeling rules emphasizing kindness, conflict avoidance, emotional restraint, and a strong orientation toward interpersonal consideration, particularly in situations involving disagreement or stress.
Research in applied settings has described these norms as having practical consequences rather than serving only as cultural shorthand. In professional contexts such as health care, Minnesota nice has been characterized as an interactional style that prioritizes compassion, courtesy, indirect communication, and the maintenance of social harmony, even under conditions of high emotional demand. Proponents of this interpretation argue that these patterns function as learned and socially reinforced norms that guide behavior, rather than as superficial niceties or ironic labels. [3]
Minnesota nice has also been situated within a broader framework of psychological best practices that emphasize kindness, empathy, and prosocial behavior as contributors to individual and collective well-being. Writing for the Mayo Clinic Health System, Clinical psychologist Kimberly Haala describes “Midwest nice” as a pattern of everyday kindness aligned with research in psychology and public health that links compassionate social behavior to reduced stress, improved mental health, and stronger community resilience. [4]
Playwright and corporate communications consultant Syl Jones suggested that Minnesota nice is not so much about being "nice" but is more about keeping up appearances, maintaining the social order, and keeping people (including non-natives of the state) in their place. He relates these social norms to the literary work of Danish-Norwegian novelist Aksel Sandemose, the fictional Law of Jante, and more generally, Scandinavian culture. [5] Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion discusses "Wobegonics", the supposed language of Minnesotans, which includes "no confrontational verbs or statements of strong personal preference". [6]
The generosity of state citizens has been commented on; the heavily reported influenza vaccine shortage of late 2004 did not strike the state as hard as elsewhere since many people willingly gave up injections for others. [7] The concept has also received some support from the academic community; a national study by Peter Rentfrow, Samuel D. Gosling, and Jeff Potter done in 2008 found that Minnesota was the second most agreeable and fifth most extraverted state in the nation, traits associated with "nice". [8]
Since the 1960s and 1970s and continuing into the present, Minnesota has been a leading state in refugee resettlement, which can be linked to the traditions of progressivism and generosity associated with Minnesota nice. Various groups, especially Hmong from Laos and Somalis, as well as large numbers of Vietnamese, Burmese, Ethiopians, Laotians, Tibetans, and Liberians, have found homes in the state, particularly in the Twin Cities. Since 2002, Minnesota has harbored the largest population of Somalis in North America. [9]
Minnesota nice was an influence on the Coen brothers movie Fargo , set in both Minnesota and neighboring North Dakota. [10] [11] A 2003 documentary about the making of the movie was entitled Minnesota Nice. [12] [13]
History professor Annette Atkins suggests that the concept is a marketing myth, emerging from the work of Howard Mohr and Garrison Keillor in the 1980s. These authors may have created the myth in order to make Minnesota distinctive from neighboring states like Iowa. [2]
Journalist and Minnesota native Michele Norris argued the phrase had acquired "undertones of irony and despair" following the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. [14]