Minnesota population, ancestry and demographics

Minnesota's population of 5,830,405 on July 1, 2025 is the highest the state has recorded at any census or annual estimate. It is 1.71% of the US total and larger than Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota; smaller than Michigan and Wisconsin¹. This page covers the state as a whole, not its cities or counties.

A new high, after a century in the middle of the table

The first census to count the area of today's Minnesota, in 1850, found 6,077 people, 37th of 38 among the places counted that year. Growth after that was fast: 1,310,283 by 1890 and 2,387,125 by 1920, when Minnesota ranked 17th of 51, the highest position it has held. It ranked 18th of 51⁹ in 1960 and 22nd of 51⁶ in 2020. The state has not lost population at any census; other states simply grew faster.

Source: Census Bureau, Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals by Race, 1790 to 1990; Census Bureau, 2020 Census apportionment results and historical resident population 1910-2020; Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025. Census counts every ten years (April 1); estimates for July 1 after 2020.

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Year	Minnesota
1850	6,077
1860	172,023
1870	439,706
1880	780,773
1890	1,310,283
1900	1,751,394
1910	2,075,708
1920	2,387,125
1930	2,563,953
1940	2,792,300
1950	2,982,483
1960	3,413,864
1970	3,804,971
1980	4,075,970
1990	4,375,099
2000	4,919,479
2010	5,303,925
2020	5,706,494
2021	5,714,055
2022	5,727,565
2023	5,752,998
2024	5,797,405
2025	5,830,405

The population today is 2.0 times its 1950 count. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses it rose 7.6%, 0.2 percentage points above the US figure (7.4%)⁶. Since the April 2020 base the state has added 123,672 people, the 18th highest gain in number and higher than every bordering state (Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin)¹.

Movers from other states came back in 2025

Minnesota grows from three sources, and in 2025 none of them dominated. In the year to June 2025, births minus deaths supplied 37% of its growth, net migration from abroad 38% and net migration from other states 25%¹.

The domestic part is the one that changed. Net migration from other states was −14,970 in the year to June 2021, −17,106 in 2022, −11,777 in 2023 and −204 in 2024, a loss each year that narrowed to almost nothing. In the year to June 2025 the flow turned to a gain of 8,300, the 17th highest among the states and higher than every bordering state (Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin). Over the whole period since April 2020 the domestic balance is still negative, at −37,202¹.

International migration covered that loss more than twice over: 96,812 people on net since 2020, with a peak of 33,360 in the year to June 2024 and 12,486 a year later. Natural increase has been steady at 12,071 in the latest year and 63,075 since 2020, 10th highest among the states. Minnesota recorded 62,576 births and 50,505¹ deaths in the year to June 2025.

Neighboring Wisconsin is the main partner in both directions. In the 2024 American Community Survey, Wisconsin sent the most people to Minnesota (20,316) and also received the most (23,463); Florida, Arizona and Texas¹⁰ were among the other leading destinations. Two-thirds of residents, 66.4%, were born in Minnesota, 10.0 percentage points above the US figure (56.4%)¹¹.

Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish roots

The American Community Survey asks people for their ancestry or ethnic origin, and counts up to two answers per person, so the groups overlap and do not add up to the population. German is the most common answer in Minnesota: 26.6%¹² of residents in 2025, the 6th highest¹³ share among the states. The Nordic groups are what set the state apart.

• Norwegian: 622,804 people (±15,709), 10.7% of the population. On 2020–2024 data Minnesota has the most people of Norwegian ancestry, 692,350, close to twice second-placed Wisconsin (363,327). By share it is second to North Dakota (20.3% against 12.1%).
• Swedish: 329,971 people, 5.7%. Minnesota leads every state on both count and share; its 2020–2024 share of 6.5% is about twice that of North Dakota (3.3%).
• Finnish: 89,056 people, 1.5%, again the largest number and the highest share, ahead of Michigan¹³.
• Danish and the general answer Scandinavian add 50,452 and 90,488¹² people. No state has more people who answer simply Scandinavian.

