Skip to content
Manufacturing Compass

North Dakota 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

North Dakota manufacturing in 2023

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

Establishments

887

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
392,201
Share of U.S.Calc
0.2%

Employment

28,259

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,868,061
Share of U.S.Calc
0.2%

Total wages

$2 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
0.2%

Average weekly wage

$1,340

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,588
vs. U.S.Calc
−15.6%

Average annual pay

$69,701

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$82,575
vs. U.S.Calc
−15.6%

Location quotient

0.80

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in North Dakota is 0.80 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. 4 are withheld by BLS (“Not disclosed”). For 1, BLS publishes no figures at all (“No BLS data”). Subsectors therefore may not add up to the manufacturing total.

  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    6,510
    Establishments
    89
    Avg. annual pay
    $76,538
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.9%
    Location quotient
    2.10
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    5,252
    Establishments
    160
    Avg. annual pay
    $64,037
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +8.0%
    Location quotient
    1.10
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,603
    Establishments
    27
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,989
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.2%
    Location quotient
    2.26
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    2,419
    Establishments
    138
    Avg. annual pay
    $63,788
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.0%
    Location quotient
    0.61
  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    2,203
    Establishments
    39
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,457
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −25.0%
    Location quotient
    0.45
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    1,651
    Establishments
    31
    Avg. annual pay
    $66,495
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −0.1%
    Location quotient
    0.82
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,406
    Establishments
    70
    Avg. annual pay
    $72,802
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +0.1%
    Location quotient
    1.22
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    1,365
    Establishments
    49
    Avg. annual pay
    $89,104
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −41.6%
    Location quotient
    0.45
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    1,012
    Establishments
    37
    Avg. annual pay
    $93,299
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.2%
    Location quotient
    0.41
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    705
    Establishments
    58
    Avg. annual pay
    $45,646
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −22.4%
    Location quotient
    0.69
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    703
    Establishments
    54
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,711
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.2%
    Location quotient
    0.72
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    526
    Establishments
    64
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,992
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −25.5%
    Location quotient
    0.31
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    378
    Establishments
    23
    Avg. annual pay
    $41,783
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −28.8%
    Location quotient
    0.41
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    275
    Establishments
    18
    Avg. annual pay
    $56,300
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +8.7%
    Location quotient
    1.00
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    161
    Establishments
    10
    Avg. annual pay
    $48,752
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −39.9%
    Location quotient
    0.14
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    16
    Establishments
    4
    Avg. annual pay
    $40,104
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −28.0%
    Location quotient
    0.07
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    7
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    7
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    3
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    Not disclosed
    Establishments
    2
    Avg. annual pay
    Not disclosed
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    Not disclosed
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    No BLS data
    Establishments
    No BLS data
    Avg. annual pay
    No BLS data
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    —
    Location quotient
    No BLS data

03By year

North Dakota 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 North Dakota by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
202227,309$65,577−17.5%
202328,259$69,701−15.6%
202428,225$70,827−17.1%
202527,820$73,087−18.3%

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