Do Wisconsin Residents Get In-State Tuition in Minnesota? (Undergraduate, 2026)
Yes — Wisconsin and Minnesota run Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity, so Wisconsin residents can pay the Minnesota in-state undergraduate rate of about $16,500 a year instead of the $36,000 non-resident rate at University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Check the current terms before you apply.
- You would pay
- $16,500/yr
- Resident pays
- $16,500/yr
- Non-resident rate
- $36,000/yr
- Saved over 4 yrs
- $78,000
Tuition and mandatory fees only, compiled from published rates and rounded. Excludes housing, books and course differentials. Eligibility is decided by the institution, not by this page.
Open this pair in the checker to switch level, compare other states, or copy a link to the result.
The two states negotiated this directly rather than through a regional compact. Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity is the result, and for undergraduate study it puts a Wisconsin resident at roughly $16,500 a year at University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
The comparison that matters is with home: University of Wisconsin-Madison charges a Wisconsin resident $11,600 a year. 7 other states offer Wisconsin residents a reduced undergraduate rate, the lowest being Iowa at about $10,201.
Before you count on it, check three things with the campus directly: that it participates this year, that your major is covered, and when its award deadline falls. All three change annually and none of them are set by the state.
Every route from Wisconsin to Minnesota
| Route | What it gives you | Per year | Saving | Guaranteed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity | The oldest and broadest state-to-state tuition agreement in the country. A resident of either state pays the higher of two figures: the in-state tuition at the campus attended, or the tuition at a comparable campus in the home state. The result is at or a little above the in-state rate. Students apply for reciprocity status separately from admission, through the Minnesota Office of Higher Education or the University of Wisconsin System. | $16,500 | $19,500 | Yes, if eligible |
| Midwest Student Exchange Program | Participating public institutions charge MSEP students no more than 150% of their in-state resident rate. Participating private institutions instead discount their own published tuition by at least 10%. Each institution chooses whether to take part and which programs it opens. | $24,750 | $11,250 | Conditional |
Where Wisconsin residents pay less
Staying home, a Wisconsin resident pays $11,600 a year for in-state undergraduate tuition at University of Wisconsin-Madison. The cheapest Minnesota option for you is $16,500 at University of Minnesota Twin Cities, which is $4,900 a year more than staying home, or $19,600 over 4 years.
Wisconsin belongs to Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP) at undergraduate level, so 8 of 50 states offer Wisconsin undergraduate students a reduced rate, and Minnesota is one of them.
| State | Route | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin to Iowa | UNI Neighboring State Rate · University of Northern Iowa | $10,201 |
| Wisconsin to Nebraska | Midwest Student Exchange Program · University of Nebraska-Lincoln | $15,450 |
| Wisconsin to North Dakota | Midwest Student Exchange Program · University of North Dakota | $16,650 |
| Wisconsin to Indiana | Midwest Student Exchange Program · Indiana University Bloomington | $18,000 |
| Wisconsin to Kansas | Midwest Student Exchange Program · University of Kansas | $18,000 |
Wisconsin's neighboring states, compared
What a Wisconsin resident pays for undergraduate tuition in each state that borders Wisconsin, cheapest first:
- Iowa$10,201/yr · UNI Neighboring State Rate
- Minnesota$16,500/yr · Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity
- Illinois$38,000/yr · non-resident
- Michigan$58,000/yr · non-resident
Compare all 50 states from Wisconsin in the checker. Each figure is one reference campus per state, not a state average.
Minnesota residency, in brief
Minnesota grants in-state tuition after 12 months of domicile before the term begins (Minn. Stat. § 135A.031), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile. Moving to Minnesota to enroll does not by itself start the clock.
Minnesota residency requirements in full · how long every state requires
Step by step
- Read the current terms of Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity — bilateral agreements are renegotiated and can narrow to specific campuses or majors between academic years.
- Apply through the channel the agreement specifies; several are administered by the home state's higher-education agency, not by the receiving campus.
- Provide proof of Wisconsin residency in the form the agreement requires.
- If you fall outside the agreement's scope, fall back to the residency route: 12 months of Minnesota domicile.
Official links
Related
Asked and answered
›Do Wisconsin residents get in-state tuition in Minnesota?
Effectively yes, through Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity, but it is not residency. You pay the in-state rate of about $16,500 while remaining a Wisconsin resident for every other purpose, and the benefit ends if you leave the approved program.
›How long does it take to get in-state tuition in Minnesota?
Minnesota requires 12 months of domicile before the term begins (Minn. Stat. § 135A.031), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile.
›How much would undergraduate study in Minnesota actually cost a Wisconsin resident?
About $16,500 a year in tuition and mandatory fees under Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity, against $36,000 at the published non-resident rate and $16,500 for a Minnesota resident. Over 4 years that is roughly $78,000 saved. Figures are compiled 2025–26 published rates and exclude housing, books and course-specific differentials.
›Is there more than one way to lower the cost?
Yes — 2 routes apply to this pair: Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity, Midwest Student Exchange Program. They are not stackable. You take the one you qualify for, and where more than one applies the campus normally applies whichever produces the lower rate.
›Where can Wisconsin residents get reduced undergraduate tuition?
In 8 states at undergraduate level. Outside Minnesota, the lowest are Iowa ($10,201), Nebraska ($15,450), North Dakota ($16,650). Each figure is one reference campus, and awards are made campus by campus.
›Is studying in Minnesota cheaper than staying in Wisconsin?
No. Wisconsin's in-state undergraduate rate is $11,600 a year at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the cheapest Minnesota option for a Wisconsin resident is $16,500, so Minnesota costs about $4,900 more a year, or $19,600 over 4 years, in tuition and fees alone.
Sources
Every eligibility rule on this page is checked against the operating compact commission or the state's own residency authority. Last verified 2026-09-27.
Tuition figures on this page are compiled 2025–26 published rates (basis: published compiled), rounded to the nearest $100 and refreshed each June. Eligibility rules are checked against the cited compact commission or residency authority.
- Minnesota Office of Higher Education — residency for tuition purposes ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Minnesota Twin Cities — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Wisconsin-Madison — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
How this page was made
Compiled and checked by Billy Reiner, editor of In-State Check. Last verified 2026-09-27.
- Compiled from published rate pages
- The in-state and non-resident figures are tuition and mandatory fees for one full-time year, read from University of Minnesota Twin Cities’s own 2025–26 rate page and rounded to the nearest $100. Housing, books, travel and course-specific differentials are not included in them.
- Checked against the administering body
- Compact membership at this level was checked against the commission that runs the program (MHEC). The residency test — the durational requirement, the domicile evidence and the dependent-student rule — was checked against Minnesota Office of Higher Education, Minn. Stat. § 135A.031. Nothing here is taken from another comparison site.
Not advice. In-State Check is independent of every college, compact and state agency named here. Residency classification and award decisions are made by the institution you apply to. Found an error? Send the page URL and the source that contradicts it to [email protected], and the page is corrected and re-dated. Full methodology.