This report presents an overview of social and economic census data on African Americans, American Indians, Asians, and Chicanos/Latinos in the seven county metropolitan area of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Among the findings are the following: (1) communities of color made up 9.2 percent of the total metropolitan area population in 1980; (2) poverty rates for people of color rose dramatically in the metropolitan area between 1979 and 1989, increasing from 26 to 37 percent among African Americans, from 30 to 41 percent among American Indians, from 24 to 32 percent among Asians, and from 17 to 19 percent among Chicanos/Latinos; (3) men from African American and American Indian communities are three times as likely as white men to be officially unemployed, while women from these communities are four times as likely as white women to be unemployed; (4) the unemployment rates for African American men and women increased sharply from 1980 to 1990 in both the central cities and suburbs; (5) fewer than one of every three African American and American Indian households in the metropolitan region and fewer than half of Asian and Chicano/Latino households own their own homes; and (6) more than one-third of African American and American Indian households in the metropolitan region have no vehicle and must rely on public transportation. Appendices include statistics on population trends for communities of color, the living arrangements of minority children, and data sources. (GLR)