Meet the Author

April 5-11, 2025 is Week of the Young Child. We’re taking the opportunity to look at trends among our youngest Minnesotans, and ask the question: “How are our littlest residents doing?”

We've divided the trends into two parts. First, we'll look at the demographics, and then at the overall well-being of our state's young children.

DEMOGRAPHICS

The make-up of young children and their parents is changing

  1. Minnesota is currently home to about 328,000 children under 5, a smaller number than in the past

    Minnesota had 355,000 young children in 2010, and 340,000 in 2020. Lower birth rates are a main driver of that change, with the number of babies born in Minnesota peaking in 2007, falling during the financial crisis, and recovering only slightly before beginning a steady decline over the past decade. This drop has policy implications, particularly for school districts that are preparing for lower enrollment numbers in coming years.

  2. A majority of babies are born to women in their 30s

    Demographics of mothers are changing as well. Since 2018, more than half of babies (53% in 2023) are born to mothers in their 30s, compared to 44% in 2013, and 40% in 2003.

  3. Three-quarters of families with young children are married couples

    Nearly 74% of Minnesota families with young children are married-couple families. That share is unchanged from a decade ago, although down slightly from 79% in 2000.

  4. Young children are Minnesota's most racially diverse cohort

    More than one in three, or 36%, of Minnesota children under 5 are Black, Indigenous, or people of color, compared to 34% of children ages 5-19, 23% of working-age adults, and 8% of seniors.

  5. 1 in 5 young children is the child of an immigrant

    Data show that 21% of Minnesota children under 5 have at least one parent who is a first-generation immigrant, making immigration an important driver of growth of the state's youth population.

WELL-BEING

Room for improvement on several indicators of well-being

  1. More babies are being born at low birth weight

    Just over 7% of Minnesota babies born in 2023 were born at low birthweight, up from 6% a decade ago. What had seemed like it might be a brief uptick due to lack of access to prenatal care during the pandemic is starting to look like a longer term, and concerning, trend.

  2. 12,000 young children lack health insurance

    Although 97% of Minnesota’s young children have health insurance, that still leaves nearly 12,000 Minnesota children without access to quality health care.

  3. Fewer young children are receiving Early Childhood Screening

    Since the pandemic, fewer young children are receiving Early Childhood Screening. Screening at age three or four is an important step in proactively addressing childhood developmental delays.  Although these screenings are required, only about 6 in 10 Minnesota children are receiving them.

  4. About half of 3- and 4-year-olds attend preschool

    At 48%, the percentage of Minnesota’s preschool-age children enrolled in preschool has stayed about the same over the past decade.

  5. About one-quarter of young children have a stay-at-home parent

    For 76% of young children in Minnesota, all available parents are working (either both parents in a two-parent household, or the sole parent in a one-parent household). The other 24% have a parent at home, some of whom are stay-at-home parents by choice, others of whom are looking for work.

  6. Poverty hits young children first, but has been falling

    About 10% of young children are in poverty, compared to 9% of Minnesotans overall. The positive news is that poverty rates for young children have also fallen the fastest since the Great Recession, narrowing this gap with other age groups.

Understanding our youngest children matters for Minnesota’s future

We have seen Minnesota’s young child population shrink slightly, and diversify rapidly, while household structure and employment have stayed fairly constant. Understanding Minnesota’s young children is necessary both to support our children and to plan for the future of education, workforce participation, health care, and more. Strategies to improve access to prenatal care and developmental screenings, and to maintain support for childcare and family economic well-being will be key to supporting our youngest Minnesotans going forward.

For a more in-depth look at Minnesota’s young children, check out our profile and indicators.

For additional resources see:

Rural Child Care Solutions from the Ground Up  Center for Rural Development Policy and Development  

Think Small

For early childhood resources in greater Minnesota visit: