Minneapolis, MN

The Twin Cities’ Immense Variation in Housing Affordability

Published

11 months ago

March 20, 2025

The Twin Cities’ Immense Variation in Housing Affordability

In February, I wrote about how low and flat rents in Minneapolis were contributing to a slowdown in the city’s housing development. The city has built lots of housing in the past few years, in part enabled by recent zoning reforms, helping keep rents low. My main takeaway was that this was a good thing, especially to the extent that we could credit an expansion in housing supply for maintaining this level of affordability.

I also included an important caveat: Although Minneapolis is pretty affordable, large gaps still remain. For the city’s lower-income residents, housing is still out of reach, reflecting the limitations of market-rate housing — without further public subsidy, housing can only get so cheap.

Minneapolis’ affordability has a second caveat. While housing costs are quite low on average, patterns of housing affordability are uneven throughout the city. Different neighborhoods of Minneapolis have substantially different housing costs. And if we zoom out to the larger metropolitan area, spatial differences in housing costs are even more striking. This is an outcome of structural factors and should be seen as an important problem to address in the region.

Uneven Geography of Housing Affordability

Last July, a Minnesota-based committee for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights published a report on fair housing in the Twin Cities region. Much of the report’s focus was on “capital-A Affordable” housing, which relies on subsidies to set rents at restricted levels for moderate- and low-income residents. But the report also contained some useful information on market-wide levels of affordability.

The figure below, from that report, shows affordability at the census-tract level in the Twin Cities, for a household earning 50% of the area median income ($71,500 for a family of four, $50,000 for a household with two adults).

This map confirms that Minneapolis and St. Paul are quite affordable. In both cities, the majority of neighborhoods have lots of housing available for moderate-income households.

Yet both cities have areas where affordability declines. In St. Paul’s Macalester-Groveland and Como neighborhoods, and much of the south and southwest of Minneapolis, relatively little housing is affordable to a household at 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI). This means that a family of four earning $62,450 would be hard-pressed to find housing in these areas without spending more than a third of their income on housing costs.

Furthermore, affordability in the Twin Cities suburbs almost immediately tends to fall to very low levels (although some suburbs, including Brooklyn Center and West St. Paul, have relatively more housing that’s affordable).

Where You Can (and Can’t) Build Housing

These spatial patterns of housing affordability aren’t coincidental.

For example, the areas around Minneapolis’ chain of lakes — Lake of the Isles, Bde Maka Ska, Lake Harriet, Brownie Lake and Cedar Lake — have long been some of the most expensive and exclusive neighborhoods of the city. Parts of this area in Minneapolis, and some of the suburbs immediately bordering Minneapolis and St. Paul, had concentrations of racial covenants in the first half of the 20th century, restricting the race of potential homebuyers. These covenants have led to persistent long-term gaps in housing costs and quality, as well as the racial makeup, across neighborhoods.

Soon after a Supreme Court case made these covenants unenforceable in 1948, many of the Twin Cities’ suburbs boomed as new freeways allowed residents (who were higher income, better educated and more likely to be white) to move out of the core city into more expensive enclaves.

Today, zoning and land use regulations frequently restrict housing development in these areas, helping keep them expensive and beyond reach for many.

For example, look at Minneapolis’ built form rules, which govern the size of housing that can be built across the city. These rules were adapted as part of the city’s Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan.

Areas with any type of “Interior” zoning limit the density to duplexes and triplexes — but these are mostly unfeasible to build due to a combination of regulatory and financial barriers, meaning that these areas remain mostly single-family homes. These built-form rules cover the majority of residential land in Minneapolis’ expensive South and Southwest sides.

The arterial streets in these areas, labeled as “Corridor” zones, have more successfully allowed denser housing, but not enough has been built to change the affordability landscape of these areas. Keep in mind, too, that moderate zoning changes can’t quickly undo many decades of exclusionary policy in a neighborhood.

In the suburbs, such rules are considerably more restrictive, and they help ensure that much of the area outside of Minneapolis and St. Paul remains exclusive — both inner-ring suburbs and jurisdictions further out. For example, as journalists MaryJo Webster and Michael Corey have documented, huge majorities of suburban residential land allow only single-family housing, while only relatively tiny patches of land allow for multifamily housing (note that this map is a couple years out of date, although the broad zoning landscape hasn’t changed much).

A map of residential zoning in the Twin Cities.

Both the origins and the implications of these rules tie closely to race and class. You can find the following sentence printed in an April 1975 edition of the St. Paul Reporter, St. Paul’s longstanding Black-run newspaper (today a part of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder).

“Restrictive zoning plays a major role in keeping blacks out of the suburbs. They permit whites, who generally are better off financially, to practice a kind of social and economic discrimination that clearly is un-American.”

