Dakota County, Minnesota "The Only Obvious Choice ... Creating Infinite Opportunities"

Stretching from the Minneapolis-St. Paul border on the north to rural areas in the south, Dakota County built a diversified economy in manufacturing, information technology and food/energy/chemical companies and a robust housing market.

When the financial crisis slammed the economy, the county responded by accelerating collaboration among its community colleges, businesses and government to significantly boost its share of knowledge-based businesses – particularly the entrepreneurial companies that power sustainable job growth – and to expand the skilled labor pool through education and retraining.

Most of the county has been well served by commercial carriers and enjoys 74% residential broadband penetration and 95-100% penetration of business and education. The data centers of multinational companies also form the core of a growing ICT cluster, and medical devices and logistics are emerging areas.

The public-private effort has already helped generate new ICT-dependent jobs equal to 8% of the total population, and a task force of citizens, businesses, institutions and government led by nonprofit Dakota Future is charting a path to faster, sustainable growth.