Situational Analysis
How are Minneapolis children and youth doing?
This interactive analysis updates the 2024 Minneapolis Youth Situational Analysis with the most current official data — the 2025 Minnesota Student Survey (including Minneapolis Public Schools for the first time in a decade), 2025 year-end public safety data, the Class of 2025 graduation results, and 2026 youth housing counts. Every figure links to its official source.
Who our children are
Children under 18 in Minneapolis
25,034 under age 5. Children per square mile: 1,881.
Minnesota children are children of color
Versus 24% of all residents: Minneapolis youth are among the state's most diverse. ~1 in 10 school-age children statewide live below poverty.
Public schools in Minneapolis
1.32 public schools per 1,000 school-age children (2024).
Students heard in the 2025 MN Student Survey
MPS participated for the first time in a decade: Minneapolis youth voice is directly in the statewide dataset again.
Safety and Protection
Homicides in Minneapolis, 2025−16% vs 2024
Fewest shooting victims and shots-fired calls since before 2020. Officials credit coordination across enforcement, community groups and partner agencies.
Juvenile violent crime & auto theftsince Aug 2024
New youth offenders committing violent crime down 66% since the Curfew Task Force began: each early contact is a referral opportunity.
High schoolers who witnessed gun threats
First-ever gun-violence measure in the 2025 MN Student Survey: a new baseline for prevention work. Students also reported feeling safer at school than in 2022.
Hennepin County child maltreatment reports
Current through 2023: the most recent published data (Minnesota's Child Maltreatment Report, 2023, released late 2025; statewide 77,413 intakes, 39% screened in). Live: DHS dashboard →
Teen (16–19) employment: Minneapolis
2024 ACS 5-year (newest release): 25,503 teens 16–19. ACS S2301 (2024) →
Children's Participation
Young people serving on public councils & groups
Minneapolis Youth Congress remains embedded in city policy dialogue and decision-making; youth engagement is structured, compensated, and supported.
Youth participation in City policy
Youth-led research, testimony and public storytelling inform policy; Minneapolis advanced its UNICEF Child-Friendly City designation.
Minneapolis youth voice in statewide data
With MPS back in the Minnesota Student Survey, city youth self-reported wellbeing now shapes state and local decisions.
Equitable Social Services
MPS 4-year graduation, Class of 2025+5 pts vs 2023
Seven-year rate: 83%. Statewide rates hit a record high in 2025.
American Indian student graduation+12 pts in one year
Black/African American students rose to 69% (+2). Gaps remain: but the direction is right.
11th-grade suicidal ideation
Anxiety and depression measures improved from 2022; ~40% of students still report at least one adverse childhood experience.
MPS 4-year graduation rate by group: 2023 baseline vs Class of 2025
2025 subgroup rates shown where published; remaining groups update when MDE posts full tables.
MPS kindergarten vaccination rates (2023 MDH baseline)
Refresh from MDH school immunization data, 2025–26 school year. MDH →
Safe Living Environments
Young people under 25 homeless on a given night, Hennepin County
2024 baseline: 296 under-24 in shelter (Oct 2023). Statewide, an estimated 13,300 youth experienced unaccompanied homelessness 2018–2025.
Dedicated youth housing units, March 2026
20 host homes · 85 emergency shelter beds · 200 transitional housing beds · 181 time-limited permanent supportive units.
Hennepin youth housing capacity by type (March 2026)
Capacity vs the ~425 young people who need a bed on any given night.
Play and Leisure
Children within a 10-minute walk of a park
Minneapolis consistently ranks at the top of the national ParkScore index.
Youth transit access
Children 0–5 ride free; ages 6–18 $1 per ride; qualifying families always $1 via the Transportation Assistance Program; MPS students receive a free Metro Transit card each school year.
What changed since the 2024 analysis
- Better: MPS graduation up ~5 points to 73%: with a 12-point jump for American Indian students; youth mental-health measures reversing a decade-long decline; juvenile violent crime down ~40%; homicides at 64 (−16%); students report feeling safer at school.
- New visibility: MPS rejoined the Minnesota Student Survey (first city-level self-reported wellbeing data in a decade); first-ever gun-exposure measure (6% witnessed threats).
- Worse / persistent: youth homelessness grew: ~425 under-25 on a given night vs 296 in shelter in Oct 2023, against only 486 dedicated units; ~40% of students still report an ACE; graduation gaps for English learners, students experiencing homelessness, and special education remain wide.
- Watching: teen employment, insurance coverage, and infant mortality refresh with the 2024 ACS and next MDH releases; child maltreatment updates via the DHS live dashboard.