For 2010, housing costs continue to consume a large portion of Minnesota families’ income. For many, extended economic hardship is taking a toll.

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Summary findings include:

Ownership and Rental Costs Up Since 2001

• From 2001–2009, 4 in 5 Minnesota counties experienced increases in home sale prices for non-foreclosures, after adjusting for inflation.
• Home sale prices rose by 40% or more in Becker, Beltrami, Clearwater, Lake of the Woods and Swift Counties from 2001 to 2009. Hennepin and Ramsey County prices increased by about 9%, while home sale prices in other metro area counties changed little in this time period. Prices fell most dramatically in Red Lake, Yellow Medicine, and Isanti counties.
• 5 in 6 Minnesota counties experienced an increase in rental costs from 2001 to 2010, after adjusting for inflation. Rental cost increases were more pronounced outside of the Twin Cities area.

Workers Struggle to Afford Housing

• In only nine counties is owning a median-priced home affordable to all of MHP's five featured occupations working full time (elementary school teacher, registered nurse, police officer, food preparation worker, and retail salesperson). These nine counties are in western Minnesota with homes among the least expensive in the state.
• In not one county is renting a typical 2-bedroom apartment fully affordable to all featured workers earning the median regional pay for those occupations. Such workers would need to pay more than 30% of their income to afford a 2-bedroom apartment.

More Facts

• Approximately 22% of renter households--and 10% of owner households--paid at least half of their income on housing in Minnesota in 2008.
• From 2005-2009 in Minnesota, there were 87,364 foreclosures. Of these, 23,019 (26%) occurred in 2009.
• An estimated 13,100 Minnesotans are homeless on any given night. From 2006 to 2009, the number of homeless people identified increased by 25%.

Statewide

Minnesota


By County

*Note: Use caution in comparing data across counties for some measures. MHP County Profiles attempt to utilize the highest quality and most recent data available at the county or regional level. For much of the data, sources are consistent across all counties and may be compared. However, different Census Bureau data sources are used for some demographic and cost burden data, depending on county population size: counties under 20,000 utilize the 2000 Decennial Census; counties of 20,000 to 59,999 utilize 2006-2008 American Community Survey 3-year estimates; counties of 65,000 or over utilize the 2008 American Community Survey. Consult “Sources” on individual profiles.