These words ring true today.

Last April, I reported for the Minnesota Reformer on a rejected affordable housing project in Edina. The city’s mechanism for blocking this project was its zoning code. Although the development was aligned with Edina’s long-term comprehensive plan, which called for multifamily housing in this location, the city had not changed its actual zoning to allow for larger apartments. This gave Edina the leeway to stall the development, with full awareness that the developer would lose its affordable housing tax credits as a result.

The resulting exclusion has been documented more systematically, too, playing out on a scale larger than any single housing development. As Webster, the journalist, documented in further research with housing economist Salim Furth, places in the Twin Cities zoned for single-family housing typically have much larger proportions of white residents. Additional research on minimum lot sizes, another exclusionary and costly housing regulation in many Twin Cities jurisdictions, has shown sharp socioeconomic divisions driven by these rules. Today, many different kinds of restrictive suburban zoning policies uphold unequal patterns across economic and racial lines.

Looking Ahead

Minneapolis deserves credit for its successful efforts to increase housing supply through land use reforms. Any fair assessment of the city’s affordability would acknowledge that the city’s rents are quite low, as average housing costs are within reach for many people with moderate incomes.

At the same time, we shouldn’t let numbers that are pretty impressive on average obscure meaningful variation across neighborhoods. Certain areas of Minneapolis are not within reach for many of the city’s residents. Furthermore, Minneapolis’ affordability does not extend to its wealthier suburbs.

These patterns have to do with longstanding historical patterns of racial and economic segregation. Restrictive land use policy is one of the primary tools upholding these historical patterns today, driving up average housing costs and giving cities a tool to control the development of subsidized affordable housing.

Reforming these rules to allow for more housing throughout the Twin Cities is the subject of a years-long effort in the Minnesota Legislature. Proposed changes include a variety of ways to allow more density in municipalities throughout the state and to reduce the scope for cities to make discretionary rejections of proposed housing developments.

Some local governments, spearheaded by the League of Minnesota Cities, are strongly opposed to these changes. But every jurisdiction in the Twin Cities has a contribution to make when it comes to building more housing — both subsidized housing and lower-cost market-rate housing. Residents can’t afford to wait.

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Minneapolis, MN

Bruce Springsteen, Tom Morello Rock Against ICE: On the Scene in Minneapolis

Published

9 hours ago

January 31, 2026

Press Room

Bruce Springsteen, Tom Morello Rock Against ICE: On the Scene in Minneapolis

Before a musician played a single note at First Avenue, the iconic venue in the heart of Minneapolis, seemingly every voice in the room on Friday afternoon was chanting the words “fuck ICE.” This was a Tom Morello concert, but even more than music, everyone was unified under the show’s banner: “a concert of solidarity & resistance to defend Minnesota.” This was a prelude to a larger protest just blocks away and a benefit for the families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Everyone was already plenty fired up, so naturally, they came unglued when Morello revealed that his surprise guest was none other than Bruce Springsteen.

Two days after the release of his protest song “Streets of Minneapolis,” which very specifically references the killings of Good and Pretti by federal immigration agents under the Trump administration, Springsteen stood alone in the venue that Prince made famous. When the screaming fans finally got quiet, he discussed the song’s rapid creation and release before playing it for the first time in public.

“So I write this song, and I recorded it the next day, and I sent it to Tom Morello,” he said. “Now I know Tom is an excitable man. I say, ‘Tom, what do you think? It’s kind of soapbox-y.’ And he says, ‘Bruce, nuance is wonderful, but sometimes, you have to kick them in the teeth.” He dedicated his performance to ”the people of Minneapolis, the people of Minnesota, and the people of our good country of the United States of America.”

Springsteen’s solo acoustic performance of the song was understated compared to the production heard on the studio version, but back-up singers or a full band would’ve gotten in the way of the essential truth of the moment. Arguably the biggest rock star on the face of the planet made a surprise appearance in an occupied and embattled city, and here he was singing the names of their murdered neighbors — about the blood on the ice-covered pavement. Amid a vacuum in leadership at the highest level, here was the Boss pointing a finger directly at the responsible parties. This was certainly solidarity, and when he sang the words “Alex Pretti and Renee Good,” the crowd cheered emphatically. As the song wound down, cheers gave way to a chant spurred on by Springsteen himself: “ICE out now!”

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It was an unbelievably generous moment that certainly defined the afternoon, but Morello and his band returned to the stage to rev up the power once again after that. Springsteen and his sometime bandmate traded verses and massive guitar solos on 1995’s “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” a song the pair have performed together numerous times. Morello lifted and inverted his guitar mid-solo to reveal the words “arrest the president” while Bruce beamed and laughed next to him. Every single person in the room seemed to be on the same page.

