Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol.
Already have an account?
By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR's or APMG entities' programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about MPR, APMG entities, and its sponsors. You may opt-out at any time clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication. View our Privacy Policy.
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?
Ask a 'sotan
Matt Mikus and Andi Egbert

Ask a 'sotan: How racially diverse is Minnesota?

Antonio Palma of Mexico, right, and Ahmed Ahmed of Sweden
Antonio Palma, of Mexico, right, and Ahmed Ahmed, of Sweden, raise their right hands in the air to pledge allegiance to the United States of America during a naturalization ceremony last year inside of the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul.
Evan Frost | MPR News 2018

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Ask a 'sotan is an occasional series exploring the questions from curious Minnesotans about our state. Have a question about life in Minnesota? Ask it here.

Ask a 'sotan received a question from Katherine Pekel about about Minnesota's diversity.

What kinds of racial diversity does Minnesota have today? In my own family, we now have European American, African American, South American so I am not sure how we fit into "racial diversity."

Minnesota is home to about 5.6 million people, and while the state is quickly diversifying, 4 out of 5 Minnesotans (or 80 percent) identify as white and non-Hispanic.

Within those broad categories, Minnesotans have lots of different ancestries, home countries and stories of arrival. Keep in mind though, about 15 percent of Minnesotans did not report their ancestry while others simply said "American."

A deeper look at the ancestry reported by Minnesotans who identify as white reveals the five most common ancestries are: German, Norwegian, Irish, Swedish and English.

Among those who identify as black, the five most common ancestries are: African-American or similar, Somali, African (no further specification), Ethiopian and Liberian.

The most common ancestries identified among the state's Asian population are Hmong, Indian, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese.

For the Latino population, the most common ancestries reported are Mexican, Spanish, Ecuadorian, Salvadoran and Puerto Rican.

And the most common ancestries reported for the state's indigenous population are Ojibwe and Dakota. Though the largest group who identify as Native or Indigenous do not specify their tribe.

The data for race comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2017 population estimates. Ancestry and tribal data were tallied from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2017 American Community Survey.

For our numbers, those who identify as two or more races are shown in each group that they identify with. We choose to display that data to better reflect those who are multiracial.

Nearly all of Minnesota's net population growth in the past decade has come from populations of color, and these populations are expected to drive future growth as well.

Andi Egbert is the APM Research Lab's senior research associate.

Have a question about life in Minnesota? Submit your question here.