Major Trends

Highlights of findings from key measures in each of the Compass topic areas. In addition, Minnesota is undergoing major demographic shifts including an aging and more diverse population. Check back, data is being added and updated frequently.

Children and Youth — Many finding support, but not all

All children need connections with other caring adults and access to quality enrichment activities to help guide them on their paths to adulthood:

Minnesota’s child population is far more diverse than generations before them, including many children of immigrants. The number of Hispanic children in Minnesota has grown 300% since 1990. Of all the Black children in our state, 35 percent have a foreign-born parent.
Seven out of 10 students were connected to caring adults in the community – such as a teacher, coach, mentor or youth worker – in 2010. Girls were more likely to than boys to report this connection to caring adults, and younger students were more likely to feel connected than older students.
About two-thirds of students in Minnesota participate in enrichment activities (such as sports, arts, mentoring, religious activities, or community education) three times a week or more. Yet, only about half of Hispanic and Asian students are highly engaged in these out-of-school time activities that are associated with positive youth development outcomes.

Civic Engagement — Leading the way

Overall, we have active residents who feel that their work can have an impact, as part of a larger community that can work together for common goals:

Minnesota’s 56 percent turnout rate among eligible voters in 2010 far surpassed the national average of 41 percent. Residents of the West Central region were most likely to head to the polls, followed by the Northland region. During the last presidential election in 2008 – which typically draws out more voters – Minnesota led all states in voter turnout, with about 74 percent of the voting-age population casting a ballot.
With about 39 percent of Minnesotans contributing time and energy to organizations in 2010, we outpace the national volunteerism rate by more than 10 percentage points. Our state ranked second in the nation in the percentage of residents volunteering.

Early Childhood — A good start that could be better

Birth weight and early screening for potential learning and health concerns are two important measures for determining a child’s long-term health and success:

Minnesota’s child population is far more diverse than generations before them, including many children of immigrants. The number of Hispanic children in Minnesota has grown 300% since 1990. Of all the Black children in our state, 35 percent have a foreign-born parent.
Seven out of 10 students were connected to caring adults in the community – such as a teacher, coach, mentor or youth worker – in 2010. Girls were more likely than boys to report this connection to caring adults, and younger students were more likely to feel connected than older students.
About two-thirds of students in Minnesota participate in enrichment activities (such as sports, arts, mentoring, religious activities, or community education) three times a week or more. Yet, only about half of Hispanic and Asian students are highly engaged in these out-of-school time activities that are associated with positive youth development outcomes

Economy and workforce — Not recession-proof

Like much of the country, Minnesota is experiencing mixed results as it seeks to emerge from the economic downturn. Overall economic growth has returned, although job growth is still lackluster and median household income has yet to halt its downward slide.

In 2010, Minnesota’s economy grew by 3.2 percent, outpacing the nation and 39 other states in GDP, on the heels of the prior year’s economic contraction. However, Minnesota’s growth rate ranks 28th among states over the decade.
Between September 2010 and September 2011, Minnesota added about 28,000 jobs (net), although the most recent month saw net losses of 15,000. Minnesota had 134,000 fewer jobs (nonfarm payroll positions) available in 2010 than it did in 2007, just before the recession began.
Real household incomes are down more than $6,000 over the past decade, falling almost to income levels not seen in Minnesota since 1989. White households in the state enjoy a median income that is $20,000 higher than households of Color.

Education — Not quite making the grade

We need to address education issues early in children’s lives and make sure academic progress continues through high school and beyond if we want our future workforce prepared for the challenges of a global economy. Currently:

Seventy-six percent of the 3rd graders across the state read at grade level in 2010, but only 59 percent those who transferred schools during the year did.
About 43 percent of 11th grade students in Minnesota achieved state standards in math in 2010, up significantly from 30 percent in 2006. High school juniors in the Twin Cities are slightly more likely to be proficient than those in Greater Minnesota.
Overall, only about three-quarters of our state’s students graduated on time from high school in 2009; and only half of students of color. There has been little progress improving this rate during the past 6 years.