All the musicians who’d graced the stage earlier returned for a closer of John Lennon’s “Power to the People,” but not before Morello proclaimed that we’d all experienced the greatest brunch-hour concert in history. Springsteen, Morello, and the rest stood smiling onstage as the house speakers blasted “Let’s Go Crazy.”

Jesse Roberson for Rolling Stone

It was an afternoon hinged entirely on the topics of protest and resistance. Morello’s own set featured union anthems and Woody Guthrie classics, and more importantly, fiery rhetoric. “Brothers and sisters, thank you for welcoming us to the battle of Minneapolis,” he opened. “Minneapolis is an inspiration to the entire nation. You have heroically stood up against ICE, stood up against Trump, stood up against this terrible rising tide of state terror. You have stood up for your neighbors and for yourselves and for democracy and for justice. Ain’t nobody comin’ to save us except us, and brothers and sisters, you are showing the way.”

Protests heat up outside Minneapolis federal building after journalists arrested

Published

21 hours ago

January 30, 2026

Press Room

Protests heat up outside Minneapolis federal building after journalists arrested

The FBI is now leading the investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations branch supporting the investigation, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.

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Minneapolis, MN

Timberwolves players release statement addressing ‘recent tragic events’ involving ICE in Minneapolis

Published

1 day ago

January 30, 2026

Press Room

Timberwolves players release statement addressing ‘recent tragic events’ involving ICE in Minneapolis

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The Minnesota Timberwolves released a statement from its players regarding the rising anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tensions in Minneapolis.

There have been two fatal incidents in Minneapolis in recent weeks involving federal immigration agents amid heightened tensions over the operations as well as clashes with anti-ICE demonstrators.

Like everyone in the Twin Cities, the Timberwolves have been impacted by the events, and they released a statement expressing their “sincere sympathies and love to everyone.”

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Fans hold signs to protest the presence of federal agents in Minneapolis prior to the start of an NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on Jan. 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (David Berding/Getty Images)

“We, the Minnesota Timberwolves players, extend our sincere sympathies and love to everyone across the Twin Cities and throughout Minnesota who has been affected by the recent tragic events impacting our communities,” the statement read. “Minnesota is strongest when we uplift and support one another, and there is no room for hatred or division across our great state or among all who live here.

“We mourn the lives lost and send strength, peace and compassion to all who are hurting. We believe in the resilience, unity and care that define Minnesotans, and bring our communities together in times of hardship and need.”

The Timberwolves postponed their game on Saturday against the Golden State Warriors in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Department of Veteran Affairs ICU nurse, involving a Border Patrol agent.

ANTI-ICE PROTESTS TAKE PLACE AS T’WOLVES-WARRIORS NBA GAME TAKES PLACE

“The decision was made to prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community,” the NBA said, adding that the game would be played Sunday.

The following day, NBA fans delivered anti-ICE messages at Target Center, with signs inside the arena reading, “ICE out now.” A moment of silence was held for Pretti — the same protocol for the Timberwolves following the earlier death of Renee Good.

The team held a moment of silence for Good, 37, who was killed while operating a vehicle that agents ordered her to exit, according to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Good, according to Noem, refused and “attempted to run them over and ram them with her vehicle.”

A moment of silence is held for Alex Jeffrey Pretti prior to the start of an NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on Jan. 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (David Berding/Getty Images)

“Our thoughts are with her family and everyone affected, and our hearts are with our community as we hope for healing and unity during this challenging time,” the Target Center’s public address announcer said.

Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch also spoke before his squad defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“As we all know, our community has suffered yet another unspeakable tragedy,” he said. “We want to just convey our condolences and heartfelt wishes and prayers and thoughts to the families and loved ones and all of those that are greatly affected by what happened.”

The National Basketball Players Association released a statement this past Sunday as well.

“Following the news of yet another fatal shooting in Minneapolis, a city that has been on the forefront of the fight against injustices, NBA players can no longer remain silent,” the union said. “Now more than ever, we must defend the right to freedom of speech and stand in solidarity with the people in Minnesota protesting and risking their lives to demand justice.

A demonstrator holds a sign to protest the presence of federal agents in Minneapolis prior to the start of an NBA game between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center on Jan. 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (David Berding/Getty Images)

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“The fraternity of NBA players, like the United States itself, is a community enriched by its global citizens, and we refuse to let the flames of division threaten the civil liberties that are meant to protect us all. The NBPA and its members extend our deepest condolences to the families of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, just as our thoughts remain focused on the safety and well-being of all members of our community.”

The shooting fueled further protests in the Twin Cities amid a recent surge of ICE activity in the area as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos and Ryan Morik contributed to this report.

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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

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