Wrong Track MN
Minnesotans can feel that our state isn’t doing well.
On the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Mississippi fourth graders outperform Minnesota fourth graders in reading. Mississippi black and Hispanic students also outperform Minnesota black and Hispanic students in reading.
NAEP Fourth-Grade Reading Minnesota and Mississippi Comparison
Minnesota is now, officially, a below-average Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — or income — per capita state.
As recently as 2014, GDP per capita in Minnesota was $4,658 above that of the United States generally, or $18,632 for a family of four. In every year since 2014, that advantage has fallen until, last year, it vanished completely, and Minnesota became, for the first time on record, a state with below-average per capita GDP.
GDP Per Capita in Minnesota Minus GDP Per Capita for the United States, 2017$
Minnesota (9.8%) ranked second on the Tax Foundation’s annual ranking of state corporate income taxes, with only New Jersey posting a higher rate of 11.5%.
But New Jersey only imposes that 11.5% rate on net taxable income above $10 million annually; below that, the business is taxed at lower rates ranging from 6.5% to 9.0%. Minnesota, by contrast, imposes the rate of 9.8% on the very first dollar of net taxable income. So, while a business with $10 million of net taxable income in New Jersey will face a top rate of corporate income tax of 9.0%, in Minnesota it will face a rate of $9.8%. For this smaller business, the effective tax rate — the actual percentage of net taxable income paid in tax — is higher in Minnesota than in any other state.
Effective Tax Rate on a Business With $10 Million Net Taxable Income, 2026
At a press conference on December 18, 2025, then-lead federal prosecutor Joe Thompson shared that of the $18 billion paid out by 14 “high-risk” Medicaid programs in Minnesota, “half or more” had likely gone to fraud.
Center of the American Experiment is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization fighting to get Minnesota back on the right track. To support our work, make a contribution today.