Minnesota Among Least Diverse States, But Not For Long

By their own admission Minnesotans aren’t the most diverse group of people. 87 percent of that state’s population is white. Minnesota state demographer Tom Gillaspy was quoted in the startribune.com:

“Most of our population change this last decade is people of color,” State Demographer Tom Gillaspy said. “We are becoming more diverse, but we’re still one of the least diverse states in the country.”

But slowly, that’s changing as well. 80 percent of Minnesota’s population growth was fueled by Latinos and blacks. There are now a quarter of a million Latinos in Minnesota, a 74 percent jump from the last Census count.

Hispanics, who now make up 4.7 percent of the population, are dispersed statewide. That’s largely because of job opportunities in industries like meatpacking in southwestern cities such as Worthington and St. James.

Interestingly, or logically, most of the population growth happened outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Most of the growth was seen in the areas long the border with Wisconsin.

Follow Victor Landa on Twitter: @vlanda