The Ethnic Composition Of Minnesota

Minnesota was the thirty-second state to gain statehood on May 11, 1858. It is in the northern and Upper Midwestern parts of the country. Minnesota is the 22nd most populous and twelfth largest by area of all the U.S. states. Over 60% of the residents reside in the twin cities area (Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan). The twin cities area is the center of government, education, transportation and business in the state. Minnesota is known as the ‘’land of ten thousand lakes’’ since it has the highest number of Lakes in the United States.

Demographics Of Minnesota

From about 6,120 settlers in 1850, the number of people living in Minnesota exceeded 1.7 million by 1900. The population grew by 15% per decade to reach 3.4 million from 1900 to 1960. It then increased by 11% in 1970 to attain 3.8 million and then averaged 9% to 4.9 million in 2000. The population of Minnesota has grown by 3.5% from 2010 to 5,489,594 people by July 1, 2015. As per the 2010 census, the gender makeup was 50.4% female and 49.6% male. About 12.9% were over sixty-five years, 27.1% were between forty-five and sixty-four years; 26.3% from twenty-five to forty-four years old; 9.5% from eighteen to twenty-four and 24.2% are below the age of eighteen.

The Ethnic Composition In Minnesota

About 85% of the people living in Minnesota are of European descent with the largest ancestries groups being Swedish (9.8%), Irish (11.9%), Norwegian (17%) and German (38.6%).85.3% of people in Minnesota are white. Minnesota has had a reputation of being way more homogenous than all the other states in the country. 5.2% of the population is black, while 4% is Asian. Native Americans represent 1.1% of the population. 

Most Populous Counties In Minnesota

The most populous county in the state, with a population of over 1,232,483 is Hennepin. One in every five residents in Minnesota lives in Hennepin County. Hennepin is the thirty-fifth most populated county in the United States. Its population has grown by 6.9% since 2010. The second most populated county in Minnesota which has experienced a population growth of over 6.3% since 2010 to 540,649 residents is Ramsey. Ramsey was established in 1849, and it’s named after Governor Alexander Ramsey. The third populated county is Dakota (417,486) followed by Anoka (345,957) and then Washington (253,117). Dakota is part of Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington which is the biggest metropolitan in the United States.

Religion In Minnesota

Over 50% of the Minnesotans are Protestants, with Roman Catholic being the most significant Christian domination in the state. A survey done by the Pew Research center confirmed that 32% of the residents follow Mainline Protestant traditions, 12% were Evangelical Protestants, and the Roman Catholics were 28% of the population. 13% are unaffiliated while the Black Protestant, Buddhists, Muslims and Jews are 1% each. Minnesota has over thirty mosques with a majority of them being in the twin cities metro-region.