Demographics of Minneapolis

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People walking and biking on Franklin Avenue in 2016. Open Streets Franklin Avenue 2016 (29063302551).jpg
People walking and biking on Franklin Avenue in 2016.

The demographics of Minneapolis are tracked by the United States Census Bureau, with additional data gathered by the Minnesota State Demographic Center and the City of Minneapolis itself. Minneapolis is the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Hennepin County.

Contents

As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was estimated to be 429,606. The racial composition of the city is predominantly non-Hispanic White, making up approximately 58.1% of the population, followed by African Americans at 18.9%, and Asian at 5.8%. Hispanic or Latinos of any race constitute around 10% of the city's inhabitants. [1]

Minneapolis has a growing immigrant population that includes communities of Somali, Hmong, and Latino immigrants, among others. The 2021 ACS 5-Year estimates 14.8% of Minneapolis residents were not born in the United States. [2]

The age distribution within the city is relatively balanced, with a median age of 31.7 years. Economic factors also play a significant role in the demographic landscape, with a median household income of $58,993 as of 2020, and a poverty rate of 20.7%. [1]

Educational attainment in Minneapolis is higher than the national average, with 87.9% of adults 25 years and older holding a high school degree, and nearly half have a bachelor's degree or higher. [1]

Population and age

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1860 5,809
1870 13,066124.9%
1880 46,887258.8%
1890 164,738251.4%
1900 202,71823.1%
1910 301,40848.7%
1920 380,58226.3%
1930 464,35622.0%
1940 492,3706.0%
1950 521,7186.0%
1960 482,872−7.4%
1970 434,400−10.0%
1980 370,951−14.6%
1990 368,383−0.7%
2000 382,6183.9%
2010 382,5780.0%
2020 429,95412.4%
2021 (est.)425,336 [3] −1.1%
U.S. Decennial Census [4]
2020 Census

Early years to mid-20th century

In its infancy, Minneapolis experienced rapid population growth due to industrialization, immigration, and the city's strategic location near the Mississippi River. This early exponential growth saw a moderate stabilization during the first half of the 20th century. Despite facing significant challenges such as the Great Depression, Minneapolis exhibited resilience, with its population growing to 464,356 by 1930 — an increase of 22.0%.

Post-war period

The years following World War II presented a new set of challenges for the city. Population growth peaked at 521,718, after which Minneapolis experienced a gradual decline. The exodus to suburban areas was in part due to factors like "white flight," urban decay, and increased automobile ownership. By 1980, the city had lost a considerable number of residents, with the population dipping to 370,951.

Late 20th century to present

The narrative changed in the latter years of the 20th century and into the 21st century as Minneapolis began to regain its population. Initiatives to rejuvenate downtown areas, improved public transportation, and an influx of younger professionals and immigrants contributed to this renewal. Although the population remained fairly stable from 2000 to 2010, it experienced a significant increase of 12.4% by 2020, reaching 429,954 residents. Downtown Minneapolis has also seen a resurgence, thanks in part to increased housing production, boasting over 30,000 inhabitants. [5]

Metropolitan area dynamics

The Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area also witnessed notable transformations. While the metropolitan area doubled in population since 1950, the proportion of metropolitan area residents in Minneapolis and its twin city, St. Paul, dwindled from 70% in 1950 to just 20% by 2010. [6] Suburban expansion was a crucial factor in this demographic shift. [7]

Recent age demographics

According to the 2021 ACS 5-Year estimates, the population of Minneapolis has a diverse age distribution that suggests an overall aging trend. Specifically, there is a noticeable increase in the 25-34 age bracket compared to the 2010 Census, while younger age groups have slightly diminished.

Race and ethnicity

2021 American Community Survey of
race and ethnicity in Minneapolis [8]
White
61.1%
Black or African American
16.4%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)
9.8%
Asian/Pacific Islander
5.1%
American Indian
0.6%
Other races
0.7%
Two or more races
6.3%

Contemporary

As of the 2020 Census, the racial composition was 58.1% non-Hispanic White, 18.9% Black or African American, 10.4% Hispanic or Latino, 5.8% Asian or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 1.2% American Indian, and 0.5% some other race. 5.24% were of two or more races.