In 2006, Minnesota's average annual greenhouse gas emissions registered a slight decline after increasing each year on record since 1970. The state will have to accelerate this positive trend to meet mandated targets for 2015 and 2025, as outlined in the The Next Generation Energy Act of 2007.
Residents of Fargo-Moorhead and St. Cloud enjoyed the best air quality of any metros in the state in 2008, while residents of Rochester and the Twin Cities metro areas had the lowest number of "good" Air Quality Index days.

Health — A region weighing itself down?

The health care debate has brought this important issue to the forefront, whether discussing universal health care coverage or the alarming increase in the obesity rate.

The percentage of adult Minnesotans with diabetes more than doubled between 1995 and 2010. However, when compared to other states, Minnesota has a relatively low percentage of adults with diabetes (about seven percent).
The increase in the obesity rate has become a national public health issue. About 1 in 4 adults in our state was obese in 2009, compared to 1 in 6 in 1995. Minnesotans are about equally likely to be obese as adults across the nation.
Minnesota ranked sixth best among all states in the percentage of residents under 65 who had health care coverage in 2009. Despite this, nearly 470,000 residents including 80,000 children, did not have health insurance.

Housing — Mortgaging people’s futures

Minnesota continues to have one of the highest homeownership rates in the U.S., but the proportion of the region’s households who are cost-burdened is on the rise.

The proportion of the state’s households that are “cost-burdened” (paying 30 percent or more of their income for housing), increased from 22 percent in 2000 to 34 percent in 2009. Residents of households in the Twin Cities and the Central regions of Minnesota are most likely to have a cost burden.
Less than half of Minnesota householders of color are homeowners, while nearly 80 percent of white householders own their homes. The 34 percentage point “homeownership gap” between whites and persons of color in Minnesota during 2009 is substantially worse than for the U.S.
After leveling off in the mid-2000s, the number of homeless people in Minnesota rose sharply between 2006-2009. The Wilder Research homelessness study, conducted on one night in October 2009, counted 9,630 homeless adults, youth, and children in shelters, transitional housing, and on the streets. This compares to 7,713 homeless adults, youth, and children counted in 2006.

Mirroring the nation, crime rates are generally lower this decade than they were in the 1990s. Between 2000 and 2010, the serious crime rate declined 19 percent across the state. In 2010, the West Central and Southwest regions were the safest regions in the state.
Perceptions of safety are remarkably similar for residents of Greater Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro. In 2009, 88 percent of residents in each region reported feeling safe walking on their own streets after dark.

The rate of traffic injuries and deaths on Minnesota’s roads has been on a decline since 1999, but stalled between 2006-2007 and again between 2009-2010, with 2010 seeing fewer deaths but more injuries on our roadways. Though traffic safety has been improving for all regions in Minnesota over the past decade, the rate of traffic fatalities has remained much higher in Greater Minnesota than in the Twin Cities metro.
Compass tracks bridge ratings as one indicator of the health of our infrastructure, especially in light of the 35W bridge tragedy in 2007. The proportion of Minnesota's bridges rated “structurally deficient or functionally obsolete” has declined from 16 to 12 percent over the past eight years.
On average, residents who lived in the 13-county Twin Cities area spent about 12 percent of their income on transportation in 2009. This percentage increased in recent years to match the spending on transportation of residents across the country.

Minnesota Compass tracks trends in Key Measures on a county, region, and state level. Now that you have seen the information, which of these do you think needs the most immediate attention?
a. Health care coverage
b. Per capita income
c. High school graduation rate
d. Crime rate
e. Something else not listed here

Poverty rate

Paul Mattessich

What is the "real" poverty rate? Paul Mattessich, Compass project director, looks at the original, official definition and the new supplemental rate from the U.S. Census Bureau, and explains what they really tell us.

spotlight trend

A 1-minute look at poverty trends.

more poverty data>

Ask a Researcher

Current trends and issues in health
Melanie Ferris, a research scientist at Wilder Research, who specializes in public health. Melanie shares her insights on the topics of health, community, and policy and systems change.