Major Trends

Highlights of findings from key measures throughout the site. Check back, data is being added and updated frequently.

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:

With about 74 percent of the voting-age population casting a ballot during the 2008 election, Minnesota led all states in voter turnout, followed by Maine, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. Residents of the Twin Cities region were most likely to head to the polls, followed by the Northland region.
With about 37 percent of Minnesotans contributing time and energy to organizations, we outpace the national volunteerism rate by more than 10 percentage points. Our state ranked third in the nation (behind Utah and Nebraska) in 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:

During 2007, 1 in 20 babies (single births) born in Minnesota was low birth weight.
Early childhood screening is required for kindergarten entrance, but screening at age 3 or 4 provides more benefit to children and the schools who will receive them. Efforts to screen children at a younger age are improving: 4 out of 5 of the children screened across the state in 2008 were under age 5.

Economy and workforce — Economic engine stalled but still chugging

Minnesota has not been immune to the economic recession, overall economic growth slowed and per capita income stagnated in 2008:

In 2008, Minnesota’s total economic output (GDP) per capita ranked 9th largest among the 50 states, while the growth rate ranks 29th for the decade.
From 2001 to 2008 Minnesota's economy grew by a compound annual rate of 2.2 percent, similar to the 2.3 growth rate for the nation's Gross Domestic Product.
In Minnesota nearly 79 percent of adults (16-64) are employed, compared to 71 percent in the U.S. overall. The employment gap between persons of color and whites has narrowed in recent year, but large disparities still exist, with a gap of more than ten percentage points in 2005-2007.

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:

Four out of five of the 3rd graders across the state read at grade level in 2009, but only 3 out of five of those who transferred schools during the year did.
About 42 percent of 11th grade students in Minnesota achieved state standards in math in 2009, up significantly from 30% in 2006. High school juniors in the Twin Cities are slightly more likely to be proficient than those in Greater Minnesota.
Overall, only about 7 of 10 of our state’s students graduating on time from high school in 2008; less than half of students of color did. There has been little progress improving these rates 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.
The Air Quality Index, which is the Environmental Protection Agency's measure of our air quality on a daily basis, rated the air in the Twin Cities region “good” about three-fourths of the days during 2008. This was the best percentage of good air quality days this decade.

Health — A region weighing itself down?

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

The percentage of adult Minnesotans with diabetes nearly doubled between 1995 and 2008. However, at 5.9 percent, Minnesota has the lowest percentage of adults with diabetes among all states.
About 1 in 4 adults in our state was obese in 2008, up from 1 in 6 in 1995. Minnesotans are about equally likely to be obese as adults across the nation.
Minnesota ranked third best among all states — behind only Massachusetts and Hawaii — in the percentage of residents under 65 who had health care coverage in 2008. Despite this, nearly 450,000 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 2008. 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 32 percentage point “homeownership gap” between whites and persons of color in Minnesota during 2008 is substantially worse than for the U.S.

Public Safety — Safer, but not yet safe

Mirroring the nation, crime rates are generally lower this decade than they were in the 1990s:

Between 2000 and 2008, the serious crime rate declined 12 percent across the state. In 2008, The West Central and Southwest regions were the safest regions in the state.
Among all counties, Lincoln and Red Lake had the lowest rates of crime in 2008.

The number and rate of traffic injuries and deaths on Minnesota’s roads has been declining. The Twin Region experienced about 1,700 fewer injuries and 32 fewer deaths in 2008 than in 2007.
Compass tracks bridge ratings as one indicator of the health of our infrastructure, especially in light of the 35W bridge tragedy in 2007. Within the Twin Cities 7-county area, the proportion of bridges rated “structurally deficient or functionally obsolete” has declined from 20 to 15 percent over the past seven years.
On average, residents who live in the 13-county Twin Cities area spend less of their income on transportation expenses than residents across the country (11% compared to 14% in 2008). Average annual households spending on transportation fell from about $10,000 per year to $8,700 per year between 2007 and 2008.

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

Ask a Researcher

Take an educated guess: Where do the best 3rd grade readers in Minnesota live? Who is struggling to keep up? Is Minnesota vying for federal dollars in the Race To The Top? Andi Egbert answers these questions and more.