Frigid temperatures this weekend prompt cold weather advisories

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

I covered education for a decade in the Twin Cities before coming to MPR and the economy. So when I see data on either topic that surprise me, I want to know more.

 from the state's demography office detailing the education and economic changes of young people in Minnesota in the past decade.

I started looking at the gender splits in the data and didn't know what to make of them.

I have a theory (keep reading). I'll be following up with the study's author. But I really need help understanding what might be happening. Take a look at 

and then tell me what you see. Post below or 

Here are the charts that got me interested. The first shows a significant increase during the decade in the percentage of young women living home. (Click on the chart for a larger view.)

My first thought was that it was recession related. We've written a bunch about the Great Recession

with mom and dad. That wouldn't explain, though, why the percentage of women at home has risen significantly while the percentage of males has stayed about the same during the decade. And the report discounts the recession's effect

The stagnant wages idea was interesting, though Census Bureau data shows Minnesota isn't the worst in the nation.

 in education. But you can really see the difference in the past decade.

The emergence of Hmong girls and young women as academic success stories has really flown under the radar. But it's there.

As a group, they've embraced education as the path to independence. Many,  though, are still bound by family traditions.

That means many Hmong women live at home and help with family work at the same time they take on the rigors of college, which would explain the 

My colleague Sasha Aslanian produced a terrific story last fall on the 

. It was a first person account by Kao Choua Vue.

If you listen to that story and look back at the demography report, you can't help but think something really good is happening. It's evidence of an economic and social transformation underway.

Business and Economic News

MinnEcon Blog

Paul Tosto

Author

More young Minnesota living home, going to college. What's happening?

Minnesota’s young women: Leaping in education, living home

Go Deeper.

Like this?