This is the second installment of Greater Mankato Growth’s recently completed the 2018 Economic Report. The report makes three comparisons of the Mankato-North Mankato metropolitan area to similar metropolitan areas in terms of population, geography, and concentration of the college-age population.
This blog post dives into the similar geography comparison (upper Midwest).
The upper Midwest, for purposes of this report, is defined as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota. There are 32 metropolitan areas in these five states. Mankato-North Mankato is the 3rd smallest. Over the last year (2016-2017) Mankato-North Mankato had the 8th highest rate of population growth. Since 2010, Mankato-North Mankato was in the middle of the pack with the 16th highest rate of population growth.
| MSA | 2017 Population Estimate | 2016-2017 Growth % | 2010-2017 Growth % |
| Sioux Falls, SD Metro Area | 259,094 | 1.86% | 13.08% |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area | 645,911 | 1.76% | 12.93% |
| Fargo, ND-MN Metro Area | 241,356 | 1.63% | 15.29% |
| Iowa City, IA Metro Area | 171,491 | 1.63% | 12.10% |
| Rapid City, SD Metro Area | 146,850 | 1.36% | 8.77% |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area | 3,600,618 | 1.22% | 7.31% |
| Madison, WI Metro Area | 654,230 | 1.05% | 7.86% |
| Mankato-North Mankato, MN Metro Area | 100,939 | 1.04% | 4.23% |
| Rochester, MN Metro Area | 218,280 | 1.01% | 5.35% |
| Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Metro Area | 933,316 | 1.01% | 7.52% |
| Cedar Rapids, IA Metro Area | 270,293 | 0.88% | 4.60% |
| St. Cloud, MN Metro Area | 197,759 | 0.88% | 4.52% |
| Green Bay, WI Metro Area | 320,050 | 0.82% | 4.34% |
| Appleton, WI Metro Area | 236,126 | 0.78% | 4.51% |
| Ames, IA Metro Area | 97,502 | 0.71% | 8.79% |
| Eau Claire, WI Metro Area | 167,484 | 0.62% | 3.60% |
| Bismarck, ND Metro Area | 132,142 | 0.57% | 14.65% |
| Janesville-Beloit, WI Metro Area | 162,309 | 0.55% | 1.28% |
| Racine, WI Metro Area | 196,071 | 0.54% | 0.34% |
| Oshkosh-Neenah, WI Metro Area | 170,414 | 0.51% | 2.01% |
| Wausau, WI Metro Area | 135,732 | 0.40% | 1.26% |
| La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metro Area | 136,934 | 0.36% | 2.26% |
| Dubuque, IA Metro Area | 97,041 | 0.35% | 3.31% |
| Fond du Lac, WI Metro Area | 102,548 | 0.33% | 0.95% |
| Sheboygan, WI Metro Area | 115,344 | 0.19% | -0.15% |
| Grand Forks, ND-MN Metro Area | 102,414 | 0.18% | 3.88% |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI Metro Area | 1,576,236 | 0.01% | 1.26% |
| Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA Metro Area | 169,892 | 0.00% | 1.18% |
| Duluth, MN-WI Metro Area | 278,782 | -0.06% | -0.32% |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Metro Area | 382,263 | -0.11% | 0.66% |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metro Area | 9,533,040 | -0.14% | 0.65% |
| Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Metro Area | 168,618 | -0.25% | -0.13% |
After review of the population figures, we analyzed this set of MSA’s in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Household Income, and Job Growth.
