What skilled trades pay in Minnesota, where the jobs are and how work is changing, from 37 public government sources. The best-paying trade here is elevator installer at a $128,020 median. For every trade and metro, start from the Minnesota pay page.
How Minnesota compares
39 of the 40 trades we track in Minnesota pay more than in a typical U.S. metro. The biggest premiums are for plasterer (+74%), plumber (+54%) and brickmason (+51%), and the biggest gaps for pest control technician (-6%) and wind turbine technician (+3%). Prices in Minnesota's metros run about 9% below the U.S. average, and a typical 1-bedroom rents for $1,023 a month (U.S. metros: $1,097).
Best-paying trades in Minnesota
Statewide median pay, BLS May 2025. The lowest-paying trade we track here is pest control technician at $41,640.
Every trade in Minnesota
Statewide medians and jobs, BLS OEWS May 2025. “vs. U.S.” compares with the typical U.S. metro median for the trade.
Where the jobs are
- Maintenance Technician: 29,660 jobs
- Construction Laborer: 28,530 jobs
- Landscaper: 17,610 jobs
- Carpenter: 14,930 jobs
- Electrician: 14,350 jobs
Minnesota metros, best pay first
Ranked by how each metro's trade pay compares with all U.S. metros, averaged across trades.
Construction hiring
- Duluth: +4.0% (5,191 workers)
- Minneapolis: -0.1% (79,455 workers)
Change in private construction jobs from a year earlier, 2026 Q1, metros with at least 5,000 construction workers (BLS QCEW).
Unions
14.1% of Minnesota workers belong to a union (15.8% are covered by a union contract), compared with about 10% nationally (all jobs, 2025).
Apprenticeships
Registered apprentices in Minnesota who finished or left a program in FY2020–2024 completed most often in electrical lineworker (83%), HVAC technician (80%) and plumber (77%).
Wages and safety
Unpaid wages recovered
Since 2018, the U.S. Labor Department has concluded 94 wage cases against construction employers in Minnesota, recovering $2,426,478 in back wages for 2,217 workers.offer check and keep your own record of hours.
DOL Wage and Hour Division enforcement data, cases concluded 2018–2026. Counts only; employers aren't named here.
Safety inspections
In 2025, Minnesota's state-run safety program and federal OSHA opened 315 inspections of construction worksites in the state. About 23% were set off by a complaint, a referral or an accident (11 after an accident or fatality); the rest were planned spot checks.
OSHA inspection data via the U.S. Department of Labor, construction (NAICS 23), inspections opened in 2025. Counts only.
Storm and disaster rebuild work
Since 2016, the Minnesota metros with the most federal major disasters are Duluth (7), Mankato (4) and Minneapolis (4) (FEMA).
Veterans
Veterans: train on the job with the GI Bill
In Minnesota, 307 employers and programs are approved for GI Bill on-the-job training and apprenticeships, across all fields. Veterans in an approved trade apprenticeship can get a monthly housing allowance on top of apprentice pay. Search approved employers with the VA's GI Bill Comparison Tool.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, GI Bill Comparison Tool data, October 2026.
Common questions
What is the highest-paying skilled trade in Minnesota?
Elevator Installer pays the most of the trades we track, with a $128,020 statewide median (BLS, May 2025), followed by electrical lineworker and plasterer.
Which trade has the most jobs in Minnesota?
maintenance technicians, with about 29,660 jobs statewide, followed by construction laborers and landscapers.
Which Minnesota city pays the trades best?
Minneapolis, compared with other U.S. metros across the trades we track, followed by Rochester.
Is construction hiring growing in Minnesota?
In 2026 Q1, private construction jobs were up 4.0% from a year earlier in Duluth, the fastest-changing large market in the state, and down 0.1% in Minneapolis.
Part of the State of Trade Pay 2026 report. Cite as “PayByTrade, State of Trade Pay in Minnesota 2026, payby.trade/report/mn/.”