Elevator Installers in the Minneapolis area earn a median of $128,020 a year, 18% above the typical U.S. metro. That ranks #14 of 53 U.S. metros nationwide.
What this means Our calculation
Pay for elevator installers here is above average compared with other U.S. metros, and also above average once local prices are factored in. For the wider job market, unemployment is lower than in most metros (3.7%) and the population is growing at a typical pace (+2.6% since 2020). On your own, you'd join about 186 one-person building equipment installation businesses averaging $103,468 in revenue, and you'd need to bill roughly $136/hour to match the median salary (at our default assumptions).
A summary of the numbers on this page; nothing here is estimated beyond them.
Minneapolis scorecard for elevator installers Our calculation
Grades compare Minneapolis with every other U.S. metro for this trade (A = top 20%).
Pay Government data
Pay range
Shaded: the middle half of workers. Grey line: typical U.S. metro ($108,250).
Pay over time
The median pay for elevator installers in the Minneapolis area went from $110,560 in 2020 to $128,020 in 2025, up 15.8%. Prices rose 25% over the same period, so after inflation that's -7.6% — a real pay cut.
BLS OEWS, May 2020–May 2025; inflation: CPI-U (May to May). Year-to-year changes can include survey noise.
Compared with nearby metros
What the pay is really worth in Minneapolis Our calculation
Prices in the Minneapolis area run 5% above the U.S. average. Adjusted for that, a median paycheck here buys what $122,131 would in a typical place, ranking #20 of 52 on real pay.
Two different views, don't combine them. Real pay already accounts for housing, because the price index includes rent. Rent burden shows what share of pay a typical 1-bedroom takes. Use either one, not both together.
What elevator installers do
Assemble, install, repair, or maintain electric or hydraulic freight or passenger elevators, escalators, or dumbwaiters.
Most important day-to-day tasks
- Inspect wiring connections, control panel hookups, door installations, and alignments and clearances of cars and hoistways to ensure that equipment will operate properly.
- Assemble, install, repair, and maintain elevators, escalators, moving sidewalks, and dumbwaiters, using hand and power tools, and testing devices such as test lamps, ammeters, and voltmeters.
- Disassemble defective units, and repair or replace parts such as locks, gears, cables, and electric wiring.
- Check that safety regulations and building codes are met, and complete service reports verifying conformance to standards.
- Locate malfunctions in brakes, motors, switches, and signal and control systems, using test equipment.
Outlook & getting started
Nationally, elevator installer jobs are projected to grow 5.7% from 2025 to 2035 (all jobs: 3.5%), with about 1,900 openings a year. About nan% are self-employed.
What the work is like Government data
How often elevator installers deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes medium preparation (vocational training or an apprenticeship, often 1–2+ years).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Getting started: registered apprenticeship Government data
Most elevator installers train through a paid apprenticeship: you work and earn under experienced pros while taking classes, and pay usually rises as you progress. 727,586 people were active registered apprentices nationwide in FY2026, up 87% since FY2016, and construction is the largest field with 290,043 of them (40%), according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Search apprenticeship openings near Minneapolis ↗Find training programs & sponsors ↗
Official U.S. Department of Labor tools at Apprenticeship.gov. Counts: DOL Apprentices by State dashboard, FY2026 (all occupations).
Licensing in Minnesota Official source
The main state licensing office in Minnesota is the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. It can point you to the right license for elevator installers.
Official Minnesota licensing site ↗
Requirements for elevator installers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
On-the-job safety Government data
Nationally, elevator installers have 101 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.2× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.
BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024 (national, cases with days away from work).
How much work is there? Government data
Local job market
The Minneapolis area's unemployment rate was 3.7% in 2025 (all workers, not just elevator installers), below the typical U.S. metro's 4.1%. It was 3.6% in 2021.
BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, annual averages 2021–2025 (2025 preliminary).
Getting to work
The average commute in the Minneapolis area is 24 minutes each way, about the same as the typical metro (24 min). 11% of commuters spend 45 minutes or more. 68% drive alone, 2% take transit and 17% work from home (all workers, not just trades).
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table S0801).
Population
The Minneapolis area's population grew 2.6% from 2020 to 2025 (3,694,131 → 3,790,295), ranking #190 of 387 metros for growth (typical metro +2.5%). People moving in (net +34,827) account for part of the change.
Census Bureau population estimates, July 1 of each year, 2020–2025.
Homes in Minneapolis
The Minneapolis area has about 1,591,390 homes. 48% were built before 1980 (typical metro 45%), so its housing is about as old as most; 14% were built in 2010 or later. 70% of households own their home, and the median home value is $384,300.
Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates (table DP04).
New construction
New-home permits in Minneapolis are down 44% from 2021 to 2025 (26,077 → 14,516).
In 2025 the Minneapolis area approved permits for 14,516 new homes (8,868 single-family), or 3.9 per 1,000 residents, ranking #169 of 393 metros.
Competition
In 2024 the area had 186 one-person businesses (no employees) in building equipment installation, averaging $103,468 a year in revenue before expenses.
They compete with 90 building equipment installation companies that have employees (about 2,303 workers in total). 57% of those companies have fewer than 5 employees.
Employee vs. working for yourself Your scenario
A model, not a market rate. It shows the minimum you'd need to bill to match a $128,020 employee salary once you cover what an employer normally pays for. Change any number.
Minimum billing rate
How this calculator works. Billable hours are hours you can charge a customer. Driving, quoting, paperwork and slow weeks aren't billable, which is why 1,400 is a common starting point versus 2,080 paid hours as an employee.
Get elevator installer pricing & estimate templates →Compare Minneapolis with another city →
About this data
- Pay: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2025, local to this metro.
- Pay over time: BLS OEWS May 2020–2025, local; inflation from the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U).
- Real pay: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024, local.
- Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents, FY2027, local (county rents weighted by population).
- Job outlook, education, training: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national.
- Duties: O*NET 31.0, national.
- Safety: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2023–2024, national.
- New construction: Census Building Permits, 2021–2025, local.
- Housing: Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year, local (age of homes, ownership, home values).
- Population: Census Bureau population estimates, 2020–2025, local.
- Commute: Census American Community Survey, 2024 1-year, local, all workers.
- Unemployment: BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 2021–2025 annual averages, local, all workers (2025 preliminary).
- Competition: Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024 and County Business Patterns 2023, local, reported by industry, so related trades can share one figure.
- Jobs are employment estimates, not open positions. Grades rank this metro against all others for the same trade.