GDP: The population of the metropolitan areas in the upper Midwest have a wide range and their respective GDPs correspond accordingly. The average GDP growth of the metros over the last year (2015-2016) was 1.04%, however Mankato-North Mankato’s growth rate was 3.75% (3rd highest). Since 2010, the average GDP growth rate has been 10.7%, while Mankato-North Mankato’s has been 25.2% (3rd highest)
| MSA | 2016 GDP (in Millions) | 2015-2016 Growth % | 2010-2016 Growth % |
| Bismarck, ND (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 6,890 | -4.13% | 34.89% |
| Fargo, ND-MN (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 13,534 | 2.32% | 28.94% |
| Mankato-North Mankato, MN (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 4,871 | 3.75% | 25.19% |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 43,873 | 2.08% | 22.20% |
| Ames, IA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 4,358 | 1.25% | 17.56% |
| Madison, WI (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 42,029 | 3.17% | 16.95% |
| Sioux Falls, SD (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 15,768 | 2.22% | 16.64% |
| St. Cloud, MN (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 8,749 | 5.33% | 16.25% |
| Wausau, WI (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 6,764 | 0.37% | 14.86% |
| Eau Claire, WI (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 7,325 | 0.26% | 14.67% |
| Grand Forks, ND-MN (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 4,612 | 3.08% | 14.38% |
| Janesville-Beloit, WI (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 5,617 | 3.85% | 14.10% |
| Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 53,621 | 1.07% | 13.28% |
| Rochester, MN (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 10,910 | 3.57% | 12.10% |
| Iowa City, IA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 8,661 | 0.72% | 11.57% |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 217,566 | 0.78% | 11.11% |
| Dubuque, IA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 4,827 | -1.25% | 10.99% |
| Appleton, WI (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 10,943 | 1.98% | 10.32% |
| Fond du Lac, WI (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 4,183 | 0.99% | 10.25% |
| Oshkosh-Neenah, WI (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 9,060 | 2.56% | 9.66% |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 568,969 | 0.92% | 8.90% |
| Green Bay, WI (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 16,321 | 1.03% | 8.71% |
| Rapid City, SD (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 5,637 | 1.24% | 8.30% |
| La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 6,321 | 1.56% | 7.14% |
| Sheboygan, WI (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 5,326 | 2.34% | 5.93% |
| Cedar Rapids, IA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 15,839 | -1.57% | 3.85% |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 89,155 | 0.07% | 2.51% |
| Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 7,936 | -1.54% | 2.44% |
| Duluth, MN-WI (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 11,117 | -0.90% | 0.52% |
| Sioux City, IA-NE-SD (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 8,290 | 2.47% | -4.04% |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 16,765 | -1.90% | -5.35% |
| Racine, WI (Metropolitan Statistical Area) | 6,799 | -1.76% | -7.70% |
Household Income: Mankato-North Mankato has the 21st ranked Median household income and 18th ranked Mean household income in 2016. The Median household income growth from 2015-2016 was the 4th highest, while Mean household income growth over that same time was ranked 23rd. The disparity of change between the growth in the Median versus the Mean figure indicates that middle and lower income brackets have been growing recently.
| MSA | 2016 Median Household Income | 2016 Mean Household Income | 2015-2016 Median Household Income Growth | 2015-2016 Mean Household Income Growth |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area | $68,778 | $89,310 | 3.11% | 3.34% |
