High paying production jobs in Mankato, MN with no experience

The best paid production occupations in Mankato, MN that require neither a degree nor prior experience in a related job. This is the narrowest cut on the site, so it is also the shortest list: where a field has only two or three such occupations, there is no page at all rather than a page pretending otherwise.

Cost of living: prices in Mankato, MN run 9.0% below the national average (2024), so a Mankato, 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 Mankato, MN

OccupationMedian, Mankato, MN · Employed

1Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators$78,610
High school diploma or equivalent
$58,090 – $81,86040
2Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators$69,830
High school diploma or equivalent
$49,030 – $79,61060
3Machinists$61,120
High school diploma or equivalent
$46,370 – $79,080160
4Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic$57,850
High school diploma or equivalent
$45,390 – $70,24060
5Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers$52,940
High school diploma or equivalent
$42,740 – $65,410280
6Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers$51,910
High school diploma or equivalent
$43,280 – $64,050240
7Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators$49,330
High school diploma or equivalent
$40,550 – $59,76040
8Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders$47,360
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,600 – $53,680120
9Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders$47,220
High school diploma or equivalent
$39,370 – $62,260120
10Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators$45,650
High school diploma or equivalent
$36,610 – $60,620770
11Prepress Technicians and Workers$45,430
Postsecondary nondegree award
$38,190 – $60,630110
12Printing Press Operators$44,980
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,040 – $70,660430
13Helpers--Production Workers$41,530
High school diploma or equivalent
$33,770 – $46,960150
14Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers$37,190
No formal educational credential
$34,640 – $46,92030
15Butchers and Meat Cutters$37,110
No formal educational credential
$28,840 – $54,56050
16Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers$36,850
No formal educational credential
$29,570 – $44,35060
17Bakers$33,080
No formal educational credential
$29,370 – $47,29070

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

#	Occupation	MedianMankato, MN	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Stationary Engineers and Boiler OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$78,610	$58,090 – $81,860	40
2	Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$69,830	$49,030 – $79,610	60
3	MachinistsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$61,120	$46,370 – $79,080	160
4	Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and PlasticHigh school diploma or equivalent	$57,850	$45,390 – $70,240	60
5	Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and BrazersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$52,940	$42,740 – $65,410	280
6	Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and WeighersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$51,910	$43,280 – $64,050	240
7	Computer Numerically Controlled Tool OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$49,330	$40,550 – $59,760	40
8	Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,360	$37,600 – $53,680	120
9	Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$47,220	$39,370 – $62,260	120
10	Miscellaneous Assemblers and FabricatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$45,650	$36,610 – $60,620	770
11	Prepress Technicians and WorkersPostsecondary nondegree award	$45,430	$38,190 – $60,630	110
12	Printing Press OperatorsHigh school diploma or equivalent	$44,980	$38,040 – $70,660	430
13	Helpers--Production WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$41,530	$33,770 – $46,960	150
14	Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and TrimmersNo formal educational credential	$37,190	$34,640 – $46,920	30
15	Butchers and Meat CuttersNo formal educational credential	$37,110	$28,840 – $54,560	50
16	Laundry and Dry-Cleaning WorkersNo formal educational credential	$36,850	$29,570 – $44,350	60
17	BakersNo formal educational credential	$33,080	$29,370 – $47,290	70

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in Mankato, 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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High paying production jobs in Mankato, MN with no experience

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