The city’s younger population has an estimated composition of 35% being non-Hispanic White, 32% Black, 17% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 2% Native American, 12% multiracial, and 9% of some other race. [9]

Historical

Minneapolis was overwhelmingly white for much of its history, with a composition around 99.0% white until approximately 1950. [10]

Black residents began settling in Minneapolis as early as the late 19th century, particularly after the American Civil War, when northern cities were considered safer from the racial politics of the South. Over time, many were concentrated in public housing, a trend that was later challenged and dispersed through lawsuits in the 1990s. [11] After the 1960s when much of the white flight occurred, the black population largely settled on the north side of Minneapolis.

The Asian population in Minneapolis, although historically insignificant, has grown in recent years to about 17,700 individuals. Originally consisting mainly of southern Chinese labor workers in the late 19th century, the city has since welcomed immigrants from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. The latter half of the 20th century saw an influx of Southeast Asians, particularly following the Vietnam War. [12]

Since then, the city has undergone significant diversification. Immigrants from countries such as Mexico, Somalia, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia have contributed to this diversity. Minneapolis is home to one of the largest Somali communities in North America, with approximately one-third of the 85,700 people with Somali ancestry in the U.S. residing in Minnesota as of 2010. There has also been a noticeable increase in the Mexican population, particularly in the South and Northeast regions of Minneapolis. [13]

Historical racial and ethnic demographics since 1860
Year White Black Asian
(incl. Pacific Is.)
Native Other
race
Two or
more
Hispanic or Latino Non-Hispanic White
1860 [14] 99.6%0.3%
1870 [14] 99.2%0.8%
1880 [14] 99.2%0.8%
1890 [14] 99.2%0.8%
1900 [14] 99.2%0.8%
1910 [14] 99.1%0.9%
1920 [14] 98.9%1.0%0.1%
1930 [14] 99.0%0.9%0.1%
1940 [14] 98.9%0.9%0.1%
1950 [14] 98.4%1.3%0.2%0.1%
1960 [14] 96.8%2.4%0.3%0.4%0.1%
1970 [14] 93.6%4.4%0.4%1.3%0.3%0.9%92.8%
1980 [14] 87.3%7.7%1.1%2.4%1.5%1.3%86.7%
1990 [14] 78.4%13.0%4.3%3.3%0.9%2.1%77.5%
2000 [15] [16] 65.1%18.0%6.1%2.2%4.1%4.4%7.6%62.5%
2010 [17] [18] 63.8%18.3%5.6%1.7%0.3%3.4%10.5%60.3%
2020 [1] [19] 59.5%18.9%5.8%1.2%0.5%5.2%10.4%58.0%
2021 (est.) [8] 62.4%16.6%5.3%0.7%0.5%10.2%9.8%61.1%

Languages

The language landscape of Minneapolis is predominantly English-speaking, with 78.8% of the population using only English at home. [2] Given that 8.4% speak English less than "very well", [2] the city provides services in several other languages, including Spanish (spoken by 7.1%), Somali (3.7%), Hmong (2.2%), and American Sign Language. [20] Other languages spoken by smaller percentages of the population include Oromo, Russian, Amharic, Chinese, and French. [21]

The following table presents data from the 2000 Census, detailing the languages spoken at home in Minneapolis. [22]

