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Manufacturing Compass

Minnesota manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2024. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Minnesota manufacturing in 2024

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

Establishments

8,550

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
397,198
Share of U.S.Calc
2.2%

Employment

320,271

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,733,350
Share of U.S.Calc
2.5%

Total wages

$26.7 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
2.5%

Average weekly wage

$1,602

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,643
vs. U.S.Calc
−2.5%

Average annual pay

$83,280

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$85,461
vs. U.S.Calc
−2.6%

Location quotient

1.33

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Minnesota is 1.33 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
    47,503
    Establishments
    754
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,885
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +12.1%
    Location quotient
    1.42
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    43,806
    Establishments
    1,584
    Avg. annual pay
    $77,707
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +6.1%
    Location quotient
    1.61
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    43,338
    Establishments
    520
    Avg. annual pay
    $114,063
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −25.6%
    Location quotient
    2.25
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    35,786
    Establishments
    822
    Avg. annual pay
    $85,264
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.9%
    Location quotient
    1.71
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    28,194
    Establishments
    1,183
    Avg. annual pay
    $88,977
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +8.2%
    Location quotient
    2.43
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    16,637
    Establishments
    698
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,560
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +12.2%
    Location quotient
    2.47
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    16,296
    Establishments
    350
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,343
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.9%
    Location quotient
    1.20
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    13,802
    Establishments
    301
    Avg. annual pay
    $105,757
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.5%
    Location quotient
    0.82
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    13,203
    Establishments
    367
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,015
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +15.4%
    Location quotient
    1.69
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    11,914
    Establishments
    252
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,109
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.7%
    Location quotient
    0.36
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    9,696
    Establishments
    377
    Avg. annual pay
    $80,090
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +6.0%
    Location quotient
    1.23
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    8,775
    Establishments
    466
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,042
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +9.7%
    Location quotient
    1.35
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    8,046
    Establishments
    100
    Avg. annual pay
    $86,879
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +6.4%
    Location quotient
    1.20
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    6,516
    Establishments
    186
    Avg. annual pay
    $87,834
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +2.4%
    Location quotient
    0.82
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    5,474
    Establishments
    246
    Avg. annual pay
    $48,068
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −21.4%
    Location quotient
    0.87
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    5,067
    Establishments
    93
    Avg. annual pay
    $95,093
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +6.5%
    Location quotient
    0.73
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    2,115
    Establishments
    122
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,532
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.4%
    Location quotient
    1.15
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    2,096
    Establishments
    21
    Avg. annual pay
    $149,282
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.6%
    Location quotient
    1.00
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,011
    Establishments
    23
    Avg. annual pay
    $82,400
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +39.3%
    Location quotient
    2.11
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    646
    Establishments
    73
    Avg. annual pay
    $46,009
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −20.6%
    Location quotient
    0.42
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    351
    Establishments
    13
    Avg. annual pay
    $54,783
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.2%
    Location quotient
    0.22

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/2024/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2024 (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