Minneapolis Youth Situational Analysis 2026 Forum for Children & Youth Safety and Wellbeing · UNICEF Child Friendly Cities framework
MYE Ecosystem ← ycb.org
Updated July 2026 · compares against the 2024 baseline 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.

Child Equity Profile

Who our children are

83,114

Children under 18 in Minneapolis

25,034 under age 5. Children per square mile: 1,881.

36%

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.

96

Public schools in Minneapolis

1.32 public schools per 1,000 school-age children (2024).

119,000+

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.

Goal 1

Safety and Protection

64

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.

−40%

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.

6%

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) →

Goal 2

Children's Participation

94

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.

Institutionalized

Youth participation in City policy

Youth-led research, testimony and public storytelling inform policy; Minneapolis advanced its UNICEF Child-Friendly City designation.

Restored

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.

Goal 3

Equitable Social Services

73%

MPS 4-year graduation, Class of 2025+5 pts vs 2023

Seven-year rate: 83%. Statewide rates hit a record high in 2025.

58%

American Indian student graduation+12 pts in one year

Black/African American students rose to 69% (+2). Gaps remain — but the direction is right.

Lowest in 10+ yrs

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 →

Also in the 2024 baseline: children's health-insurance coverage by race and poverty (2022 ACS) and infant mortality 3-year averages by race (2019–2021 MDH, ranging 1.5–10.7 per 1,000 live births). These refresh when the 2024 ACS 5-year and next MDH vital statistics releases post.
Goal 4

Safe Living Environments

~425

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.

486

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.

Goal 5

Play and Leisure

98%

Children within a 10-minute walk of a park

Minneapolis consistently ranks at the top of the national ParkScore index.

Free–$1

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

Youth Coordinating Board · part of the Minneapolis Youth Ecosystem