By Theodore Tollefson

As the results of the 2020 United States Census have been released to the public over the summer of 2020, Dakota County was one of many throughout the nation that saw an increase in population size over the last decade.

The results of the 2020 Census will cause changes in how districts are drawn for voting over the next decade, how many congressional seats each state receive, and how federal, state and other government funding will be given out to cities, townships, and counties across the country.

Dakota County’s population grew by 7.6 percent from 2010 to 2020 from 398,552 people to 439,882 people. The city in Dakota County that saw the largest population growth was Lakeville with a population increase of 20.2 percent from 55,954 people in 2010 to 69,490 people in 2020.

The population of Hastings has remained fairly the same in the past decade as the Census results showed a change of 18 people from 2010 to 2020. In 2010, the United States Census reported a total population of 22,172 people in Hastings, while in 2020, the total population was reported to be 22,154 people. Although Hastings only saw a decline of 18 people in the population reported from the 2010 Census to the 2020 Census. Hastings is still the only city of 11 in Dakota County that had a population decline reported in the 2020 Census.

With the results in Race and Hispanic Origin, Hastings Census results show it to be the whitest and least diverse population in the county with 93.8 percent of the population being white. The second highest percent for race by population in Hastings is the Hispanic or Latino population at 3.9 percent followed by Two or More Races at 2.3 percent, Black or African American at 1.5 percent, American Indian and Alaska Native at 0.9 percent, Asian at 0.5 percent, and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander at 0.1 percent.

Dakota County’s overall Race and Hispanic Origin results have the county population at 83.6 percent white, 7.6 Hispanic or Latino, 7.5 percent Black or African American, 5.2 percent Asian, 3 percent of Two or More Races, 0.6 American Indian and Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian and See CENSUS Page 3 Census

Pacific Islander at 0.1 percent.

The most diverse population by city in Dakota County remains to be Burnsville with 72.9 percent being white. The second highest percent for race by population in Burnsville is the Black or African American at 13.8 percent, Hispanic or Latino at 8 percent, Asian at 4.8 percent, Two or More Races at 4.7 percent, American Indian and Alaskan Native at 0.1 percent and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander at 0 percent.

One of the newer categories to the Census in 2020 was the categorization of households with computers and internet access in a population. In Dakota County 94.7 percent of the population own a computer within their household, while 89.4 percent have a broadband Internet subscription. The city with the highest computer ownership in Dakota County is Farmington at 96.8 percent of the population owning a computer. The city with the highest percent of the population having a broadband Internet subscription is Rosemount with 94 percent of the population having Internet access.

For Hastings, 90.4 percent of households within the population own a computer while 84.9 percent of the population has a broadband Internet subscription.

The median household income for Dakota County is above the national average which was reported to be $65,712 from the 2020 Census results. Dakota County’s median household income was reported to be at $86,036 with the persons in poverty rate at 6.3 percent, which is about half the national poverty rate that sits at 12.3 percent.

For Hastings, the median household income was reported to be at $71,264 while the poverty rate for Hastings sits at 6.8 percent. The city with the highest median household income in Dakota County is Mendota Heights with a median household income of $121,214 with only 5 percent of their population in poverty. The city with the highest poverty rate in Dakota County is West St. Paul with a 13.4 poverty rate. West. St. Paul also has the lowest median household income at $56,097.

The education rate of Dakota County for people aged 25 or older for people who have a high school diploma or achieved a higher degree of education is 95.1 percent of the county population. While the education rate for people aged 25 or older that have achieved a bachelor’s degree or higher is 42.2 percent of the county’s population.

The cities in Dakota County with the highest education rate for people aged 25 or older who have a high school diploma or achieved a higher degree of education are both Lakevill

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and Eagan at 96.7 percent. While the city with the lowest education rate for people aged 25 or older who have a high school diploma or achieved a higher degree of education is West St. Paul with 90.8 percent.

Hastings’ education rate for people aged 25 or older who have a high school diploma or achieved a higher degree of education is 95.5. Hastings’ education rate for people aged 25 or older that have achieved a bachelor’s degree or higher is 27.5 percent, the second lowest higher education rate in Dakota County. The city with the lowest higher education rate for people 25 or older that have achieved a bachelor’s degree or higher is South St. Paul at 27.2 percent. The city with the highest higher education rate for people 25 or older that have achieved a bachelor’s degree or higher is Mendota Heights at 63.7 percent.

These results from the 2020 Census show how Dakota County and Hastings have both grown and changed throughout the last decade in many categories of population. The Census results will also change the layout of voting districts throughout the country. On September 30, the Census Bureau will deliver the final redistricting data toolkit to all states and the public that they need to complete the redistricting process before 2022.