Poverty Rates in Minnesota
Poor Residents in Inner Cities and Rural Areas Hit Hardest
With a poverty rate of 8.1%, Minnesota has the second-lowest poverty rate in the United States, slightly ahead of New Jersey. Minnesota is just behind New Hampshire, which has the lowest poverty rate in the country at 6.6%.
Minnesota’s low poverty rate is definitely something to celebrate about. However, it means very little to the people living in poverty in Minnesota. This article is about them.
Where the Worst Poverty in Minnesota Occurs
Most of the critical poverty rates in Minnesota (50% or more above the state average) occur in major cities across Minnesota.
However, it is important to remember that a city with a critical poverty rate in Minnesota is not going to be nearly as bad as a city with a critical poverty in states like Louisiana, Mississippi, or Texas since the state poverty rates are much higher.
The major cities (25,000 or more people) in Minnesota with a critical poverty rate are the following:
- Duluth (15.5%)
- Mankato (19.0%)
- Minneapolis (16.9%)
- Moorhead (16.3%)
- St. Cloud (13.1%)
- St. Paul (15.6%)
- Winona (17.3%)
Critical poverty rates can be found in a small number of rural counties in northwestern Minnesota as well. Those counties are the following:
- Beltrami (15.8%)
- Clearwater (12.4%)
- Mahnomen (15.5%)
Why the Worst Poverty in Minnesota Exists
Since critical poverty rates in Minnesota occur both in heavily populated major cities and in rural areas of Minnesota’s northwestern regions, it is important to understand the reasons behind both.
In rural areas like those of northwestern Minnesota, it can be much more difficult to access basic utilities such as electricity, water, and a sanitary sewage system than it is in urban areas.
Also, due to poor road maintenance, long distances, or lack of reliable transportation, it can be much more difficult to reach a school or hospital in some areas of northwestern Minnesota.
In the major cities of Minnesota, however, the higher poverty rates can be linked to a different set of causes.
In heavily populated urban areas, people are completely reliant on the market for all of their most basic needs. These needs include things like food, shelter, utilities, education, and health care.
Most people living in poverty do work one or more jobs. However, if the cost of these basic needs goes up at a faster rate than the minimum wage, then the working poor living in these highly populated urban areas suffer.
All of this aside, it is important to keep in mind that the reasons for poverty are as unique as the individuals who live through it. Though finding trends in a specific area is important, no generalization can account for everyone.
What is Being Done about Poverty in Minnesota
Since Minnesota already has such a low poverty rate, it is apparent that many people and organizations have worked to keep the poverty rate low in the state already.
One such group is A Minnesota Without Poverty, an interfaith group which has taken a very organized approach to the problem of poverty in Minnesota by creating multiple workgroups to tackle different aspects of poverty.
Another great advocacy group in Minnesota is the University of Minnesota Institute on Race & Poverty (IRP). The IRP “investigates the ways that policies and practices disproportionately affect people of color and the disadvantaged.”
Other more direct anti-poverty organizations in Minnesota help by providing food to the needy. These organizations include the Emergency Food Shelf Network, Second Harvest Heartland, North Country Food Bank, and Channel One Food Bank, among others.
References:
United States Census Bureau
A Minnesota Without Poverty
University of Minnesota Institute on Race & Poverty
