High paying production jobs in Rochester, MN

Every production occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in Rochester, MN. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single production job is usually wider than the gap between two different ones, so where you land in a field matters more than which field you pick.

Cost of living: prices in Rochester, MN run 9.2% below the national average (2024), so a Rochester, MN salary is worth about 1.10× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order.

Local wage estimates are suppressed more often than state ones — BLS withholds any figure too few local employers report — so an occupation missing here simply has no published local estimate.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find production jobs in Rochester, MN

OccupationMedian, Rochester, MN · Employed

1Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$78,270
High school diploma or equivalent
$62,380 – $91,86080
2First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers$76,420
High school diploma or equivalent
$55,560 – $101,490370
3Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators$71,670
High school diploma or equivalent
$57,980 – $108,87080
4Food Processing Workers, All Other$62,330
No formal educational credential
$50,980 – $62,33060
5Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$60,380
High school diploma or equivalent
$48,550 – $72,350510
6Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$59,970
High school diploma or equivalent
$41,740 – $61,90040
7Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$59,850
High school diploma or equivalent
$44,450 – $77,030150
8Printing Press Operators$59,200
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,650 – $72,75090
9Machinists$57,770
High school diploma or equivalent
$48,600 – $79,570270
10Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators$57,330
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,000 – $75,41070
11Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters$55,030
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,780 – $64,99080
12Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$54,390
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,460 – $62,220190
13Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$52,830
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,120 – $63,660200
14Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$51,270
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,470 – $74,35060
15Food Batchmakers$49,170
High school diploma or equivalent
$30,960 – $62,570200
16Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$45,740
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,920 – $57,270930
17Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders$44,060
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,190 – $68,45040
18Bakers$40,090
No formal educational credential
$30,340 – $64,54090
19Production Workers, All Other$39,210
High school diploma or equivalent
$31,540 – $56,670300
20Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$39,200
High school diploma or equivalent
$34,960 – $55,240210
21Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers$39,030
No formal educational credential
$30,440 – $47,250160
22Butchers and Meat Cutters$38,020
No formal educational credential
$31,600 – $55,70070
23Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers$36,050
No formal educational credential
$30,620 – $46,51060

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianRochester, MN	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$78,270	$62,380 – $91,860	80
2	First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$76,420	$55,560 – $101,490	370
3	Stationary Engineers and Boiler OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$71,670	$57,980 – $108,870	80
4	Food Processing Workers, All OtherNo formal educational credential	$62,330	$50,980 – $62,330	60
5	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$60,380	$48,550 – $72,350	510
6	Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,970	$41,740 – $61,900	40
7	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and WeighersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,850	$44,450 – $77,030	150
8	Printing Press OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$59,200	$38,650 – $72,750	90
9	MachinistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,770	$48,600 – $79,570	270
10	Computer Numerically Controlled Tool OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,330	$45,000 – $75,410	70
11	Cabinetmakers and Bench CarpentersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$55,030	$46,780 – $64,990	80
12	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$54,390	$39,460 – $62,220	190
13	Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,830	$40,120 – $63,660	200
14	Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,270	$40,470 – $74,350	60
15	Food BatchmakersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,170	$30,960 – $62,570	200
16	Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,740	$37,920 – $57,270	930
17	Chemical Equipment Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$44,060	$39,190 – $68,450	40
18	BakersNo formal educational credential	$40,090	$30,340 – $64,540	90
19	Production Workers, All OtherHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,210	$31,540 – $56,670	300
20	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$39,200	$34,960 – $55,240	210
21	Laundry and Dry-Cleaning WorkersNo formal educational credential	$39,030	$30,440 – $47,250	160
22	Butchers and Meat CuttersNo formal educational credential	$38,020	$31,600 – $55,700	70
23	Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and TrimmersNo formal educational credential	$36,050	$30,620 – $46,510	60

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Rochester, MN. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

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The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in Rochester, MN to rank honestly.

High paying production jobs in Rochester, MN

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