| Rochester, MN Metro Area | $64,897 | $83,701 | 2.08% | 2.76% |
| Bismarck, ND Metro Area | $63,836 | $80,782 | 1.69% | 3.93% |
| Madison, WI Metro Area | $61,886 | $80,003 | 2.84% | 3.59% |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Metro Area | $61,844 | $80,281 | 2.73% | 3.73% |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metro Area | $61,828 | $85,686 | 2.42% | 2.97% |
| Appleton, WI Metro Area | $60,809 | $73,306 | 1.70% | 3.20% |
| Cedar Rapids, IA Metro Area | $59,032 | $74,339 | 2.55% | 3.07% |
| Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Metro Area | $58,249 | $75,705 | 2.67% | 2.57% |
| Sioux Falls, SD Metro Area | $57,889 | $72,986 | 2.99% | 3.75% |
| Iowa City, IA Metro Area | $55,842 | $75,683 | 1.75% | 2.80% |
| St. Cloud, MN Metro Area | $55,603 | $68,527 | 0.70% | 2.17% |
| Racine, WI Metro Area | $55,584 | $70,695 | 1.39% | 2.12% |
| Fond du Lac, WI Metro Area | $55,473 | $67,064 | 1.63% | 2.09% |
| Dubuque, IA Metro Area | $54,605 | $67,186 | 2.84% | 5.49% |
| Fargo, ND-MN Metro Area | $54,590 | $72,346 | 2.47% | 2.92% |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI Metro Area | $54,336 | $74,139 | 2.37% | 3.38% |
| Wausau, WI Metro Area | $54,083 | $70,218 | 0.27% | 0.83% |
| Sheboygan, WI Metro Area | $53,713 | $65,946 | 1.26% | 2.05% |
| Green Bay, WI Metro Area | $53,622 | $68,574 | 1.38% | 2.82% |
| Mankato-North Mankato, MN Metro Area | $53,437 | $68,503 | 3.11% | 2.45% |
| Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Metro Area | $52,316 | $67,322 | 2.33% | 2.48% |
| Oshkosh-Neenah, WI Metro Area | $52,018 | $66,974 | 2.85% | 2.48% |
| Rapid City, SD Metro Area | $51,244 | $66,704 | 0.47% | 1.14% |
| La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metro Area | $51,001 | $67,674 | 1.97% | 2.54% |
| Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA Metro Area | $50,793 | $64,873 | 3.30% | 4.57% |
| Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Metro Area | $50,650 | $64,472 | 3.46% | 2.86% |
| Eau Claire, WI Metro Area | $50,611 | $63,745 | 1.51% | 2.60% |
| Ames, IA Metro Area | $50,438 | $64,861 | 1.51% | 2.18% |
| Grand Forks, ND-MN Metro Area | $50,366 | $67,875 | 1.91% | 1.03% |
| Janesville-Beloit, WI Metro Area | $50,324 | $62,434 | 1.28% | 1.97% |
| Duluth, MN-WI Metro Area | $48,905 | $61,966 | 2.40% | 3.04% |
Job Growth: Mankato-North Mankato had the 3rd highest job growth in both April and May of 2018 among MSAs in the upper Midwest.
| MSA | May 2018 Jobs (in thousands) | April 2017-2018 % Growth | May 2017-2018 % Growth |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines | 375.7 | 1.04% | 2.29% |
| Ames | 54.1 | 2.20% | 2.27% |
| Mankato-North Mankato | 59.0 | 1.90% | 2.25% |
| Eau Claire | 88.7 | 0.11% | 1.84% |
| St. Cloud | 112.7 | 0.54% | 1.81% |
| Wausau | 73.6 | 2.52% | 1.80% |
| La Crosse-Onalaska | 80.9 | 1.13% | 1.76% |
| Fond du Lac | 48.8 | 1.05% | 1.67% |
| Sheboygan | 63.6 | 1.29% | 1.60% |
| Janesville-Beloit | 70.1 | 1.32% | 1.59% |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | 2023.8 | 0.67% | 1.45% |
| Sioux Falls | 158.6 | 0.26% | 1.28% |
| Appleton | 127.4 | 0.64% | 1.27% |
| Rapid City | 70.2 | 1.04% | 1.15% |
| Madison | 405.0 | 1.25% | 1.12% |
| Cedar Rapids | 145.9 | 0.62% | 1.11% |
| Iowa City | 102.6 | 0.49% | 1.08% |
| Grand Forks | 57.3 | -1.23% | 1.06% |
| Sioux City | 88.6 | 1.15% | 1.03% |
| Oshkosh-Neenah | 98.9 | 0.00% | 0.92% |
| Duluth | 138.7 | 0.73% | 0.80% |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis | 876.1 | 1.29% | 0.77% |
| Green Bay | 179.5 | 0.73% | 0.56% |
| Waterloo-Cedar Falls | 91.6 | -0.22% | 0.44% |
| Fargo | 143.4 | -0.63% | 0.35% |
| Dubuque | 60.5 | -0.50% | -0.33% |
| Racine | 77.7 | -0.26% | -0.51% |
| Rochester | 119.3 | -1.09% | -0.83% |
| Bismarck | 73.5 | -2.83% | -1.34% |
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