New Trends Redefining Minnesota’s Regions
This month's Local Look blogs highlight unique economic dynamics from shifting population trends and rising costs of living to evolving career pathways, industry flows, and high‑demand occupations. Together, these regional snapshots showcase the diverse challenges and opportunities shaping Minnesota’s workforce and communities today. For more information, please reach out to your regional analyst.
Central Minnesota offers many economic and lifestyle advantages to residents. For example, many people live within commuting distance to the Twin Cities metro area, allowing workers to access the large Twin Cities labor market while living in less expensive and populated communities. However, the cost of covering basic needs is higher than some might expect. According to DEED's Cost of Living Tool, Central Minnesota has the second-highest cost of living among the state's six planning regions, ranking behind only the Seven-County Twin Cities metro area.
There are countless career pathways an individual might embark upon after graduating from high school. For example, one might explore a four-year degree or find employment in the labor market right away, while another might join the military, and yet another might start an apprenticeship. Some choose to continue their education by enrolling in a community or technical college or a university. We could do an endless blog series just about all the established and unique pathways a person living in the Twin Cities Metro Area might do as they journey from education into a career. For this blog, let's just look at occupations requiring a two-year degree in the region..
The U.S. Census Bureau has a lot of neat tools for labor market analysis, including their Job-to-Job Flows Explorer (J2J). The J2J Flows Explorer tracks characteristics of both the origin and destination job, including location and industry. Using the average of the last four quarters of data available (now updated through the first quarter of 2025), I calculated the share of job-to-job flows across the 20 major industry sectors in the Duluth Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).
In honor of Hire a Veteran Month, let's recognize the vital role that veterans play in Northwest Minnesota's workforce. Beyond their extraordinary service to our nation, veterans continue to strengthen the economy and communities of this region through their active participation in the labor force. And because the Northwest has a relatively large veteran labor force, they have an outsized contribution to the region's economy and communities.
Southeast Minnesota added just over 1,850 residents between July 2024 and July 2025, according to new population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. That's slightly slower than the prior year's gain of 2,150 people, but the composition of that growth has shifted in a notable way. The region is now attracting fewer international migrants while losing fewer residents to other parts of the state or country.
In 2025, there were around 2,000 people employed in computer-related occupations in Southwest Minnesota, accounting for just over 1.0% of total employment in the region. These occupations tend to offer high wages and are in high demand, and typically are highlighted as among the fastest growing in the region. While the median wage across all occupations in the region was $23.24 per hour, median wages for computer-related occupations ranged between almost $30 for Web Designers and Computer User Support Specialists to more than $60 an hour for Computer & Information Systems Managers and Data Scientists.
SUMMER 2026 LMI TRAINING SESSIONS
Our regional analysis team still has some remaining LMI training sessions scheduled for Summer 2026, running in May and June and covering topics ranging from the shifting labor market to career exploration tools to specific industry and regional profiles. All of these sessions are virtual, so feel free to sign up for whatever session works best with your schedule and interests!
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DATE & TIME
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TRAINER
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Tuesday, May 19
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
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Career Exploration Tools 101
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Tim O'Neill
Register
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Thursday, May 21
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
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Construction Employment in Minnesota
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Tim O'Neill
Register
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Thursday, May 28
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
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Understanding Minnesota’s Labor Market
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Tim O'Neill
Register
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Tuesday, June 9
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
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The Latest in Northeast Minnesota’s Labor Market
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Carson Gorecki
Register
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Thursday, June 18
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
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Is Northwest Minnesota's Labor Market Holding Steady or Starting to Slide?
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Anthony Schaffhauser
Register
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Teen Employment Data May Indicate Tougher Teen Job Search
New teen employment data could signal a tougher time for teens currently looking for a summer job or permanent employment. In March, the unemployment rate for Minnesota teens reached its highest level since the early days of the pandemic. View the latest unemployment rate and labor force participation for teens age 16 to 19 in Minnesota in this CareerForce blog post featuring information from DEED's Labor Market Information office.
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