Demographics of Minneapolis, Minnesota

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Minneapolis (pronounced [ˌmɪniˈæpəlɪs]) is the largest city in the state of Minnesota in the United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 382,618 people, 162,352 households, and 73,870 families residing in the city.

Contents 1 Population and age 2 Households and families 3 Income, employment and disparity 4 Ethnicity and Ancestry 5 Immigration 6 References

[edit] Population and age

The City of Minneapolis population has decreased since its peak of 521,718 in 1950, with a small rebound between 1990 and 2000. The official Census estimate as of June 1, 2006 was 372,833 which is down from the 2000 Census report of 382,618. The U.S. Census 2006 American Community Survey indicated 369,051. In contrast, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area including suburbs doubled in population since 1950 and now has about 3.1 million residents.

In 1950, the metropolitan population was 70% concentrated in the central cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. By 2005 the two cities held only 25%.^[2] The population density was 6970/mi² (2691/km²) compared to cities of comparable population, St. Louis, MO at 5716/sq mi (2207/km²) and Miami, Florida 1158/sq mi (447/km²).^[3][4] Historically within Minneapolis, the population has been concentrated in the south and west due to natural (bluffs, river) and man-made barriers (railroads, industrial land). This trend continues in the southwest but also includes a portion of downtown Northeast and North Minneapolis near Golden Valley and Robbinsdale.^[5]

Increased housing production such as condominiums has brought the Downtown Minneapolis population to a little over 30,000 persons.^[6] Since 2000, condo construction has raised this number slightly. Commuters from the metro area bring about 95,470 of the daytime population to total 165,000 daily which includes those living in Minneapolis who work in downtown.

The median age was 31 years.

U.S. Census Population Estimates
Year	1860	1870	1880	1890	1900	1910	1920	1930	1940	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000	2005	2006
Population	3,000	13,000	46,887	164,738	202,718	301,408	380,582	464,356	492,370	521,718	482,872	434,400	370,951	368,383	382,618	372,811	369,051
U.S. Rank[7]	-	-	38	18	19	18	18	15	16	17	25	32	34	42	-	-	-

[edit] Households and families

There were 168,606 housing units at an average density of 1,186.0/km² (3,071.6/mi²). 22.6% of households had children under the age of 18, 29.0% were married couples living together, 12.3% had female heads of households, and 54.5% were non-families. 40.3% of households were individuals. 8.0% were individuals 65 years of age or older living alone. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 3.15. 22.0% of the population was under the age of 18, 14.4% was 18 to 24, 36.6% was 25 to 44, 17.9% was 45 to 64, and 9.1% were 65 years of age or older.

[edit] 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 91% of suburban counterparts. Neighborhoods have gained 5,300 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.^[8]

Though jobs are leaving the city, Minneapolis attains a highly educated work force. The share of adults in the labor force was 70% and the recorded low unemployment rate was 4.7% in 2002. However racial and ethnic minorities lag behind white counterparts with 15% of blacks and 13% of Hispanics holding bachelor's degrees, compared to 42 percent of whites. About 11.9% of families and 16.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.5% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.^[9]

Regionally, the population is continuing to decentralize away from Minneapolis, relocating families and middle to upper income brackets outside the city. Though still nearly 50% white, the city is an immigrant gateway with a 127% increase in foreign-born residents between 1990 and 2000. 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. Males had a median income disparity of $5,000 more than females.^[10]

[edit] Ethnicity and Ancestry

Before the 1600s, Dakota was the main ancestry in Minneapolis. Today they occupy a small percentage in the population, though mixed with the Anishinabe. From 1800 to about 1950, Minneapolis proper hovered around 90% white. Today, the city is diversifying like most metropolitan cores. Over half the population report white at 65.5% or 249,186 persons. Of this group, German, Norwegian, Irish and Swedish are the major ancestries. English and French follow after. The rest of the reported ancestries include other Scandinavian and Eastern European countries. This ancestral proportion will continue to reflect Midwestern cities and towns alike as more in-migration occurs to the urban environment. Recently, there has also been an influx of new immigrants from Northeast African countries like Somalia and Ethiopia, most first arriving during the 1990s and concentrated near the Cedar Riverside and East Franklin area.^[11] Asians were once a shrinking group as the East Asian population aged but also now experiences growth through immigrants from Southeast Asia, notably the resettlement of the Hmong.

In a historical view, Minneapolis initially reflected the mix of East Coast cities with Yankees and Britons alike which is why many downtown streets such as Hennepin, Nicollet, and Marquette are French names. There was also a short time when migrant workers, Mexicans and gringos, moved in the 1920s. Scandinavians came largely then as depressions hit nearly all the Nordic countries. Much of South Minneapolis housing built around 1900 results from this population influx. The Mindekirken Norwegian Lutheran Church on East Franklin in Phillips and the Sons of Norway fraternal building on West Lake Street in Uptown reflects these concentrations. Eastern and Southern Europeans, while not a large contingent, densely occupied Northeast when it was still the City of St. Anthony and the many orthodox style churches in the area reflect that history. Germans are currently the largest group having immigrated during and after World War II.

African Americans have quietly settled as early as the late 1800s after the Civil War when northern cities were seen as havens from the cultural politics of the South. However, African Americans who did not gain mobility into the middle-class were concentrated in public housing ghettos. This resulted in a lawsuit in the 1990s and public housing was subsequently dispersed in the metropolitan area.^[12] After the 1960s when much white flight occurred, the African American community largely settled in North Minneapolis. Until the U.S. Census definition on race changes, recent immigrant groups from countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Oromia into the area, have been bolstering the Black or African group growth rate. This group originally was made up of transplants from southern cities and other nearby mid-western cities such as Chicago.

Asian Americans historically did not have a significant presence but today at 23,455 persons, their influence is growing. Their history began with labor workers working on railroads in the late 1800s who resettled in Minneapolis. These were mostly southern Chinese and in time brought families and others seeking fortune. The 1900s saw movement from other parts of East Asia including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. U.S. events in that region resulted in greater influx of these populations, though Minneapolis only saw a small portion of the immigration that mostly settled in California. Chinese dominated the group until the Vietnam War generated a large refugee migration into South Minneapolis in the 1970s. This followed with Southeast Asians who experienced the effects of other U.S. incidents in that area. The Hmong nomadic clans were offered settlement and though most of that population went to St. Paul, Minneapolis received a significant share. As a result the 2000 Census reports 13,883 "other Asians," half the Asian American group, while Chinese follows next at 2,447 persons.

[edit] Immigration

[edit] References

http://www.theus50.com/minnesota/history.shtml

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