A report released this year estimates that the Catholic Church in Minnesota contributes more than $5 billion annually in economic benefits to the state.
The “Fruits of the Vine: The Economic Impact of the Catholic Church in Minnesota” report was commissioned by the Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC) and sponsored by the Institute for Policy Research at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., 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.
‘Catholic health care reaches all areas of the state’
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.”
The report’s researchers determined that in 2024, St. Cloud Hospital represented the single largest Catholic health care facility in the state, with operating expenses totaling roughly $927 million. The researchers highlighted other large Catholic health care providers, which included facilities within the Essentia, Benedictine, Avera and CHI systems, with operating expenses in 2024 totaling roughly $878 million, $208 million, $163 million and $144 million, respectively. The operating expenses of other Catholic health care organizations was determined to total just over $949 million in 2024, according to the report.
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.
Catholic education and pre-K services
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.
To estimate the benefit that Catholic schools and programs in Minnesota provide to the state for the roughly 40,000 pre-K through 12th grade students, the report’s researchers used the state’s mean operating expenditures per pupil value of $16,251, identified in a guide published in 2023 by Tim Strom, a Minnesota legislative analyst who specializes in K-12 education finance.
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 childcare 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.
Parish operating budgets and social supports
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.
Catholic organizations and volunteer contributions
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 cited two examples of independent Catholic organizations, among others: Catholic Charities of Minnesota and the Knights of Columbus. According to the report, Catholic Charities contributes roughly 350,000 volunteer hours for a combined economic benefit of over $86 million annually. Meanwhile, the Knights of Columbus organization contributes more than 173,000 volunteer hours and contributes $1.5 million in annual expenditures, according to the report.
“(W)e estimate the value of volunteer hours in the provision of social services either through the parishes or other state organizations,” Faria explained in an email.
Capital campaigns and local impact
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.
Catholic events and ‘magnet effects’
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.
As an example, the report’s researchers indicate the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul attracts approximately 100,000 total annual visitors (which includes out-of-town visitors) for an estimated economic benefit of roughly $4 million within the state.
The research behind the report
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 account for missing data related to the survey they conducted, the researchers imputed data using what was available to them at the parish level. They “extrapolated systematically from reported data,” Faria wrote. “This means we took into account diocesan characteristics to estimate missing values.”
As an example, Faria explained, survey results indicated that 29% of parishes in the archdiocese provide childcare. “To estimate how many children were enrolled over that year in the non-reporting parishes we assumed that the share of non-reporting parishes in the archdiocese that provided childcare was 29%,” Faria wrote. Comparatively, in St. Cloud, the share was 15%, according to Faria.
Additionally, Faria said she and Clayton had access to “diocesan aggregated information and financial reports for organizations that operate in the state” as they conducted their research.
“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 Church’s mission in action’
As a comparison, the “Fruits of the Vine” 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.”
Faria said she and Clayton believe the report “underestimates the economic value of the Church in Minnesota.”
“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 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. 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.”
“We hope this report serves as both a recognition of past and present contributions and a call to ensure the Church can continue its vital work for generations to come,” Mulcahey said.
DISTRIBUTING THE REPORT
Christopher Mulcahey — communications manager of the Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC), which represents the public policy interests of the state’s Catholic bishops — said the conference plans to share the “Fruits of the Vine: The Economic Impact of the Catholic Church in Minnesota” report “broadly, beginning with the Catholic community to help Catholics recognize the Church’s far-reaching impact.”
“For Catholics, we hope this report instills a sense of pride and responsibility — pride in the Church’s enduring commitment to service and responsibility to sustain and strengthen these ministries for future generations,” Mulcahey said. “The sections on Catholic education, health care, charitable organizations, and parish services are particularly compelling, as they show the breadth of the Church’s engagement in areas that directly improve people’s lives.”
Mulcahey said the MCC plans to distribute the report to legislators and policymakers “to ensure they understand the Church’s vital contributions to Minnesota’s social infrastructure.”
“We hope legislators will recognize the Catholic Church as a key partner in addressing social challenges, from poverty alleviation to health care access and education,” Mulcahey said. “Given the Church’s significant contributions, particularly in areas where government services fall short, we urge policymakers to consider how legislation can support, rather than hinder, the work of faith-based organizations. This means ensuring religious organizations retain the freedom to serve in accordance with their beliefs and fostering policies that strengthen, rather than diminish, institutions that provide essential services to communities.”
In publicly sharing the report and by engaging with different public audiences, Mulcahey said the MCC hopes “to spark conversations about the importance of faith-based institutions in fostering human flourishing and serving the common good.”
“For all Minnesotans, we want to highlight the Church’s role as a significant economic and social force, and how the Church’s work ultimately saves taxpayers money,” Mulcahey explained. “The report provides concrete data on employment, social services, and charitable giving, showing that the Church’s presence benefits communities far beyond its own members. It challenges the misconception that faith-based organizations operate solely for their adherents. We serve all Minnesotans, not because they are Catholic, but because we are.”
