Minnesota energy profile

Manufacturing energy costs in Minnesota

As of Jul 2026, industrial electricity in Minnesota runs 10.34 cents per kWh. That is 5.8% more expensive than the U.S. average and places the state 33 of 51 nationally.

Current prices in Minnesota

  • Industrial electricity: 10.34 cents per kWh (Jul 2026, EIA).
  • Commercial electricity, the rate a warehouse or distribution center in Minnesota typically pays: 13.49 cents per kWh.
  • Industrial natural gas: 5.78 per Mcf (Jul 2026), 26.2% above the national average.
  • Just below Minnesota on the price ladder: Georgia at 10.03, Nevada at 10.04, Virginia at 10.07 cents. Just above: Wisconsin at 10.46, New York at 10.81, Ohio at 10.95 cents.

What the rate does to operating cost

  • A 10 kW machine running a 4,000 hour year costs about 4,136 in electricity at Minnesota rates versus 3,908 at the national average; at 50 kW the gap is 20,680 versus 19,540, and at 200 kW it is 82,720 versus 78,160.
  • With rates near the national middle, Minnesota plants can use U.S.-average defaults for rough estimates, then refine against the utility tariff. The bigger lever is usually consumption, not the rate.

What factory labor pays in Minnesota

  • Industrial production managers: $59.42/hr median in Minnesota versus $60.61 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial engineers: $49.35/hr median in Minnesota versus $49.25 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Production supervisors: $37.76/hr median in Minnesota versus $35.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Industrial machinery mechanics: $34.60/hr median in Minnesota versus $31.02 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Tool and die makers: $34.15/hr median in Minnesota versus $30.79 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Machinists: $29.39/hr median in Minnesota versus $28.24 nationally (OEWS 2025).
  • Minnesota employs about 328,000 manufacturing workers as of Aug 2026 (BLS).

Manufacturing base in Minnesota

  • Minnesota has 6,718 manufacturing establishments employing about 325,317 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).
  • Largest sectors by establishment count: fabricated metal products (1,427), food manufacturing (672), machinery manufacturing (651), printing and related support (550), machine shops (494).

Sources and update cadence

  • Prices come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and refresh automatically when the agency publishes; this page also archives each month's Minnesota observation so the local price history deepens over time.

Last reviewed 2026-09-30.