Irish (9.0%) and English (5.8%) ancestry are less common than in most states: English is the 6th lowest share. Few Minnesotans give "American" as their ancestry, 4.2%¹², the 5th lowest¹³ share.

Somali, Ethiopian and other African ancestries

The other ancestry readers ask about most is Somali. In 2025, 75,944 Minnesotans (±13,336) reported Somali ancestry, 1.3% of the population (±0.23 percentage points¹²). The 2020–2024 five-year data, the basis for comparing every state, put Minnesota first by a wide margin: 63,026 people, more than twice Ohio (28,515) and several times Washington (13,896). The Somali share of 1.1% in those years compares with 0.24% in Ohio and 0.19% in Maine¹³.

Somali is one of several East and West African ancestries that are more common in Minnesota than in most states. Ethiopian ancestry (21,522, ±5,161) is the 3rd highest share among the states; Minnesota has the highest Kenyan share and the largest Liberian population, though the 2025 estimates for both groups have only medium reliability. Taken together, 3.0%¹² of Minnesotans reported a sub-Saharan African ancestry; on 2020–2024 data that is the 3rd highest share after Maryland and the District of Columbia¹³.

The same pattern shows among people born abroad. Of Minnesota's 528,635 foreign-born residents (±15,822), 27.2% were born in Africa, 21.3 percentage points above the US figure (5.9%). Born-abroad residents make up 9.1% of the population, 5.6 percentage points below the US figure (14.7%) but higher than every bordering state (Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin), and 59.6% of them are naturalized citizens, highest in the Midwest¹¹.

The state language table does not list Somali on its own. It falls in the category the Census Bureau labels "Amharic, Somali, or other Afro-Asiatic languages", spoken at home by 100,550 Minnesotans aged 5 and older (±14,012), 1.8%: the highest¹⁵ share in the country. Of those speakers, 36.7%¹⁴ speak English less than "very well".

Hmong Minnesotans and other Asian groups

Minnesota has the highest Hmong share of any state. The 2025 survey counted 110,249 Hmong residents (±8,282), 1.9% of the population. On 2020–2024 data only California had more (110,932 against 100,413), and the next state by share, Wisconsin, stood at 0.99%¹⁶. Hmong is the most common Asian group in Minnesota by a wide margin, ahead of Asian Indian (50,133) and Chinese (32,680¹⁷) residents.

Southeast Asian groups are prominent for the state's size: the Burmese population is the 5th largest in the country, Laotian the 4th largest and Cambodian the 6th largest¹⁶. At home, 68,108 people speak Hmong, 1.2%¹⁴ of residents aged 5 and older and again the highest¹⁵ share among the states.

Lutheran and Catholic, with a large Muslim community

Many searches about Minnesota ask what share of the state is Muslim or Christian. The census does not ask about religion, so the best available source is the U.S. Religion Census, which collects counts from congregations. In 2020 the Catholic Church was the largest body, with 19.5% of residents, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America the second, with 607,275 adherents (10.6%). Mainline Protestant churches as a whole counted 13.6%, the 4th highest share and higher than Michigan and Wisconsin; lower than Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota¹⁹.

The mosque study estimated 114,590 people taking part in Minnesota's mosques, 2.01% of residents, the 6th highest share; it is an estimate of mosque participants, not of every Muslim resident. In all, 49.5%¹⁹ of Minnesotans were counted by a congregation, against 56.3%²⁰ in 2010, when coverage was different. See religion across the states for what these counts leave out.

Race and Hispanic origin since 2005

In 2025, 73.1% of Minnesotans were non-Hispanic white, 18.1 percentage points above the US figure (55.0%) and down from 74.7% in 2024. Twenty years earlier the share was 86.2%. Over the same period the non-Hispanic Black share rose from 4.1% to 7.4% and the non-Hispanic Asian share from 3.5%²¹ to 5.6%².

