by Oriane Casale
December 2024
Newly updated American Community Survey data on poverty in 2023 (Poverty in Minnesota in 2023 - Census Bureau Tables, n.d.) indicate that Minnesota has among the lowest poverty rates in the nation overall and for a number of important groups, including families and children. However, these data also point to areas of concern for the state, specifically poverty rates for Black or African American, American Indian and Hispanic or Latino Minnesotans.
At 9.3%, Minnesota's overall 2023 poverty rate is down 0.3 points1 from 2022 and ranked third lowest among the states, tied with Colorado, with only New Hampshire at 7.2% and Utah at 9.0%2 ranking lower. Minnesota's poverty rate is significantly below the national poverty rate of 12.5% in 2023. Likewise, Minnesota's poverty rate of 5.4% for all families ranked fifth lowest among the states3. For families with children, Minnesota's poverty rate of 8.5% also ranked fifth among the states4.
Figure 1 displays Minnesota poverty rates for the total population for whom poverty is determined as well as sub-population groups. The figure also shows how much the estimate (black dot on the graph) might differ from the true population measure (line with smaller dot indicating the low and high estimates). This helps to visualize where confidence intervals overlap, indicating where estimates may not, in fact, differ from each other if we knew the true population measure, as well as where they are significantly different from each other.
Source: (S1701: Poverty Status... - Census Bureau Table, 2023.; S1702: Poverty Status...Families - Census Bureau Table, 2023.)
Note: Low and high estimates in this table are calculated from the margin of error, which uses a 90% confidence interval.
Nationally and in Minnesota, poverty rates for children under 18 are higher than for the total population. In Minnesota, the poverty rate for children under 18 is 10.1% compared to 9.3% for the total population5, while the national poverty rate for children under 18 is 16% compared to 12.5% for the total population. However, the divergence between the poverty rate for children under 18 and the total population in Minnesota is much smaller than it is nationally – only eight-tenths of a point higher compared to 3.5 points higher nationally. This helps to bring Minnesota's overall poverty rate down compared to the nation and indicates that children under 18 in Minnesota are better off as a group, then they are nationally. Minnesota ranks fifth lowest compared to other states on this measure6.
Poverty rates for working aged people 18 to 64 years old are lower than for the population as a whole both in Minnesota and nationally. In Minnesota the poverty rate for this group is 8.9% compared to 11.5% nationally. The poverty rate is sensitive to employment status. The poverty rate for employed Minnesotans is 4.7%, while for unemployed Minnesotans it is 25.2%. Moreover, those who worked full-time, year-round had a poverty rate of 1.5%, the lowest of all the measures shown in Figure 1. Those who worked part-time or part-year had a poverty rate of 13.4%. Poverty rates for all these groups are significantly lower in Minnesota compared to the U.S.
For people who are 65 years and older, poverty rates are close to the rate for the total population in Minnesota and a bit lower than the rate nationwide. In Minnesota the poverty rate for this age group is 9.5% compared to 9.3% overall and significantly below the national rate of 11.3%.
Poverty rates by educational attainment show a sharp divide between those with a high school diploma or less, who have higher poverty rates than the total population, and those with post-secondary education including a degree, who have lower rates than the total population. The poverty rate for those who did not graduate high school is 22.6% in Minnesota, well above the overall poverty rate in Minnesota, but slightly lower than the rate for this group nationally7. The poverty rate for high school graduates (including equivalency) is 12.5% in Minnesota, again significantly higher than for the total population in Minnesota but significantly lower than the rate for this group nationally, at 14.6%.
The poverty rate for those with some college or an associate's degree is 7.7% in Minnesota, significantly lower than poverty among the total population and significantly lower than poverty for this group nationally, which is 10%. Those with a bachelor's degree or higher have the lowest poverty rate by educational attainment, at 3.5%. This rate is also significantly lower than the rate for this group nationally, which is 4.6%.
In the measures listed so far in this article, Minnesota has poverty rates significantly below, or about the same as, those of the nation. The more concerning statistics in Minnesota are poverty rates by race and ethnicity, where Minnesota shows some disparities.
