Manufacturing

People who work in manufacturing make a wide range of products to improve the lives of people around the world – from medical devices to food to recreational vehicles and everything in between. Roughly 326,000 people work in manufacturing jobs in Minnesota, making it the second largest employing industry in the state. In fact, manufacturing accounted for one in every nine jobs in Minnesota in 2023. Manufacturing workers made an average annual wage of just under $79,000, which is $7,500 higher than the state’s overall average wage in 2023. Many manufacturing jobs can be started with a high school diploma or GED and on-the-job training. There is a big demand for people to work in manufacturing positions in Minnesota, now and into the future: Minnesota expects more than 93,000 job openings for manufacturing production positions through 2032, due to new jobs being created and a large number of replacement openings – jobs that become available as existing workers retire out of the labor force or change careers.