MinnesotaUnited States

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2005-2019 and 2021-2025. ACS 1-year estimates; no standard 1-year release for 2020. Shaded band: 90% margin of error.

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Year	Minnesota	United States
2005	4.1% ±0.1	11.9% ±0.0
2006	4.4% ±0.1	12.2% ±0.0
2007	4.3% ±0.1	12.2% ±0.0
2008	4.4% ±0.1	12.1% ±0.0
2009	4.4% ±0.1	12.1% ±0.0
2010	5.1% ±0.1	12.3% ±0.0
2011	5.1% ±0.1	12.2% ±0.0
2012	5.3% ±0.1	12.3% ±0.0
2013	5.4% ±0.1	12.3% ±0.0
2014	5.6% ±0.1	12.3% ±0.0
2015	5.7% ±0.1	12.3% ±0.0
2016	5.9% ±0.1	12.3% ±0.0
2017	6.4% ±0.1	12.3% ±0.0
2018	6.5% ±0.1	12.3% ±0.0
2019	6.4% ±0.1	12.4% ±0.0
2021	6.7% ±0.2	11.8% ±0.0
2022	6.9% ±0.1	11.9% ±0.0
2023	7.1% ±0.2	11.8% ±0.0
2024	7.5% ±0.2	11.8% ±0.0
2025	7.4% ±0.2	11.7% ±0.0

Black Minnesotans, counting everyone who reports Black alone or with another race, were 9.6% of the population in 2025, 4.8 percentage points below the US figure (14.5%). That share is higher than Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin; lower than Michigan²². Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 7.2%, up from 6.7% in 2024²; Mexican origin is the largest Hispanic group at 3.9%²³ of all residents.

Single group (adds to 100%)Alone or in combination with other races

White, not Hispanic73.1% 82.6%

Black, not Hispanic7.4% 9.6%

Hispanic or Latino (any race)7.2%

Asian, not Hispanic5.6% 7.0%

Two or more races, not Hispanic5.5%

American Indian and Alaska Native, not Hispanic0.9% 3.1%

Some other race, not Hispanic0.4%

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, not Hispanic0.0% 0.1%

Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table B03002; Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2025, table B02009. The dark bars are mutually exclusive and add to 100%. The light bars count everyone who reported the race, alone or with another race and of any ethnicity, so they overlap and add to more than 100%.

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Group	Share (single group)	MOE	Alone or in combination
White, not Hispanic	73.1%	±0.1	82.6%
Black, not Hispanic	7.4%	±0.2	9.6%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	7.2%		–
Asian, not Hispanic	5.6%	±0.1	7.0%
Two or more races, not Hispanic	5.5%	±0.3	–
American Indian and Alaska Native, not Hispanic	0.9%	±0.1	3.1%
Some other race, not Hispanic	0.4%	±0.1	–
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, not Hispanic	0.0%		0.1%

American Indian Minnesotans and the Chippewa bands

The 2020 Census counted 50,446 Minnesotans who reported American Indian as their only race, the 10th largest such population among the states, and 116,922 who reported it alone or with another race. The largest tribal response was the general answer Chippewa (25,171 people, alone or in combination), followed by specific bands such as the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians (7,438) and the White Earth Band (7,244²⁴). Counts for different tribes overlap and should not be added together.

Land, water and where people live

Minnesota covers 79,632 square miles of land, the 14th largest area of any state, and 8.4%²⁵ of its total area is water. At 73.2 people per square mile, Minnesota is the 21st least densely populated state. It is denser than Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota; less dense than Michigan and Wisconsin²⁶. The 2020 Census classed 71.9% of residents as living in urban areas and 28.1% in rural ones; the rural share is 8.1 percentage points above the US figure (20.0%)²⁷.

