How much do millwrights make in Minnesota in 2026?

The median millwright in Minnesota earns $78,570 a year, which works out to roughly $37.77 an hour based on a standard 2,080-hour work year. That number puts Minnesota millwrights in solid standing for a precision industrial trade that demands both mechanical aptitude and physical endurance.

Spread across the full pay range, the picture looks like this: workers at the 25th percentile take home $65,430 annually ($31.46/hr), those at the median land at $78,570 ($37.77/hr), and experienced hands at the 75th percentile reach $86,020 ($41.36/hr). That $20,590 gap between the bottom and top of this range reflects real differences in experience, employer type, and the complexity of equipment a millwright is trusted to handle.

Millwrights in Minnesota install, maintain, and repair industrial machinery across a wide range of industries — paper mills along the northern river corridors, food-processing and grain-handling facilities in the agricultural belt, mining and taconite operations on the Iron Range, and manufacturing plants throughout the Twin Cities metro. The Iron Range and northeast Minnesota in particular tend to produce heavy-demand millwright work tied to mining and ore processing, where equipment downtime is extremely costly and skilled hands are paid accordingly. The Twin Cities area offers a dense concentration of industrial plants and warehouses, keeping demand steady year-round.

Entry-level millwrights or those still building their toolbox of skills typically fall in that 25th-percentile range near $65,430. At this stage, workers are often handling routine preventive maintenance, basic alignment, and equipment teardowns under closer supervision. After several years of hands-on experience — particularly if a worker develops fluency in precision laser alignment, hydraulic systems, or conveyor installation — earnings move toward and past the median. Millwrights at the 75th percentile ($86,020) are usually the ones called in for complex rigging jobs, large machinery installs, or shutdowns where the clock is running and mistakes are expensive.

Overtime is a real factor in this trade. Planned plant shutdowns and emergency breakdowns don't wait for Monday morning. A millwright putting in 10 to 15 hours of overtime per week — not uncommon during outages or peak production seasons — can push take-home pay well above their base hourly rate. At $37.77 straight-time median, overtime at time-and-a-half runs roughly $56.66/hr, meaning 200 hours of OT per year adds over $11,000 to gross earnings.

Minnesota doesn't require a state license specifically for millwrights, but most employers expect completion of a formal apprenticeship or equivalent documented on-the-job training. Apprenticeships typically run four to five years and combine classroom instruction with progressively more complex field assignments. Starting apprentice pay is well below the 25th percentile, but wage steps increase as competencies are verified and hours accumulate. Workers who complete a full apprenticeship and stay current on rigging, alignment, and mechanical systems training have the strongest path to 75th-percentile earnings.

Some Minnesota millwrights work under collective bargaining agreements. If you're covered by one, the wage rates and benefits in your specific contract govern what you're paid — check your local's current agreement for the applicable scale, as terms vary by employer and region.

The BLS OEWS figures used here represent base wages only. They do not include overtime, shift differentials, per diem, tool allowances, or employer contributions to pension and health benefits. In this trade, total compensation packages — especially where defined-benefit pensions exist — can add meaningful value beyond the hourly wage line. When comparing offers, it's worth calculating the full package, not just the base rate.