Workforce

GREATER Workforce
The St. Cloud region is able to draw from and attract a highly skilled and educated workforce population of over 280,000 people from the entire St. Cloud MSA and beyond due to its central location in the state of Minnesota, large number of major government and businesses located in the City and its significant higher education systems, including the region's largest public university, St. Cloud State University, with a student population of over 16,000 students.

Below is additional information on the St. Cloud MSA's workforce. 

Wages for All Occupations - St. Cloud MSA

Occupation Employment Percent Occupation Median Hourly Wage
Total, All Occupations 100,030 100% $16.65
Management Occupations 4,690 5% $39.20
Business and Financial Operations Occupations 3,630 4% $26.11
Computer and Mathematical Occupations 1,730 2% $29.31
Architecture and Engineering Occupations 760 1% $29.34
Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations 360 <1% $31.62
Community and Social Services Occupations 1,410 1% $22.20
Legal Occupations 410 <1% $31.69
Education, Training, and Library Occupations 6,090 6% $20.36
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations 1,100 1% $17.51
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 7,080 7% $33.19
Healthcare Support Occupations 3,270 3% $13.61
Protective Service Occupations 890 <1% $22.60
Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 8,220 8% $9.09
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations 3,310 3% $12.93
Personal Care and Service Occupations 4,010 4% $10.91
Sales and Related Occupations 9,940 10% $11.79
Office and Administrative Support Occupations 15,790 16% $15.14
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations 210 <1% $15.45
Construction and Extraction Occupations 4,510 5% $22.50
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 4,230 4% $19.72
Production Occupations 11,150 11% $15.73
Transportation and Material Moving Occupations 7,240 7% $15.73
Source:  MN DEED, St. Cloud MSA Employment and Wage Statistics, First Quarter 2015

Employment by Industry - St. Cloud MSA

Industry Percent Employment
Health Care/Social Assistance 18%
Manufacturing 15%
Retail Trade 13%
Educational Services 9%
Accommodation/Food Services 8%
Construction 6%
Administrative/Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services 5%
Wholesale Trade 4%
Transportation and Warehousing 4%
Public Administration 3%
Other Services (except Public Administration 3%
Finance and Insurance 3%
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 2%
Information 2%
Management of Companies and Enterprises 1%
Real Estate and Rental/Leasing 1%
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation 1%
Agriculture Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 1%

Source: MN DEED, St. Cloud MSA Labor Markets Report, April 2016

Educational Attainment - St. Cloud MSA

Highest Level Attained
(Population 25 to 64 years)

St. Cloud MSA
(total #)

St. Cloud MSA
(% of total)

Minnesota
(% of total)
U.S. (% of total)
Less than high school graduate 4,463 4.8% 6.2% 11.9%
High school graduate/GED  26,319 28.2% 23.1% 26.4%
Some college or associate's degree 39,351 42.1% 34.7% 30.6%
Bachelor's degree or higher 23,294 24.9% 36.0% 31.1%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2013 1 Year Survey

Labor Data

Location Total # of People
St. Cloud MSA 109,225
Minnesota 2,974,102
U.S. 155,921,833
Source:  MN DEED, 2014 Labor Force Estimate

Workforce Data

  • St. Cloud MSA has 101,838 jobs (2016 Qtr 1-3).
  • St. Cloud MSA is home to about 111,756 workers.  24,853 leave the MSA to work and about 34,100 workers commute into MSA for work.
  • From 2000-2015 St. Cloud's labor force grew by 11.7% (State of MN grew 7%).  St. Cloud's MSA is the fastest growing labor force in Greater MN.
  • From 2015 - 2025, St. Cloud's labor force is expected to increase 2.5%.