GREATER Working in St. Cloud, Minnesota

With jobs in healthcare, manufacturing, education and more, there are many reasons St. Cloud is a GREATER place to work and live.

The Ideal Population

Currently, the city’s current population is 67,056 and is only expected to grow. Between 2010 and 2019, the City is projected to gain roughly 2,000 additional residents, a 3.2% increase.

The Greater St. Cloud metropolitan area has a population of 194,418, and our population is very young. The average St. Cloud resident is 29.7 years old. That’s roughly five years younger than the regional median and eight years younger than the national median.

Almost 70 percent of the city’s population is under 44 years old. The age cohort with the largest share of the population is 20-24 years. This means the St. Cloud area workforce is full of young professionals with big ideas.

A Growing Workforce

The St. Cloud metro has the state’s fastest growing labor force. Currently, the labor force is at 111,086 people, with continued expansion year after year. There are jobs in nearly every industry: from management and business to architecture and engineering, social services, law, healthcare, service, construction, and many other areas.

The St. Cloud area is also home to several award-winning colleges and universities, including St. Cloud State University and St. Cloud Technical and Community college, which not only provide great places to work but also make for an educated workforce.

Roughly 67 percent of the St. Cloud metro area population has some college education, with 24 percent attaining a bachelor’s degree or higher. This makes St. Cloud an ideal area for budding entrepreneurs. In 2016, St. Cloud was named a “Best City for Young Entrepreneurs” by NerdWallet.com.

That ranking was based on Small Business Administration loans per 100,000 residents, small businesses per 100 residents, percent of total population age 25-34, percent of population with a bachelor’s degree or higher, median earnings, and unemployment rate.

St. Cloud has 2.55 small businesses per 100 residents, reflecting the fact that it’s the perfect environment for young entrepreneurs.


The St. Cloud workforce is skilled, educated and growing. Just another reason St. Cloud is part of something GREATER.

Celebrating GREATER Manufacturing in St. Cloud

Manufacturing is St. Cloud’s second sector of strength with 15.2% of all employment in the area.

Many St. Cloud businesses are featured in the Made in Minnesota Directory, which is an online database of Minnesota manufacturers and suppliers. Materials, components and finished products can be bought from each other instead of out-of-state or foreign suppliers.

St. Cloud has a diverse mix of leading local, regional, and national manufacturing companies. Our area was even named a “Top Leading Location” by AreaDevelopment.com based on our diverse economy and how well St. Cloud is poised to capitalize on economic growth.

St. Cloud’s Largest Manufacturers

• New Flyer of America Heavy Duty Bus Manufacturing 
• Woodcraft Industries Wood Cabinets/Millworking 
• Essilor of America Optical Lens Manufacturing

Area Manufacturing Statistics

• 15,262 Persons Employed 
• 15.2% Of All Employment 
• $44,504 Average Annual Wage 
• $679M Annual Industry Payroll 

**MN DEED, St. Cloud MSA, April 2016

St. Cloud also has two modern business parks with 300+ acres of vacant land available for one-third the cost of comparable property in the Twin Cities: the I-94 Business Park and the Airport Business Park. For more information and statistics on the St. Cloud area’s manufacturing, watch this video.

The Minnesota Statewide Tour of Manufacturing is going on throughout the month of October, and MN Manufacturing Week took place October 1st-7th. In the St. Cloud area, we are continually celebrating manufacturing - one of our community’s biggest assets!

Our manufacturing skills are just one more reason that St. Cloud is a part of something GREATER!