ST. PAUL — The Metropolitan Council projects the Minneapolis-St. Paul area will have an additional 1 million people by 2040, with much of the growth concentrating in the core cities and inner-ring suburbs.
Planners say they expect so-called millennials and others to choose smaller, more convenient housing over big but far-flung suburban dwellings. Meanwhile, growth is expected to continue in the less-developed edges, but more slowly than previously thought.
The metro is expected to grow by 893,000 residents by 2040, according to preliminary population figures released Wednesday by the Met Council.
"The economists who do this forecasting are looking at demographic trends. They're looking at market forces. They're looking at real-estate behavior, consumer choices," Met Council chairwoman Sue Haigh said.
Minneapolis is expected to add about 105,000 residents and grow about 27 percent by 2040. St. Paul's population is forecast to grow by 54,000, or about 19 percent.
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Among the key findings is that the younger end of the millennial generation — those born between 1980 and 2000 — seem to prefer walkable, centrally located neighborhoods served by transit. The number of residents older than 65 will more than double by 2040, leading to more households without children. That trend will boost demand for smaller homes in convenient locations, the report found.
The report also finds gas prices and traffic congestion are leading more people to buy homes near their jobs or on a transit route that provides easy access to work.
The Met Council, the regional planning agency for the seven-county metro area, will spend the next year refining the information, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.
