State of the State’s Housing 2019

In its second edition, State of the State’s Housing shows that more than a quarter of Minnesota families pay more than they can afford for housing — and that number is growing. As legislators make critical decisions about housing funding and programs across Minnesota, this report provides a comprehensive and compelling look at important metrics at the state, region and county levels.

In addition to spotlighting key trends, like the gap between the costs of housing and the salaries of in-demand jobs, the report also ranks counties on benchmarks like renter cost burden and showcases issues like aging housing stock with dynamic maps. The report also shares stories from communities collaborating to tackle local needs.

The major takeaway: Minnesota’s lack of affordable homes impacts everyone, everywhere across our state. And for people of color and Indigenous people, Minnesotans at the lowest income levels, and seniors, the impacts are particularly severe.

Click here to download the full report.


In 2019, from racial disparities to cost burden, many trends are going in the wrong direction.

Building on our County Profiles, released each year since 2009, MHP created the State of the State’s Housing to continue to benchmark progress at the state, region and county levels in critical areas, including

  • cost-burdened households paying at least 30% of their income for housing;
  • a comparison of what common jobs pay relative to what renting and owning actually costs;
  • changes in rent and home values;
  • construction of multi- and single-family homes;
  • trends in homelessness;
  • and more!

The report also includes county rankings and maps that reveal trends in areas like gross rent increase, affordable housing for extremely low-income households and housing cost burden for seniors.

Click here to download the full report.


Top five takeaways and solutions

Because our homes impact every aspect of our lives, the concerning trends highlighted in State of the State’s Housing affect all of us. Therefore, tackling Minnesota’s deep need for affordable housing will require collaboration and investment across all sectors and all levels of government. While there is no single solution, opportunities to address this issue are already within reach. It’s up to us to seize them together.

Download a one-pager highlighting the top five takeaways from the report and actions we can take NOW to address Minnesota’s pressing need for affordable homes.

Watch a video summarizing the report:


Regional analyses and County Profiles 

With 87 counties spanning urban and rural communities, Minnesota is diverse in its housing needs and challenges. Click below to download regional analyses and county profiles for your area of the state.

Central Region

The Central region is home to 282,160 households, 78 percent of which are homeowners and 22 percent renters. This region has the largest percentage of homeowners in the state, as well as the highest rate of owner cost burden in the state. The Central region has also seen some of sharpest declines in median owner income, and significant increases in housing costs in recent years. At $57,700, the East Central portion of the region has the second highest cost of living in the state, just behind the Twin Cities, with housing accounting for approximately 20 percent of a household’s budget. By 2035, the region is expected to gain an additional 41,715 individuals, making Central the second fastest growing region in the state after the Twin Cities. As the Central region grows, it will be critical to expand affordable housing opportunities for renters, homeowners, and seniors to reduce housing cost burden and support a strong economy

Download the Central Region Spotlight

Download individual county profiles for: 

Northland Region

The Northland region is located in the northeast area of the state, comprised of seven counties and spanning part of the Duluth Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and three Native American reservations (Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, and Grand Portage). The region includes 139,550 total households, 75 percent of which are homeowners.

Over the next 20 years, the region is expected to decline in population by approximately 4,000 individuals, one of just two regions in the state expected to experience negative population growth. The region also has the highest percentage of cost burdened renters in the state. From 2000 to 2017, the percent of cost-burdened renters increased from 36 percent to 46 percent of households.

Download the Northland Region Spotlight

Download individual county profiles for: 

Northwest Region

The Northwest region includes 12 counties and contains the metropolitan area of Grand Forks and the Red Lake, White Earth and Leech Lake reservations. The region includes roughly 67,650 households, making it the least populated region of the state by more than 25,250 households. By 2035, the population is expected to grow by only 2 percent, gaining approximately 4,000 individuals to a total of 175,380.

Download the Northwest Region Spotlight

Download individual county profiles for: 

Southern Region

The Southern region is the second most populous region in the state with 289,850 households in 20 counties. As the regional economic hub, the Rochester metropolitan area is home to nearly 30 percent of the region’s households. By 2035, the population is projected to increase by one percent, gaining approximately 9,250 individuals. A notable housing trend in the Southern region is the lack of affordable housing in rural counties, which we define as any county outside of the Rochester, Mankato or La Crosse metropolitan areas. From 2000 to 2017, four rural counties saw some of the sharpest declines in median renter income, yet housing costs continued to rise. The convergence of low renter incomes and growing housing costs forces nearly half of all renter households to pay more than they can afford for their home.

Download the Southern Region Spotlight

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Southwest Region

Although the Southwest region spans 18 counties, it is among the least populous regions in Minnesota with fewer than 114,000 households. Nearly 28 percent of the total household population is in Kandiyohi or McLeod counties, both of which are located just outside of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. By 2035, the population is projected to decline by 6 percent, falling by 15,302 people, marking the largest population decline and rate of decline in the state. However, the Southwest region has the lowest rates of both renter and owner cost burden. It also has the lowest rates of senior housing cost burden with 48 percent of senior renters and 20 percent of senior homeowners paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing.

Download the Southwest Region Spotlight

Download individual county profiles for: 

Twin Cities Region

With nearly 1.2 million households, the Twin Cities region comprises the majority of the state’s total household population. In the Twin Cities, large percentages of renters and seniors pay more than they can afford for housing — and racial disparities in homeownership are among the highest in the nation.

Download the Twin Cities Region Spotlight

Download individual county profiles for: 

West Central Region

The West Central region borders both North and South Dakota and is comprised of nine counties, spanning part of the Fargo Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and White Earth reservation. The region includes more than 92,900 total households, 75 percent of which are homeowners and 25 percent of which are renters. One of the most pressing housing issues in the West Central region is severe renter cost burden, which impacts the highest proportion of renters of any region in the state, at 24 percent. Additionally, the West Central region contains the highest proportion of extremely low-income renters in the state. By 2035, the region is expected to grow by only 4 percent, adding 9,970 individuals to a total of 236,660 people – well under the 11 percent projected growth rate for the state.

Download the West Central Region Spotlight

Download individual county profiles for: 

Click here to download the full report.

Questions about data? Contact gabriela.norton(at)mhponline.org. Media inquiries? Contact jenny.jones (at)mhponline.org