Comparing poverty rates for racial or ethnic groups to the total population, at 7.5% Minnesota has a significantly lower rate of poverty for whites alone (alone means that this group selected one race for themselves on the survey) than for the total population. This rate is also significantly below that of the corresponding national rate, which is 9.8%. Asian Minnesotans have a poverty rate of 8.3%, also below8 that of all Minnesotans and significantly below the national rate of 9.9% for this group.
For all other race groups, as well as for people of Hispanic or Latino origin of any race, poverty rates are significantly higher than for the total population. This is true both in Minnesota and nationally. Moreover, the divergence in poverty rates from the total population is greater in Minnesota than it is nationally for Black or African Americans , American Indians , people of two or more races and people of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race).
Comparing Minnesota's rates to national rates, the poverty rate for Black or African American Minnesotans is 22.5%, higher than the national poverty rate for this group, which is 20.6%9. The poverty rate for American Indian Minnesotans is 29.3%, significantly higher than the national rate of 20.6%. In both cases, the disparity from the white alone rate is larger in Minnesota than nationally.
In contrast, the poverty rate for Minnesotans of some other race (not listed above) is 13.9%, significantly lower than the national rate for this group, which is 17.9%. The poverty rate for Minnesotans of two or more races is 11.8%, significantly lower than the national rate for this group, which is 14.6%. And the poverty rate for Minnesotans of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race) is 14.1%, significantly lower than the national poverty rate of 16.6% for this group.
Census data clearly show that Minnesota has low poverty rates overall, and especially for families and children and for working people and white Minnesotans. Several years with a strong labor market offering higher wages than nationally and policies that support children and families are likely responsible for this strong showing in 2023. However, it's also important to note that Minnesota has higher rates than the nation for Black, American Indian and Hispanic Minnesotans, who have not benefited as much from the strong labor market and higher wages in Minnesota, compared to other race groups.
"Poverty in Minnesota in 2023 - Census Bureau Tables." n.d. Accessed November 12, 2024. https://data.census.gov/table?q=poverty%20in%20Minnesota%20in%202023.
"S1701: POVERTY STATUS IN THE PAST ... - Census Bureau Table." n.d. Accessed November 12, 2024. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2020.S1701?q=poverty%20in%20Georgia%20in%202020.
"S1702: Poverty Status in the Past ... - Census Bureau Table." n.d. Accessed November 12, 2024. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST1Y2023.S1702?q=poverty%20in%20the%20minnesota.
Thanks to Molly Ingram and Carson Gorecki for help on this article.
1The margins of error on these estimates indicate that there may be no statistical different between Minnesota's poverty rates in 2023 and 2022.
2The margins of error on these estimates indicate that there may be no statistical different between Minnesota, Colorado and Utah. The margin of error is a statistical measure of how far the result may differ from the real population value. This article will footnote any results that are not statistically different as a result of the margins of error.
3The margins of error on these estimates indicate that there may be no statistical difference between Minnesota's rate for all families and the poverty rates for this group in all states ranking lower and one state ranking higher: New Hampshire, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont and Colorado.
4The margins of error on these estimates indicate that there may be no statistical difference between Minnesota's rate for families with children and the poverty rates for this group in nine other states including all those ranking lower and five states ranking higher.
5The margins of error on these estimates indicate that there may be no statistical different in the percent in poverty comparing the total population to children under 18.
6The margins of error on these estimates indicate that there may be no statistical difference between Minnesota and the other 10 states with the lowest poverty rates for children under 18. In other words, we may rank lowest on this measure, tied with Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah and Vermont.
7The margins of error on these estimates indicate that there may be no statistical different between Minnesota and the nation for this sub-population group.
8The margins of error on these estimates indicate that there may be no statistical different between the poverty rate for Asians compared to all Minnesotans.
9The margins of error on these estimates indicate that there may be no statistical different between Minnesota and the nation for Black or African Americans alone.
