GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION AND POPULATION ESTIMATES OF THE FIVE MAIN MINORITY GROUPS IN MINNESOTA

• Latino Minority Group
  1. According to information available from the Minnesota State Demographic Center published in June of 2004, the estimated immigrant population of Latinos in Minnesota is 175,000.
  2. The majority of this population is in the Twin Cities with Minneapolis having the single largest Latino population of any city.
  3. Other cities with substantial Latino populations include: St. Paul, Bloomington, Richfield, Brooklyn Park, West St. Paul, Willmar, Rochester, Worthington and Faribault.
• American Indian Minority Group
  1. According to information available from the McKnight Foundation “2000 Census-Increasing Diversity: Overview” published in 2002, nearly 82,000 people in Minnesota reported that they were American Indian or American Indian plus one other race.
  2. More than 60% of this population lives in Greater Minnesota, particularly on reservations or in traditionally Indian areas in Northern Minnesota. Cities in Greater Minnesota with significant American Indian populations include: Duluth, Bemidji and Cloquet.
  3. Of the remaining American Indian population (about 39%), the majority live in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
• Hmong Minority Group
  1. According to information available from the Minnesota State Demographic Center published in June of 2004, the estimated immigrant population of Hmong in Minnesota is 60,000.
  2. St. Paul is the home of more than half of all Hmong in Minnesota with Minneapolis having the next largest population.
  3. St. Paul is seen as the Center of Hmong institutional, commercial, educational, and cultural life in North America.
  4. Anoka, Dakota and Washington Counties have also seen increases in the Hmong population.
• Somali Minority Group
  1. According to information available from the Minnesota State Demographic Center published in June of 2004, the estimated immigrant population of Somalis in Minnesota is 25,000.
  2. The majority of this population is in the Twin Cities area with Minneapolis-St. Paul becoming a de facto “capital” of Somalis in North America.
  3. Somali refugees have recently settled in smaller communities around the Twin Cities including: Rochester, St. Cloud, Owatonna, Waseca, Marshall, Faribault, Mankato and Hudson and Barron, Wisconsin.
• Russian Minority Group
  1. According to information available from the State Demographic Center published in June of 2004, the estimated immigrant population of Russians is 12,500.
  2. While Russian immigrants settled throughout the Twin Cities, Jewish refugees initially settled in St. Louis Park, downtown Minneapolis and the Highland Park are of St. Paul, based on proximity to services.
  3. Communities of Russian immigrants are also located in Rochester, Pelican Rapids, Robbinsdale, Osseo, Shakopee, Savage, Burnsville and Eagan.
  4. Compared with Minnesota’s other major immigrant populations, Russian Immigrants are generally older (83% are 50 or older), have fewer children and are more educated (95% have at least a high school degree)

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RESOURCE LIST FOR GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION AND POPULATION ESTIMATES OF THE FIVE MAIN MINORITY GROUPS IN MINNESOTA

Census: More Foreign-born Residents; Minnesota Public Radio, web site address: http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200206/03_hughesa_census/foreign.shtml; June 4, 2002.

Estimates of Selected Immigrant Populations in Minnesota: 2004; Minnesota State Demographic Center; Ronningen, Barbara J., web site address: www.demography.state.mn.us/PopNotes/EvaluatingEstimates.pdf; June 2004.

Hmong Population in Minnesota Soars; St. Paul Pioneer Press; web site address: http://www.twincities.com/mid/pioneerpress/3030999.htm (must sign up for free access to St. Paul Pioneer Press to view this article); April 9, 2002.

Immigration in Minnesota; The Minneapolis Foundation; 1999.

Immigrants in Minnesota: An Increasingly Diverse Population; Minnesota State Demographic Center, Ronningen, Barbara J.; web site address: www.demography.state.mn.us/PopNotes/ImmigrationDiverse.pdf; December 2000.

Multicultural Resources and Education; Information taken from the Hmong Center web site; web site address: www.hmongcenter.org; August 27, 2004.

Passport to Rochester: Russian Immigrants in Minnesota; Post Bulletin; web site address: http://www.postbulletin.com/specials/passport/kulikov_facts.html; 2002.

Somali Immigrant Settlement in Small Midwestern Communities; A Research Project conducted by the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire Geography Department; Grossman, Dr. Zoltan – Assistant Professor of Geography and Schaid, Jessica; web site address: www.uwec.edu/grossmzc/somali.html; summer 2003.

2000 Census – Increasing Diversity: Overview; McKnight Foundation; web site address: http://www.mcknight.org/hotissues/overview_censusd.aspx; 2002.

2000 Census Shows a More Racially and Ethnically Diverse Minnesota; Minnesota State Demographic Center; McMurry, Martha; web site address: http://www.demography.state.mn.us/DownloadFiles/pdf/Census2000Race.pdf; May, 2001.