Language Speakers %
English 288,93080.94
Spanish 25,5807.17
Hmong 9,6652.71
Cushite 7,5252.11
French 2,5850.72
Vietnamese 2,4650.69
German 1,6750.47
Arabic 1,5790.44
Laotian 1,5040.42
Amharic 1,4850.42
Chinese 1,2200.34
Russian 9750.27
Japanese 7130.20
Korean 6590.18
Norwegian 5940.17
Italian 5740.16
Swedish 5400.15
Polish 5200.15
Mon-Khmer 4800.13
Tagalog 4450.12
Hindi 4250.12
Swahili 4250.12
Kru, Ibo, Yoruba 4050.11
Ukrainian 3940.11
Ojibwa 3790.11
Serbo-Croatian 3540.10
Tibetan 3090.09
Mande 2850.08
Lettish 2450.07
Greek 2400.07
Persian 2400.07
Urdu 2350.07
Finnish 2250.06
Mandarin 2250.06
Portuguese 2150.06
Dakota 2040.06
Telugu 1850.05
Thai 1600.04
Bengali 1400.04
Hebrew 1240.03
Turkish 1190.03
Fulani 1050.03
Dutch 1000.03
Czech 950.03
Cantonese 900.03
Croatian 850.02
Gujarathi 850.02
Tamil 850.02
French Creole 800.02
Romanian 800.02
Bantu 750.02
Danish 700.02
Nepali 700.02
Bulgarian 650.02
Indonesian 650.02
Irish Gaelic 650.02
Nilotic 550.02
Other Indian 500.01
Serbian 500.01
Hungarian 490.01
Efik 450.01
Yiddish 400.01
Malayalam 390.01
Formosan 350.01
Marathi 300.01
Pashto 300.01
Afrikaans 250.01
Hocąk 250.01
Lithuanian 200.01
Total356,954100

Households and families

According to the 2005-2007 American Community Survey, there were a total of 155,155 households, out of which 45.3% were family households and 54.7% were non-family households. Of the family households, 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them while 29.1% were married couples. In addition, 4.8% of family households were made up of a male householder with no wife present and 11.4% were made up of a female householder with no husband present. Non-family households were 54.7% of all households. Of the non-family households, 42.7% were made up of a householder living alone and 7.4% were made up of a householder living alone who was 65 years of age and over. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 3.11. [23]

Income, employment and disparity

After the recent boom of the 1990s, Minneapolis still lags behind its suburban counterparts in terms of income and employment. Job growth was double in suburban areas and with it, the labor force is growing faster outside the city. Though city wages are exceeding regional jobs, most of the increases are in the downtown area and in corporate industries where employees may not necessarily live inside the city. When downtown is excluded from the statistics, Minneapolis' neighborhood wages are 92.0% of their suburban counterparts. Neighborhoods have gained 5,300 jobs since 1996 but the industry makeup has changed with stable manufacturing and trade jobs losing the most in favor of education, health and service jobs. [24]

Though jobs are leaving the city, Minneapolis has a highly educated work force. The share of adults in the labor force was 70.0% and the recorded low unemployment rate was 4.7% in 2002. However, racial and ethnic minorities lag behind White counterparts with 15.0% of African Americans and 13.0% of Hispanics holding bachelor's degrees, compared to 42.0% of European Americans. About 15.8% of families and 21.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.1% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those aged 65 or over. [25]

Regionally, the population is continuing to decentralize away from Minneapolis, relocating families and middle to upper income brackets outside the city. Growth in the middle class has been slow with the 2000 median household income at $37,974 and the median family income at $48,602. However, the median household income now stands at $44,478 and the median family income now stands at $59,816. [26]

Religion

According to a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, 70% of the population of the Minneapolis metro area identified themselves as Christians, with 46% professing attendance at a variety of churches that could be considered Protestant, and 21% professing Roman Catholic beliefs. [27] [28] while 23% claim no religious affiliation. The same study says that other religions (including Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism) collectively make up about 5% of the population.

Religious affiliation in the Minneapolis metro area by movement (2014) [29]
Affiliation% of population
Christian7070
 
Protestant 4646
 
Lutheran 2323
 
Historically Black Protestant 44
 
Methodist 33
 
Other Protestant1616
 
Roman Catholic 2121
 
Mormon 11
 
Eastern Orthodox 11
 
Other Christian11
 
Other religion or association55
 
Unaffiliated2323
 
Nothing in particular1616
 
Agnostic44
 
Atheist33
 

31% of residents attend religious service at least once a week, 33% attend at least a few times a year, and 36% do only seldom or never at all. 42% pray at least daily. 69% believe in Heaven, and 51% believe in Hell. [29]

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