Minnesota in the top 10 states for access to internet and computers at home

ST. PAUL - Minnesota continues to rank in the top tier of states for key measures of employment, income, and health insurance according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. The data from the 2013 American Community Survey reveals Minnesota made broad reductions in unemployment, as well as poverty rates for several racial and age groups, while the percent of uninsured Minnesotans was stable. Median household income also rose by $1,000 between 2012 and 2013.

Minnesota's economic vital signs are strengthening, said Minnesota State Demographer Susan Brower. "In the past two years, unemployment fell for workers of all races, and poverty ratcheted down for our Black and American Indian residents who have been hit hard by the recession."

Overall unemployment for Minnesota's workers in 2013 was 5.4%, the lowest rate reported in the past five years. Unemployment among Black Minnesotans, which was 20% in 2011, dropped to 15% in 2013, while Hispanic unemployment also fell from 11% to 9% over those same years.

"Unemployment rates are declining and key economic disparity measures are narrowing," said Matt Massman, Commissioner of Administration. "It is positive to see that Minnesota's economic recovery is being more broadly shared by our residents although there is certainly more work to be done."

Minnesota's median household income in 2013 was about $60,700, more than $8,000 greater than the U.S. as a whole, and 9th highest among states. The typical Minnesota household saw its income rise about $1,000 in real (inflation-adjusted) terms between 2012 and 2013.

Minnesota's overall poverty rate was 11.2% in 2013, statistically unchanged from the prior year. About 592,000 Minnesotans, 30% of them children, lived in families with annual income below the federal poverty threshold (about $23,600 for a family of two parents and two dependent children) in 2013.

Additionally, about one-third or more of Black and American Indian Minnesotans lived in poverty in 2013, along with about one-quarter of Hispanic Minnesotans. Importantly, however, poverty rates declined significantly for both Black and American Indian residents between 2011 and 2013. Young children (under 5) and older adults (65+) also saw reductions in poverty in just the past year's data.

Minnesota's overall uninsured rate in 2013 was 8.2%, statistically unchanged from the prior year. Only three states (Massachusetts, 3.7%; Hawaii, 6.7%; and Vermont, 7.2%) had lower rates of uninsured residents than Minnesota in 2013, while Iowa's rate of 8.1% was not statistically different from Minnesota's. (Data were collected before key Affordable Care Act insurance provisions went into effect).

The 16-county greater Twin Cities metropolitan area compared very favorably among the 25 most populous metropolitan areas in the nation. The Twin Cities metro ranked 6th highest in median household income, 3rd lowest for percent of uninsured residents, and 2nd lowest for percent of residents in poverty.

This year's American Community Survey also included data from new questions regarding computers and internet access, a topic of keen interest to business leaders, economic development professionals, educators and others.

Nationally, 88% of the nation's household population lived in homes that had a computer (either a desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone) in 2013, while 79% had some form of Internet access at home. Minnesotans were among the top 10 states in the share of its population who had some form of Internet access at home (83%). Asian Minnesotans were most likely to report Internet access in their home (90%), while American Indians were least likely to say so (61%). In addition, 92% of all Minnesotans had a computer in their home in 2013.

Table: Select data points for Minnesotans by race/ethnicity (2013)

BY RACE/ETHNICITY	Median Household Income	Unemployment Rate (16+)	Poverty rate (all)	Uninsured (all)	Has a computer with Internet access in home (all)
All	$60,700	5%	11%	8%	83%
American Indian	$35,800	17%	32%	23%	61%
Asian	$65,100	6%	18%	11%	90%
Black/African American	$31,000	15%	33%	15%	72%
Hispanic (of any race)	$41,700	9%	23%	29%	77%
Two or more races	$42,800	14%	21%	9%	82%
White, not Hispanic	$63,000	8%	8%	8%	84%

More information and data from the American Community Survey can be found on the Minnesota State Demographic Center's website: http://mn.gov/demography.

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Notes:

• "Computer with Internet access" may be a desktop, laptop, netbook, tablet, smartphone or similar device with Internet access (broadband or dial-up).
• The 16-county Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metropolitan statistical area includes the following Minnesota counties of Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Le Sueur, Mille Lacs, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley, Washington and Wright, as well as Pierce and St. Croix counties in Wisconsin.
• Error margins exist around data points, but are not shown. Figures for median household income have been rounded to the nearest hundred. Please contact the State Demographic Center for additional information. Some numbers are rounded. Additional data is available through the U.S. Census Bureau's American FactFinder tool at: http://factfinder2.census.gov/
• The 2013 American Community Survey provides a multitude of statistics that measure the social, economic and housing conditions of U.S. communities. More than 40 topics are available with the release, such as educational attainment, housing, employment, commuting, language spoken at home, nativity, ancestry and selected monthly homeowner costs.

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Contact: Curt Yoakum
Assistant Commissioner
Curtis.Yoakum@state.mn.us
651-201-2771