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Key Facts - Income in the Region

• The exceptionally long economic expansion of the 1990s combined with the tight labor market and healthy productivity gains prevalent in the last half of the decade boosted median income, redistributed incomes upward and reduced poverty between 1989 and 1999.
• After the 2000 census, the booming economy turned sour, the aftermath of September 11 further dimmed economic prospects, and the stock market bust erased a huge chunk of wealth nationwide. The economic slowdown weakened the labor market and depressed local wage gains. As job losses mounted, claims for unemployment benefits soared, and unemployment rates in the Twin Cities rose from 2.7 percent in the first quarter of 2001 to about 4 percent during the first and second quarters of 2002. Longer-term income trends will heavily depend on the return of business investment to feed continued productivity growth, demographic changes, and the health of the labor market.
• In the 13-county Twin Cities metropolitan area, median household income climbed to $54,304 in 1999, up from $36,565 in 1989. After adjustment for inflation, median household income increased by 14.4 percent between 1989 and 1999. (Median income figures for the seven-county area in 1999 have not been released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Estimated median household income for the region was $54,332 in 1999. (See Data - Summary File 3 (SF-3) Data for Metro Area, Counties, Cities and Townships.)
• From 1989 to 1999, the share of households with the lowest incomes fell steeply, and the share with the highest incomes increased sharply.

Distribution of Households by Income Group Twin Cities Seven County Metro Area

Note: The metropolitan area includes Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington Counties.