Clean Fuels · Minnesota

Minnesota Clean Fuels jobs: 377 employed (2024)

As of the 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Minnesota employs 377 people in the clean fuels sector — about 1.9% of the U.S. total. That makes Minnesota the 15th-largest state for clean fuels jobs nationwide.

Clean Fuels Jobs in Minnesota (2024)

377 Rank #15 of 51

National share: 1.87% of all U.S. clean fuels jobs.

Typical Median Wage

$75,210
Sector-wide BLS OES median across 2 tracked occupations.

1. Employment Landscape

Minnesota ranks 15th out of 51 U.S. states in clean fuels employment. At 377 workers, the state sits above the 25th-ranked Idaho’s tally by 148 jobs, and trails the national leader California by 3,995 clean fuels workers.

1.1 Minnesota’s position vs. the top 10 and median states

1st · California
4,373
15. Minnesota
377
25th · Idaho
229
51st · District of Columbia
27

1.2 Share of U.S. total

The clean fuels sector nationwide employs roughly 20,220 workers; Minnesota accounts for 377 of them.

1.3 Where Minnesota sits in its own mix

Sector Jobs (2024) National rank
Energy Efficiency 46,177 #19
Solar 5,390 #22
Wind 2,870 #12
Storage & Grid 2,210 #12
Nuclear 1,761 #14
Electric Vehicles 1,341 #23
Hydropower 1,063 #10
Clean Fuels 377 #15

1.4 Sub-sector breakdown in Minnesota

Every clean fuels-related sub-category reported for Minnesota in the USEER workbook, ranked by employment.

Fuels total
10,761
Oil (petroleum and other fossil fuels)
6,500
Corn ethanol
1,716
Natural gas fuels
617
Other fuels
518
Other ethanol and non-woody biomass
385
Other biofuels
377
Woody biomass
350
Coal fuels
35

2. Pay & Career Roles in Minnesota

Minnesota contributes 1.87% of the nation’s clean fuels workforce. Within Minnesota’s own clean-energy economy, clean fuels accounts for 0.6% of total clean-energy jobs (377 of 61,189 workers).

Cost-of-living in Minnesota is roughly 2.3% lower the U.S. average, so the state-adjusted median wage for clean fuels roles in Minnesota is shown alongside the national BLS figure.

RoleNational medianMinnesota-adjustedJob Zone
Environmental Engineer (Clean Fuels) $100,090 $97,788 4
Biomass Plant Operator $50,330 $49,172 2

See all 2 clean fuels occupations with national wages and skills →

4. Hiring Difficulty & Industry Mix

Minnesota employers rate 15.4% of clean-energy hires as “very difficult” (plus 34.3% as “somewhat difficult”) — easier than the ~22% national baseline. Combined, 49.8% of Minnesota’s clean-energy roles see some level of hiring friction.

4.1 Employer hiring difficulty

Did not hire
44.3%
Somewhat difficult hiring
34.3%
Very difficult hiring
15.4%
Not at all difficult hiring
5.9%

4.2 Jobs by NAICS industry group

Industry (NAICS group)Jobs (2024)
Construction 43,201
Trade 18,589
Other Services 18,110
Manufacturing 16,970
Professional Services 15,203
Utilities 13,997
Pipeline Transport & Commodity Flows 3,043
Agriculture and Forestry 1,707
Mining and Extraction 205

Frequently Asked Questions

How many clean fuels jobs are there in Minnesota?
As of 2024, Minnesota has approximately 377 clean fuels jobs — ranked 15th nationally.
What do these jobs pay?
Median wages across the tracked clean fuels occupations range from $50,330 to $100,090 according to BLS OES.
Is Minnesota a good place to take one of these jobs?
Minnesota is currently relatively loose. Cost-of-living runs 2.3% below the U.S. average, which raises or lowers real take-home on a BLS national median by a similar amount.

Data source: U.S. Department of Energy — 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report (reflecting 2024 employment); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics; O*NET Occupation Database 29.1.

Last updated: April 2026.