Age: the national median, with more children

The median Minnesotan was 39.5 years old in 2025 (±0.3 years), not statistically different from the US figure (39.5 years)³. The make-up behind that median differs slightly from the nation's. Children under 18 were 22.0% of the population, 0.9 percentage points above the US figure (21.1%), and the 17th highest²⁸ share.

MenWomenUnited States

MenWomen

85+

80–84

75–79

70–74

65–69

60–64

55–59

50–54

45–49

40–44

35–39

30–34

25–29

20–24

15–19

10–14

5–9

0–4

Source: Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025. Share of the total population in each age group. Vertical ticks: the United States.

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Age	Men (%)	Women (%)	US men (%)	US women (%)
0-4	2.83	2.69	2.76	2.65
5-9	3.11	3.00	2.96	2.83
10-14	3.27	3.13	3.08	2.95
15-19	3.35	3.23	3.31	3.16
20-24	3.31	3.22	3.43	3.28
25-29	3.22	3.09	3.46	3.37
30-34	3.32	3.23	3.41	3.38
35-39	3.45	3.40	3.38	3.40
40-44	3.41	3.37	3.21	3.27
45-49	3.01	2.95	2.93	3.03
50-54	2.72	2.69	2.83	2.96
55-59	2.81	2.85	2.86	3.02
60-64	3.07	3.18	2.96	3.21
65-69	2.89	3.09	2.75	3.08
70-74	2.36	2.59	2.26	2.64
75-79	1.70	1.98	1.71	2.08
80-84	1.01	1.29	1.00	1.32
85+	0.84	1.36	0.78	1.28

The older population has grown fast. Residents aged 65 and older rose from 954,601 in 2020 to 1,113,573 in 2025, and their share from 16.7% to 19.1%. The number of children fell over the same years, down from 1,320,460 in 2020. Men are a slightly larger share than nationally: the sex ratio, males per hundred females, was 98.7, 2% above the US figure (96.4)²⁸.

Income above every neighbor, poverty among the lowest

Half of Minnesota households had income above $92,297 in 2025 (±$1,085). The median is $7,517 (9%) above the US figure ($84,780), higher than every bordering state (Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin), and ranks between 13th and 16th highest among the states once survey error is allowed for. After inflation it was up from $89,409 in 2024 (in 2025 dollars)⁴.

What stands out is how few households sit at the bottom. Only 11.2% had income under $25,000, 2.8 percentage points below the US figure (14.0%), while the share above $200,000, 14.8%, is not statistically different from the US figure (14.8%)³³. Income is spread more evenly than nationally: the Gini index of 0.451 is 6% below the US figure (0.482)²⁹.

The official poverty rate was 9.0% (±0.4 percentage points), 2.8 percentage points below the US figure (11.8%), ranking between 38th and 50th highest. Poverty among residents 65 and older, 8.1%, is 4th lowest in the country and down from 9.1% in 2024⁵. The Census Bureau's Supplemental Poverty Measure, which adds benefits, subtracts taxes and adjusts for housing costs, puts Minnesota at 7.9% on average over 2023 to 2025, 5.1 percentage points below the US figure (13.0%)³⁰.

Food assistance reaches fewer people than in most states. In FY2025, 452,645 people received SNAP benefits, 7.8% of the population, 10th lowest among the states. The average monthly benefit per person was $159.81, the lowest in the nation and $29.55 (16%) below the US figure ($189.36)³².

Prices are close to the national level. The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Minnesota's overall price level at 98.6 (US = 100) for 2024, 1% below the US figure (100.0) but more expensive than every bordering state (Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin)³¹.

Schooling and work

Minnesota adults are among the most likely in the country to have finished high school: 94.7% of those 25 and older had at least a high school diploma in 2025, 4.1 percentage points above the US figure (90.6%), ranking between 1st and 17th highest. A bachelor's degree or higher was held by 40.8%, highest in the Midwest and higher than every bordering state (Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin), up from 30.7%²¹ in 2005. Associate degrees are unusually common, 11.8% of adults, the 4th highest³⁴ share.

