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Statement from Mayor Ness on the 2010 Census

[Duluth, MN] - Today, the U.S. Census released the official data set for Minnesota and shows Duluth’s population at 86,265. This figure represents a 27 person increase since 2000 when Duluth’s population numbered 86,238*.

The 2009 CENSUS projections had anticipated a population decline of 2.1%, or a total of 84,419. Instead, Duluth's population total has remained relatively unchanged for the third consecutive CENSUS.

Looking ahead, Mayor Don Ness has set the goal of reaching 90,000 residents by 2020. Mayor Ness challenged the community to create a culture of growth and expansion in order to reach this goal.

"Twenty years ago, we could take pride in the fact that we were no longer losing population. Today, we are no longer satisfied with maintaining the status quo," said Mayor Ness. "Not only am I confident that we can reach 90,000 within the next ten years, but with a new growth orientation, that will be just the first milestone that we reach".

Mayor Ness broadly outlined his "90 by 20" initiative (90,000 by 2020) at the State of the City address on March 7th, 2011 and will outline further details on the initiative throughout the year. Reaching 90,000 would represent a 4.3% growth in population. The City of Duluth has not experienced at least 4% growth in a single decade since the decade between 1910 and 1920, almost a century ago.

“Duluth is primed for growth.” said Mayor Ness. “The benefits are clear; Duluth will be a healthier, more vibrant community with steady and sustained population growth. But it won’t happen without community business leaders making a firm commitment to achieve this important goal”.

*The 2000 Census initially showed Duluth’s population at 86,918, but the Census issued a correction following the release of the 2000 data set. The corrected data is available at the following web link: