Most Minnesota college grads stay in-state

The vast majority of Minnesota college students end up staying put after graduation.

• But we trail states such as California, Colorado and Illinois when it comes to attracting out-of-state grads.

The big picture: Minnesota is one of just nine states that is home to more college graduates than we produce, per the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Why it matters: The data shows that Minnesota's economic flywheel is working, said Matt Lewis, vice president of strategic initiatives for GreaterMSP.

• A strong stable of big employers in the Twin Cities benefits from — and employs — graduates from the University of Minnesota and other local private colleges.
• Lewis pointed to other Big Ten schools where that isn't the case. For example, Iowa City can’t absorb all of the University of Iowa grads and young professionals have to look elsewhere.

Zoom out: Around two-thirds of all U.S. students stay to work in the state they graduated from, per the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Zoom in: In Minnesota, the percentage is more than 75%, a Washington Post analysis of the data found.

Driving the numbers: Those who do leave are most likely to end up in neighboring Wisconsin.

• Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota all send a notable number of their own grads our way.