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Manufacturing Compass

Minnesota manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2023. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Minnesota manufacturing in 2023

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in Minnesota combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

8,650

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
392,201
Share of U.S.Calc
2.2%

Employment

325,878

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,868,061
Share of U.S.Calc
2.5%

Total wages

$25.7 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
2.4%

Average weekly wage

$1,519

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,588
vs. U.S.Calc
−4.3%

Average annual pay

$78,976

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$82,575
vs. U.S.Calc
−4.4%

Location quotient

1.34

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Minnesota is 1.34 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first.

  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    47,271
    Establishments
    761
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,033
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +9.6%
    Location quotient
    1.44
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    45,141
    Establishments
    1,588
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,440
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +6.2%
    Location quotient
    1.65
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    44,469
    Establishments
    535
    Avg. annual pay
    $109,233
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −28.4%
    Location quotient
    2.14
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    36,311
    Establishments
    838
    Avg. annual pay
    $80,594
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.1%
    Location quotient
    1.70
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    28,329
    Establishments
    1,220
    Avg. annual pay
    $80,993
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +4.1%
    Location quotient
    2.40
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    17,644
    Establishments
    700
    Avg. annual pay
    $67,084
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +14.0%
    Location quotient
    2.52
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    17,247
    Establishments
    368
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,268
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.5%
    Location quotient
    1.24
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    13,330
    Establishments
    306
    Avg. annual pay
    $103,603
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.1%
    Location quotient
    0.79
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    13,072
    Establishments
    358
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,265
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +14.5%
    Location quotient
    1.65
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    12,524
    Establishments
    248
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,547
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −21.5%
    Location quotient
    0.37
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    9,701
    Establishments
    370
    Avg. annual pay
    $75,688
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +4.1%
    Location quotient
    1.23
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    8,711
    Establishments
    474
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,689
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +9.7%
    Location quotient
    1.29
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    8,240
    Establishments
    99
    Avg. annual pay
    $81,669
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +3.8%
    Location quotient
    1.21
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    6,647
    Establishments
    193
    Avg. annual pay
    $82,620
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +1.9%
    Location quotient
    0.85
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    5,498
    Establishments
    246
    Avg. annual pay
    $47,245
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −19.5%
    Location quotient
    0.86
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    5,337
    Establishments
    91
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,752
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.3%
    Location quotient
    0.76
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    2,310
    Establishments
    128
    Avg. annual pay
    $49,021
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.4%
    Location quotient
    1.22
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    2,025
    Establishments
    21
    Avg. annual pay
    $153,078
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +11.2%
    Location quotient
    0.99
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,041
    Establishments
    23
    Avg. annual pay
    $80,220
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +39.9%
    Location quotient
    2.09
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    671
    Establishments
    72
    Avg. annual pay
    $42,714
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −23.3%
    Location quotient
    0.40
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    360
    Establishments
    14
    Avg. annual pay
    $48,601
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −14.6%
    Location quotient
    0.21

03By year

Minnesota manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in Minnesota by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
2022323,723$76,949−3.2%
2023325,878$78,976−4.4%
2024320,271$83,280−2.6%
2025315,307$86,634−3.2%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2023/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2023 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology