City Spending Drops Significantly Since 2000

by | Jun 13, 2018

Some conservatives like to complain about growth in city spending. In reality, spending by Minnesota cities has fallen significantly since the beginning of the century, after properly adjusting for inflation and population growth. The vast majority of this reduction...

Real City Revenues Drop Over the Decade

by | Jan 4, 2017

Despite significant population growth, the inflation-adjusted revenue of all Minnesota cities has declined by six percent from 2006 to 2015. However, the decline is not spread evenly across all revenue categories. Property taxes climbed significantly over the decade,...

Minnesota City Spending Below the National Average

by | Oct 31, 2016

Among conservatives, Minnesota has a reputation as a high spending, big government state. North Star examined these claims earlier this year and found that state and local government revenues and spending—examined in the property context—were actually fairly typical...