The Minneapolis/Saint Paul metropolitan area is a prime example of how strong employment growth is putting a strain on the housing supply available in many U.S. cities. Since 2000, the number of Twin Cities households that face a housing cost burden—defined as spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing—has increased by 25 percent to a total of 199,000 households as of 2015, according to the Metropolitan Council.
Minneapolis/Saint Paul now has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the United States among large cities at 3.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The disconnect between where businesses are expanding and where their employees can afford to live was one of the topics addressed at a recent ULI Minnesota event.