by Jane Palen
Managing Editor

We are all aware that we have a pretty good quality of life here in the state of Minnesota (even though Houston County canít take any credit for ìLand of 10,000 Lakesî).

The Taxpayers Network recently released its 2004 edition comparing a number of statistics state by state, including taxes, government spending, education, income, and public safety, to name a few.

This little book provides a lot of interesting information. For example, did you know that Minnesota ranks seventh in the nation for median family income ($60,214), and eighth in per capita personal income ($33,895). We are 44th in the percent of the population below the poverty level: 8.5 percent compared to a national average of 12.4.

Again, Minnesota is in the top 10 for percent of households with computers (64.6) and internet access (55.6).

We havenít gotten our gambling act together, though. Minnesotaís gambling administration expenses are 19.6 percent of income compared to the US average of 6.5 percent. That puts us 5th of the 37 states that have gambling. Lottery sales are only $70 per capita, far less than the US average of $174.

Minnesota is near the bottom (47th) in federal expenditures per capita at $5,390. The average is $6,650. Alaska is #1 at $11,746, and Nevada is last with $4,940.

Unfortunately, Minnesota ranks 49th on the small business survival index. Only Washington DC and Hawaii fared worse. In first place was South Dakota. This index measures a number of factors, including tax burdens, that affect business survival.

We look pretty good on education. We are third in the nation for our graduation rate of 84.4 percent. Utah is second at 85.5. New Jersey is in first place with 89.3 percent. Washington DCís graduation rate is only 51.7 percent. The national average is 67.2.

Strangely enough, Utah has the highest student-teacher ratio in the nation at 22.3, and spends the least amount per student of any state in the nation ($4,907). Minnesota, on the other hand, is 15th in spending at $8,628, and has a student-teacher ratio of 16.1, compared to the US average of 15.7.

The state ranks first in the nation for eighth grade math scores, and second for fourth grade math scores. Reading scores are a little lower but still excellent by any measure: ninth in the country for fourth grade reading and seventh for eighth grade reading.

The average teacher in Minnesota makes $44,745 per year, just under the US average of $45,930. The best-paid teachers are in California where the average salary is $56,283. The lowest pay for teachers is in South Dakota where the average annual salary is $32,416.

Minnesota ranks 40th in violent crime, and 33rd in property crime. It follows, then, that it ranks near the bottom (45th) for state correctional spending per capita, and 48th in incarceration rates.

Our state ranks 16th in welfare recipients (1.89 percent) but seventh in welfare spending per capita ($1.199). The average in the country is $914.

We should be happy that we are in last place for the percent of people without health insurance. Only 7.9 percent of the stateís residents went without health insurance in 2001, almost half the national average of 14.9 percent. Nearly a quarter of Texans, 24.9 percent, had no health insurance in 2001.

And hereís the best news of all-Minnesota is tied with New Hampshire for first place in relative healthówhich no doubt is related to the fact that we have so few uninsured people. The unhealthiest states are Mississippi and South Carolina.

To obtain this booklet for yourself, go to www.taxpayersnetwork.org.

Top of Page

Caledonia Argus
314 West Lincoln St.
P.O. Box 227
Caledonia, MN 55921-0227
507/724-3475

E-Mail: editor.argus@ecm-inc.com