Data Trends

Demographic Profile of Hispanics in Minnesota, 2011

Hispanic Population: 257,000
Hispanics as Percent of State Population: 5%
Median Age of Hispanics: 22
Median Annual Personal Earnings, Hispanics 16+: $19,000
Poverty Rate, Hispanics 17 and Younger: 31%
Home Ownership: 37%
Hispanics as Percent of All K-12 Students: 8%
Native-born Hispanics: 60%
Married, Ages 15 and Older: 40%
U.S. Hispanic Population: 55.4 million
Hispanics as Percent of U.S. Population: 17.4%
Median Age of Hispanics: 24
Minnesota Median Age: 38

Minnesota Latinos and Education

  • 14% of 18-24-year-olds are dropping out of high school, a number that has decreased to record lows (from 32% in 2000), but remains higher than non-Hispanic whites (5%), blacks (8%) and Asians (4%).
  • Hispanics enrolling in college has more than tripled since 1993, with 2.2. million Hispanics enrolled in 2013.
  • In 2013, just 15% of Hispanics ages 25-29 have a bachelor’s degree or higher (compared to about 40% of whites, 60% of Asians and 20% of blacks).
  • Almost half of Hispanic college students (46%) attend public two-year schools as opposed to 4-year schools (compared to 30% of whites, 32% of Asians and 34% of blacks).
  • Hispanics much less likely to have student debt, with about 22% of young Hispanic households (those headed by someone younger than 40) have education loans. This compares to 42% of young white households and 40% of young black households. This can be attributed to young Hispanics not being as likely to go to college, and those who do are more likely to attend community colleges where tuition is lower.

Source: PEW Research Center, a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. 2011 profile. Additional profile data and charts.

According to Nielsen, the Minneapolis-St. Paul ranked #12 of designated market areas experiencing the greatest growth of Hispanic population between 2000 and 2013. Source

Minnesota’s Hispanic population: 5 interesting trends

  1. Minnesota’s Hispanic population is one of the fastest-growing
    The Hispanic population of the United States is 54 million, making people of Hispanic origin the nation’s largest ethnic or racial minority. In Minnesota, the Hispanic population has climbed from 54,000 in 1990 to 271,000 in 2013. Today, one in twenty Minnesota residents identify as Hispanic.
  2. As a group, Hispanics are much younger than Minnesota’s overall population, and an increasing share are native born
    The number of Hispanic children in Minnesota has quintupled since 1990, and Hispanic children now comprise 8 percent of Minnesota’s under 18 population. The median age of Hispanic residents is 24 compared to 38 for Minnesota overall. Sixty-two percent of Minnesota’s Hispanic residents are native born and91 percent of Hispanic children under age 18 are native born. About half of native-born Hispanic children have parents who are immigrants.
  3. Most Hispanics reside in the lower half of the state
    The Twin Cities region is home to nearly 180,000 Hispanics. In greater Minnesota, the highest proportion of Hispanics live in southern Minnesota and central Minnesota, in part, drawn by employment opportunities in farming, processing, and manufacturing plants.
  4. High school graduation rates are on the rise, but still low
    Similar to the nation, high school graduation rates for Minnesota’s Hispanic students have climbed over the last decade. On-time graduation rates in Minnesota rose from 33 percent to 58 percent, but remain well below the overall state average of 80 percent. Just 16 percent of Minnesota’s Hispanic population age 25 and older has a bachelor’s degree, compared to 33 percent of Minnesota’s overall population.
  5. A high proportion of Hispanic adults are working, but earn below average
    Seventy-one percent of Hispanic adults in Minnesota are working, the 6th highest percentage in the nation, but still 5 percentage points below the share of all adults in Minnesota who are working (76%). And, on average, Hispanics fare far worse when they get their paychecks; the median income of a Hispanic-headed household is $18,000 less than the overall state median household income. About 1 in 4 Hispanic residents live in poverty, more than double the poverty rate for all Minnesotans.

From October 2014 article written by Nancy Hartzler, communications manager, Compass project. Full article with charts