Why is Minneapolis Growing Faster than Rest of Midwest? (St. Paul: low income, home)

[TheseGoTo11]

Minneapolis has grown 10% since 2010, way faster than any decent sized Midwest city, and is pushing a density of close to 8,000 ppsm. Is it agribusiness? educated population? what's behind this?

[Teak]

Jobs. Minnesota generally, and the Twin Cities specifically, has a strong economy and lots of jobs.

Minnesota's Fortune 500 companies are in growth ("sunshine") industries (e.g., healthcare, medical devices, finance, agribusiness) as opposed to "sunset" industries. There are also some privately held companies that people don't hear about because they are not much in the financial news (e.g., Cargill, CHS, Land O' Lakes, Thrivent Financial, Carlson).

And Minnesotans aren't afraid of some level of taxation in that it provides public goods (e.g., parks) and services (good schools, ice hockey tournaments) that make for nice diversions (related to diversity, eh?).

And although the cost of living is rising in the Twin Cities (e.g., home prices given the low supply available), prices are still lower than the left and right coasts.

It is the weather that keeps many from moving there. There is a saying, something like: Forty below zero keeps out the riff raff.

[Minnesota Spring]

I would also add quality of life to the list; in addition to the diversified economy. The excellent parks, educational system, being home to a huge university and the state capitol also accounts for some growth. The Twin Cities gained over 40,000 new residents last year, so it’s only natural that Minneapolis will become more dense.

[mr roboto]

Edicated population. Lots of colleges/universities. Jobs. Tremendous amenities (parks, schools, sports, outdoor activities). The only reason not to live here is the weather.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Jucy Lucys, Lutefisk.....and Babe da blue ox.

[Min-Chi-Cbus]

Originally Posted by mr roboto

Edicated population. Lots of colleges/universities. Jobs. Tremendous amenities (parks, schools, sports, outdoor activities). The only reason not to live here is the weather.

Well put!

I might also add that there isn't as large of a ultra-low income population here with fields of ghettos in the process of being abandoned like you may find in some of the largest, poorest, and most segregated Midwestern cities. For example, the one and only reason Chicago's city/metro population isn't growing -- and would be growing at a fairly moderate clip -- is because its worst ghettos are emptying out and it's offsetting some of the good things going on in the core and the suburbs. That all being said, I do believe that Minneapolis' (and St. Paul's) worst neighborhoods ARE actually losing population as well, but the scale isn't anything near as big as other Midwestern cities.

[Ghengis]

Originally Posted by Cruz Azul Guy

Jucy Lucys, Lutefisk.....and Babe da blue ox.

...Babe The Blue Ox...heh, heh, heh

--- Jerry L.

[treemoni]

The primary reason is it's a younger city. Give it time. You'll eventually face the same issues as other cities. The only reason you may escape some of the issues is because people are non-confrontational. Then again...hidden aggression is the most dangerous aggression. Good luck in the future.

[TimtheGuy]

Originally Posted by treemoni

The primary reason is it's a younger city. Give it time. You'll eventually face the same issues as other cities. The only reason you may escape some of the issues is because people are non-confrontational. Then again...hidden aggression is the most dangerous aggression. Good luck in the future.

Wrong. The primary reason is the strong, diverse economy where you get good bang for your buck (i.e. salaries vs. COL) and high standard of living as other posters have stated.

[treemoni]

Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis were also growing cities at some point...like Minneapolis. Time and experience has not caught up with you guys yet. And I think the people in the Twin Cities are not at all capable of handling adversity, so God be with you. For your sake, I hope you don't deal with what those others cities had to deal with. If you're smart, you'll learn from their histories so you won't repeat their mistakes.