Pathways After High School

Workforce Trajectories of Greater Minnesota’s High School Graduates Every year, thousands of students graduate from high schools across Greater Minnesota and step into very different futures. Some head off to colleges. Others enter the workforce directly. Still others disappear from the state’s data entirely —...

Mission & Vision

The Center for Rural Policy and Development provides high quality, objective and nonpartisan research to examine and advance policy and decision-making, rural advocacy, and civic engagement for Greater Minnesota’s development.

The Center for Rural Policy and Development is the leading and most trusted source of policy, research and recommendations to advance and improve the quality of life in Greater Minnesota.

The Center of Rural Policy staff
Center of Everywhere Podcast cover artwork
Season 7

Center of Everywhere Podcast

Check out the new Center of Everywhere podcast where we explore stories of rural Minnesotans who are making a difference in their communities. Rural isn’t in the middle of nowhere, it’s in the center of everywhere.

Outdoors, lake with pine trees on the shore

The State of Rural 2026 Report is Out!

The Center for Rural Policy and Development provides high quality, objective and nonpartisan research to examine and advance policy and decision-making, rural advocacy, and civic engagement for Greater Minnesota’s development.

Latest News & Reports

The Quiet Driver of Rural Minnesota’s Population Trends: It’s Not Just Migration

Pathways After High School

Pathways After High School: Join Us Across Greater Minnesota

Interconnected: Mental Health Care Access for Minnesota’s Communities of Color