Food Manufacturing in Southwestern Minnesota

Food manufacturing is big business in southwestern Minnesota. In fact, with more than 11,000 jobs at 109 establishments, the industry employs workers in that region at four times the concentration statewide, according to a story by Cameron Macht in the latest issue of Trends magazine.

The cluster of food production jobs in southwestern Minnesota isn’t surprising, given the area also has a significant number of farms and other agriculture-related enterprises. 

The food manufacturing sector includes businesses specializing in animal slaughtering and processing, grain and oilseed milling, dairy product manufacturing, fruit and vegetable preserving, and specialty food manufacturing.

Despite perceptions that food manufacturing provides only entry-level jobs with low wages, average annual wages are more than $11,000 higher than industries overall in the region. In 2017, average annual wages were $51,688 in food manufacturing, compared with $40,352 across all industries. 

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