Whether you are thinking about relocating to Minnesota or you already live here, how Minnesota ranks compared to other states in things ranging from health, wealth and happiness to people, place and work paints a picture of our people and our sense of place.
The April 2011 issue of Minnesota Monthly has a fascinating article on How We Rate… pulling together from many sources where Minnesota ranks. Pick up a copy of the magazine to read the fascinating full article organized by people, relationships, place, health, work, wealth and smarts.
I thought it would be interesting to take a look solely by our rank compared to other states.
1st
- Voter turnout – we may end up in deadlock, but we participate in the process
- ACT scores – Iowa is second, Wisconsin third
- Big business – home of 21 Fortune 500 companies, highest concentration per capita
- Autism – highest by far
- Gayness – Minneapolis named gayest city in the US based on number of gay dating profiles, gay elected officials, lesbian bars, gay-friendly congregations, gay-friendly businesses
- Tornadoes – averaged 26 per year since 1950, but in the last 10 years averaged 40 per year, and 100 last year!
- Water – 6% of our state is covered in water
- Boat owners – makes sense with about 445 people for every lake
2nd
- Artsiest – 2nd only to New York
- Real estate flips – we rank just below Florida
- Childcare costs – Massachusetts #1 based on percentage of income
- Longevity – Hawaii is #1
- Couples both working – 2nd in percentage of couples where both spouses work
3rd
- Health insurance – solidly insured, just behind Massachusetts and Vermont
- Bookish – following Washington, DC and Seattle in America's Most Literate cities ranking
- Piggy banks – we save more, have low debt, plan investments
- Drunk driving – but 46th in traffic fatalities; 5 states with most drunk drivers are all in the Upper Midwest
- Dating difficulties – more single guys than girls
- Binge drinking – top 4 in order are Wisconsin, North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa
4th
- Brainiest– Raleigh-Durham 1st, San Francisco 2nd, Boston 3rd
- Moonlighting – 9% of us work two jobs
- Broke students – 72% of college grads leave school with average debt of $25,558
- Toothiness – better odds of keeping our teeth than most Americans
5th
- Happiness – Utah #1, West Virginia #50
- Organic farming – Wisconsin ranks 3rd
the rest of the story…
- 6th – Mrs. Mom – 6th lowest percentage of unmarried moms, 7th lowest percentage of teen moms
- 8th – Fostering an ideal business climate
- 11th – Income – average annual income of $43,037 per person
- 12th – Largest acreage– Alaska biggest, Rhode Island smallest
- 13th – Building a new economy
- 14th – Public transportation use – just 3.3% of us take public transportation to work
- 15th – School funding – Wyoming is the most education friendly, Tennessee the least
- 16th
- Largest metro – between Seattle and San Diego
- Cleanliness – Portland cleanest, Chicago filthiest
- 17th – Most liberal – just above Arizona
- 20th – Teacher salaries – Connecticut and California pay their teachers the most
- 21st
- Population – 5,266,214
- Taxes – we ranked 6th in 2002
- Time wasting– nearly 43% of Minnesotans are Facebooking at work
- 22nd
- Gun ownership
- Energy use – Wyoming the most, Vermont the least
- 31st
- Godliness
- Top high schools
- 32nd – Sexiest – District of Columbia first, North Dakota last
- 35th
- Oldest – 12.5% of population is 65 and older
- Commute – average trip to work is 22 minutes
- 37th – Philanthropy
- 40th – Carpooling
- 41st
- Poverty
- Gun deaths
- 42nd – Divorce – Nevada #1
- 43rd – Wages – state minimum rate of $6.15 undercuts federal minimum of $7.25
- 45th – Least workaholic – average 33.5 working hours a week
- 46th
- Entrepreneurism
- Traffic fatalities
- 50th – Diabetes
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results - Email – Twin Cities Realtor
RELATED
- Why we love the Twin Cities
- Minneapolis-St. Paul Named America's Safest Place to Live
- Minneapolis Named America's Most Bike-Friendly City
- Nice Ride Minnesota – the nation's largest bike sharing system
- Sense of Place
