Central Minnesota Growing Industries: Manufacturing, Healthcare, Retail Trade, Professional and Business Services

Central Minnesota is the fastest growing region of the state, gaining population as the Twin Cities metro area continues to stretch farther north and west and as the St. Cloud metro area expands. The region had five of the ten fastest growing counties in the state from 1990 to 2005, and projections from the state demographer show continued gains over the next 15 years as well. This aggressive population and workforce growth has helped Central Minnesota’s economy enjoy steady job growth. There were just under 700,000 people living in the 13 counties of Central Minnesota in 2007, which was 13 percent of the state’s population. Likewise, there were just under 265,000 covered jobs at 19,000 firms in the region, as well as nearly 50,000 self-employed entrepreneurs, which was also 13 percent of the state total.

The largest employing industries in the region are manufacturing, retail trade, and healthcare and social assistance. Combined, those three industries offer nearly 50 percent of the region’s total employment. But the region has seen changes in many other industries, with job opportunities emerging in local sectors including: health and nursing care services; educational services; restaurants, bars, and coffee shops; administrative and business support services; utilities; fabricated metal, machinery, stone fabrication, and electronic product manufacturing; professional and technical services; and finance, insurance, and real estate.

If you are interested in living and working in Central Minnesota, this website is designed to inform you about job availability and wages in this region of the state. The 50 Growing Industries featured below have been selected because they are currently adding jobs in Central Minnesota and are projected to continue growing into the future. Many of these industries also offer jobs with high pay compared to other jobs in the region. You can use this information to make better career choices as you develop your skills and plan your education.

While the 50 growing industries on this list are worth exploring because of their current and future growth in the region, should you limit your occupational choices to this list? No! Choosing a career is a very personal decision and you should still take into consideration all aspects of a career and industry when you’re making a choice, such as educational requirements, annual wages, and your personality style and work values. In fact, the state of Minnesota tracks more than 770 different occupations, many of which are available in Central Minnesota . For additional information on how to plan your career and conduct an effective job search, please contact your local Minnesota WorkForce Center.

(Industry titles are links to detailed industry information pages that will list demand occupations)


Food Services & Drinking Places	1,155	19,313	$9,880	8.4%	1,494	29.1%	5,104
Social Assistance	314	6,425	$16,640	25.0%	1,287	37.8%	1,938
Home Health Care Services	31	1,943	$24,752	126.7%	1,086	101.9%	944
Department Stores	33	5,013	$17,576	26.6%	1,053	23.2%	961
Hospitals	28	12,755	$45,084	8.5%	1,003	19.3%	2,125
Executive, Leg., & General Government	243	8,541	$32,500	12.5%	952	17.4%	3,544
Elementary & Secondary Schools	251	18,785	$36,764	5.3%	943	18.4%	3,560
Electric Power Generation & Distribution	42	2,557	$75,348	26.6%	537	12.1%	222
Business Support Services (including Call Centers, Copy Shops, and Office Product Leasing & Sales)	58	1,700	$22,724	39.6%	482	43.1%	572
Commercial Banking (Depository Credit)	238	4,317	$39,364	11.2%	435	26.7%	1,034
Offices of Physicians	123	4,400	$68,692	10.7%	424	67.1%	2,681
Community Care Facilities for the Elderly	56	1,584	$15,652	33.4%	397	110.7%	1,311
Grocery Stores	126	6,423	$16,484	6.2%	376	6.5%	398
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Mfg. (including Granite Fabricating, and Brick and Cement Product Manufacturing)	100	2,795	$40,404	15.5%	375	15.3%	365
Warehousing & Storage	17	524	$21,892	231.6%	366	44.6%	74
Computer & Electronic Product Mfg.	30	3,533	$50,388	11.0%	351	11.2%	363
Machine Shops & Threaded Products	158	2,247	$45,344	18.2%	346	20.1%	384
Colleges & Universities	5	2,878	$46,124	11.1%	287	20.5%	1,208
Household Furniture (Cabinet) Mfg.	134	3,207	$32,032	8.7%	258	34.5%	1,025
Accounting & Bookkeeping Services	201	1,293	$33,176	24.8%	257	66.3%	698
Grocery Product Merchant Wholesalers	64	1,787	$41,028	16.0%	246	22.0%	342
Truck Transportation	636	3,505	$39,364	7.5%	244	19.5%	654
Industrial Machinery Manufacturing	14	789	$61,932	43.7%	240	-7.3%	-42
Clothing Stores	154	1,686	$11,960	15.2%	223	28.9%	442
Beverage Manufacturing	4	426	$45,032	106.8%	220	35.3%	77
Building Equipment Contractors	631	3,969	$41,548	5.7%	214	23.8%	914
Boilers, Tanks, & Shipping Container Mfg.	7	507	$56,628	71.3%	211	0.0%	0
Animal Production	141	2,171	$26,572	10.3%	202	1.3%	33
Motor Vehicle Body & Trailer Mfg.	11	846	$45,448	30.6%	198	10.4%	68
Printing & Related Support Activities	86	3,224	$45,448	5.9%	179	10.2%	315
Merchant Wholesalers Nondurable Goods	311	4,686	$41,236	3.8%	171	-1.6%	-75
Forging & Stamping	10	719	$50,960	30.7%	169	17.4%	98
Crop Production	144	1,268	$19,448	15.3%	168	11.0%	142
Services to Buildings & Dwellings	416	2,429	$19,708	6.9%	156	46.9%	967
Outpatient Care Centers	28	588	$39,468	35.8%	155	60.7%	266
Lessors of Real Estate	170	597	$23,712	34.8%	154	26.5%	110
Other Professional & Technical Services	154	985	$27,040	18.1%	151	33.9%	277
Management of Companies	68	1,125	$54,860	15.1%	148	60.8%	605
Amusement, Gambling, & Recreation	268	3,157	$9,776	4.7%	143	30.0%	823
Motor Vehicle/Parts Wholesalers	68	940	$36,972	17.4%	139	84.5%	687
Other Residential Care Facilities	27	402	$15,236	37.7%	110	36.0%	108
Lumber & Supply Merchant Wholesalers	24	742	$39,624	16.7%	106	53.5%	349
Other General Purpose Machinery Mfg.	31	817	$58,292	14.6%	104	9.6%	70
Advertising & Related Services	57	490	$35,464	25.3%	99	48.9%	197
Office Administrative Services	33	406	$49,140	31.8%	98	68.2%	219
Drycleaning & Laundry Services	47	529	$22,984	22.7%	98	14.5%	62
Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing	58	761	$41,236	14.3%	95	-7.0%	-46
Food Manufacturing	131	6,922	$33,436	1.2%	85	4.7%	337
Architectural & Engineering Services	148	849	$46,280	3.5%	29	28.8%	235
Specialty Trade Contractors	2,226	9,566	$37,856	NR	NR	20.4%	2,058

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