The record for current students is different. The four-year graduation rate of public high school students was 84% in the 2021–22 school year, 3.0 percentage points below the US figure (87%), ranking between 33rd and 36th³⁵ highest.

A large share of adults work or look for work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the labor force participation rate at 68.3% for 2025, the 4th highest among the states and 5.9 percentage points above the US figure (62.4%). The latest monthly figure, a preliminary one for September 2026, was 66.7%³⁶.

West Virginia 54.5%District of Columbia 72.2%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics. Each dot is a state. Period: 2025 (11-month avg, Oct 2025 missing).

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State	Labor force participation
District of Columbia	72.2%
Nebraska	70.1%
North Dakota	69.7%
Minnesota	68.3%
South Dakota	68.2%
Utah	68.0%
Iowa	67.8%
Kansas	67.8%
Colorado	67.2%
Massachusetts	66.5%
Alaska	65.7%
New Hampshire	65.5%
Texas	64.8%
Maryland	64.5%
Wisconsin	64.5%
Virginia	64.3%
Connecticut	64.2%
Illinois	64.2%
Rhode Island	64.1%
Vermont	64.1%
Indiana	63.8%
Missouri	63.6%
New Jersey	63.6%
Idaho	63.3%
Nevada	63.1%
Oklahoma	63.0%
Oregon	62.9%
Washington	62.8%
Ohio	62.5%
California	62.4%
Montana	62.4%
Arizona	62.1%
Pennsylvania	61.6%
Wyoming	61.6%
Michigan	61.2%
New York	61.1%
Georgia	60.9%
Hawaii	60.6%
Tennessee	60.6%
Maine	59.9%
Delaware	59.8%
North Carolina	59.5%
Arkansas	58.7%
South Carolina	58.4%
Kentucky	58.3%
Louisiana	58.2%
Florida	57.8%
New Mexico	57.7%
Alabama	57.6%
Mississippi	55.8%
West Virginia	54.5%

Long lives and few uninsured

Life expectancy at birth in Minnesota was 79.3 years in 2022, tied for 6th longest among the states, 1.8 years above the US figure (77.5 years) and longer than every bordering state (Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin). Men's life expectancy, 77.0 years, was the 5th longest³⁷ in the country.

Minnesota79.3

Wisconsin78.1

Iowa77.9

North Dakota77.9

United States77.5

South Dakota77.3

Michigan76.8

Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. State Life Tables, 2022. Period: 2022.

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State	Life expectancy
Minnesota	79.3
Wisconsin	78.1
Iowa	77.9
North Dakota	77.9
United States	77.5
South Dakota	77.3
Michigan	76.8

Few residents lack health insurance: 5.6% in 2025, 2.8 percentage points below the US figure (8.4%), although that was up from 5.1% in 2024³⁸.

Households, homes and veterans

Married couples make up 49.1% of Minnesota households, 2.5 percentage points above the US figure (46.6%), ranking between 5th and 16th highest. New marriages are less frequent: the marriage rate was 5.1 per 1,000 residents in 2024, tied for 5th lowest⁴⁰ among the states. The share of people 15 and older who are divorced, 9.3%, is 0.9 percentage points below the US figure (10.2%)⁴¹. Single-mother households are 8.7%, 3.4 percentage points below the US figure (12.1%)³⁹.

Homeownership is common: 72.1% of households own their home, 6.8 percentage points above the US figure (65.3%) and the 6th highest⁴² rate, and 65.5%⁴³ of homes are single-family houses.

Minnesota has 240,553 veterans (±6,594), 5.3% of civilian adults and the 10th lowest⁴⁴ share. More of them served in earlier eras than veterans nationally: 35.0% served in the Vietnam era, 4.1 percentage points above the US figure (30.9%), and 24.2% after September 2001, 7.2 percentage points below the US figure (31.4%)⁴⁵.