Economics
The economic realities of Asian Minnesotans are complex. Lumped within the “Asian” racial construct is the most economically diverse population in Minnesota. Current economic models also center around an individual and often misses collective and familial approaches to addressing poverty and building wealth.
We build on the community’s assets and aim to improve economic policies, programs, and outcomes for Asian Minnesotans so that no community is left in poverty, and that wealth is built intergenerationally.
Please contact info@caalmn.org to learn more about our Economic issues.
Learn with Us
Redefining Wealth through Communal and Cultural Assets
2021
Invisibility Perpetuated: The
Complex Economics of Asian
Minnesotans
2019
Economics Visual Report
2019
Paths Forward Economics Report
2015
Economic Data
2015
Learn More
Despite having a combined Asian American purchasing power of $4 billion and more than 15,000 businesses, generalized data such as those highlighted below leads to systemic exclusion of the population, and often makes communities in need invisible.
Widely accepted aggregated data hides economic insecurity experienced by ethnic and sub-populations within Minnesota’s Asian population. For example, an estimated 37,000 Asian Minnesotan adults live under the poverty line (of which 29,000 are Southeast Asians).
In the 2014 State Demographer’s report on median household income, people in the category of ‘Asians’ had the highest household income of $67,900. However, when that data is disaggregated, the Hmong community, which makes up the largest ethnic group under the ‘Asian’ population, has a median income of $32,800, and 34% of Hmong children under the age of 18 years old live in poverty compared to 14% of all Minnesotans.
Other Resources
- Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED)
- Minnesota Data Suggests Poor PPP loan Access by Minority Businesses
- Profile of Risk for Prolonged Unemployment
Please contact info@caalmn.org to learn more about our Economic Issues.
“Asians are stuck with the model minority myth, but there are so many Asian workers who are struggling in poverty.”
–1st generation Indian American