ST. PAUL, Minn. (OSV News) -- A report released earlier this year estimates that the Catholic Church in Minnesota contributes more than $5 billion annually in economic benefits to the state.
Called "Fruits of the Vine," the report on this economic impact was commissioned by the Minnesota Catholic Conference and sponsored by the Institute for Policy Research at The Catholic University of America in Washington and the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota in St. Paul.
"We wanted to quantify and highlight the economic impact in a way that demonstrates how the church serves not only Catholics but all Minnesotans," said Christopher Mulcahey, communications manager of the MCC, which represents the public policy interests of the state's Catholic bishops.
Mulcahey explained that the idea for the report was inspired by a similar study conducted in Colorado.
The "Fruits of the Vine" report highlights research conducted by Anna Faria and Grant Clayton. Faria is an assistant professor of economics at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Clayton is an associate professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the same university.
According to the report, Catholic health care organizations provide some of the largest economic contributions to the state.
The report's researchers measured the direct economic impact of such organizations through those organizations' operating expenses, which they determined to be $3.2 billion annually. Clayton said operating expenses were chosen as the measure because they "are the best measure of direct economic impact as they show spending in the community."
As a comparison, researchers included the Rochester-based Mayo Clinic in the report, which reported $5.7 billion in operating expenses in 2022.
"Catholic health care reaches all areas of the state. ... These providers deliver a wide range of services across the state, including hospitals, assisted living, hospice and home care. Smaller Catholic providers in Minnesota are just as important as the larger organizations, with estimated services contributing nearly $1 billion to the economy," the report states.
The state has 170 pre-K through 12th grade Catholic schools and more than 40,000 students are served at those schools each year, the report states.
According to the report's results, from pre-K through higher education, Catholic schools and programs provide roughly $1.45 billion in economic benefits to the state annually -- as of 2024, pre-K Catholic programs provided roughly $53 million, K-12 Catholic schools provided roughly $662 million and Catholic higher education institutions provided roughly $734 million.
As a comparison, the "Fruits of the Vine" report's researchers stated in their report that the St. Paul Public Schools' operating budget for fiscal year 2025 was slightly more than $1 billion.
Additionally, using a methodology previously published by another research team and their own data from a statewide survey conducted with parishes, the report's researchers estimated a net economic benefit of $9,550 per child receiving child care from Catholic parishes.
With an estimated 5,500 children enrolled in Catholic pre-K programs throughout the state, researchers calculated a total of $53 million in direct educational benefits was contributed to the state in 2024.
"Beyond direct financial contributions, pre-K services provide critical unmeasured benefits, such as enabling parents to participate in the labor force and preparing children to be school-ready for both public and Catholic elementary education," the report states.
According to the report, parish operating budgets account for just under $470 million "in direct economic impact annually across the state." The researchers indicated that parish operating budget dollars are spent and recirculated through Minnesota's communities, helping to support jobs throughout the state.
Meanwhile, the report states parishes provide a range of social supports, such as meal service, food pantry operation, clothing distribution, direct financial aid like rent assistance, burial services, assistance for immigrants, ministry to those who are sick and counseling services. According to the report's researchers, such services introduce nearly $10 million into the state's economy annually, serving nearly 1.2 million people statewide.
The report indicates that combined, independent Catholic organizations statewide contribute more than 500,000 volunteer hours each year. Volunteers serve more than 83,000 people in the state, and this effort generates a roughly $80 million combined economic benefit annually. To arrive at this value determination, researchers multiplied the number of volunteer hours with the state's minimum wage.
The report's researchers also highlighted the economic benefit that develops through the "goods and services" purchased via the church in capital campaigns in Minnesota. According to the researchers, the capital campaigns contribute nearly $57 million in economic benefits.
Clayton said that in compiling the "Fruits of the Vine" report, parishes were asked for the most recent capital campaign data they had, and depending on the parish, numbers are from 2023 or 2024, or a combination of both years.
Relying on previous research and methodology, the researchers assumed that 50% of the spending from these campaigns benefits the local economy as they estimated the economic impact of such campaigns and construction expenditures.
"Not all spending is recirculated in the local community and (50%) provides a conservative estimate," Clayton explained.
Using this approach, researchers found that the 50% estimate of parish capital campaign contributions in Minnesota results in an annual "direct local economic impact" of $28 million.
The report's researchers used methodology developed in a 2016 report from the Program for Research on Urban and Civil Society at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia to estimate certain economic "magnet effects" of local church-affiliated activities.
The 2016 report indicates magnet effects occur when congregations "attract visitors and volunteers to their neighborhoods, sometimes coming from suburbs or outlying neighborhoods and spending their money at local stores and other businesses."
The "Fruits of the Vine" report's researchers state magnet effects develop as a result of church events including weddings, funerals and festivals, attracting visitors who spend their money on accommodations, meals and other goods and services.
The researchers estimated that 50% -- a figure based on prior research methodology, Clayton said -- of local church event attendees are out-of-town visitors and that the combined magnet effect of church events in the state is roughly $56 million annually.
To help compile their report, Faria and Clayton conducted a survey between March and June 2024, with MCC's assistance. The survey was sent to all parishes (approximately 600 in the state) in the dioceses of Crookston, Duluth, St. Cloud, New Ulm, Winona-Rochester, and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
The survey had a response rate of 85%, "which meant that our report covered a substantial share of the activities at the parish level in the state," Faria wrote in an email to The Catholic Spirit, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
"One key aspect of our methodology is that we do not account for services offered to members of the church only," Faria wrote. "This guarantees that the report represents the benefits to all Minnesotans."
The report's researchers suggest that the Catholic Church in Minnesota's economic footprint of more than $5 billion "is nearly $700 million larger than the $4.7 billion reported for the direct expenditures of the Minnesota State University system." The report highlights that the church's economic impact in Minnesota is both notable in scale and scope.
"This report is a testament to the church's mission in action," Mulcahey said. "While the numbers and data tell an important story, what truly matters are the lives touched by Catholic education, health care and charitable outreach. The church's impact is measured not just in dollars and jobs but in the dignity restored to the vulnerable, the opportunities given to students, and the care provided to the sick and suffering."
"The church and its charitable organizations play a fundamental role in the provision of public services, often where the state cannot or will not go," Faria wrote.
"Putting a number on this and other effects of the church in the state," she continued, "helps members of the community and policymakers see how the work of the church complements the work of government organizations, relieves some of the fiscal burden to taxpayers and provides benefits to all the people of the state in different capacities."
Mulcahey said MCC hopes the report "encourages collaboration between faith-based organizations, policymakers, and the wider community to address pressing social issues."
"We want decision-makers and taxpayers to recognize that the Catholic Church's work isn't just charitable -- it's also economically beneficial," he said. "By providing essential services, the church reduces the demand for government-funded programs, easing the financial burden on the state and its taxpayers.
"If Catholic schools were to close, for example, the public school system would bear the burden of absorbing those students, increasing costs significantly. Similarly, Catholic hospitals and charities alleviate pressure on government-funded services."
