Grand Forks, ND-MN

Across all occupations in the Grand Forks, ND-MN metropolitan area, the median wage is $49,760 a year ($23.92 an hour) and the mean $61,980, May 2025. That median is −2% against the US median of $50,980 and −5% against North Dakota's $52,480. BLS counts 52,000 jobs in the area, which spans North Dakota and Minnesota. The highest-paying occupation is general internal medicine physicians; the largest is retail salespersons.

All occupations: Grand Forks, ND-MN vs North Dakota and Minnesota and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Grand Forks, ND-MN area, North Dakota and Minnesota and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Grand Forks, ND-MN	Hourly	$14.47	$17.89	$23.92	$35.40	$48.08	$29.80	52,000
Grand Forks, ND-MN	Annual	$30,110	$37,220	$49,760	$73,620	$100,010	$61,980	52,000
North Dakota	Hourly	$15.06	$18.56	$25.23	$36.45	$49.59	$30.79	429,430
North Dakota	Annual	$31,330	$38,600	$52,480	$75,810	$103,160	$64,050	429,430
Minnesota	Hourly	$16.12	$19.08	$27.36	$39.67	$60.45	$34.21	2,949,820
Minnesota	Annual	$33,540	$39,680	$56,920	$82,520	$125,730	$71,160	2,949,820
United States	Hourly	$15.00	$18.07	$24.51	$38.71	$61.81	$33.54	155,495,730
United States	Annual	$31,200	$37,590	$50,980	$80,520	$128,560	$69,770	155,495,730

Annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles across all occupations in the metro; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

248 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profiles: North Dakota, Minnesota. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.

20 highest-paying occupations in Grand Forks, ND-MN

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$344,930	$165.83	30
2	Family Medicine Physicians	$286,380	$137.69	50
3	Nurse Anesthetists	$254,410	$122.31	40
4	Natural Sciences Managers	$173,590	$83.46	30
5	Chief Executives	$171,120	$82.27	70
6	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$149,500	$71.87	30
7	Computer and Information Systems Managers	$141,440	$68.00	90
8	Pharmacists	$138,310	$66.50	90
9	Human Resources Managers	$135,340	$65.07	40
10	Physician Assistants	$133,450	$64.16	70
11	Nurse Practitioners	$130,990	$62.97	190
12	Financial Managers in North Dakota	$130,130	$62.56	220
13	Managers, All Other in North Dakota	$124,530	$59.87	190
14	Marketing Managers	$122,390	$58.84	30
15	Administrative Services Managers	$114,810	$55.20	40
16	Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	$113,700	$54.66	70
17	Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary	$112,900	*	80
18	Electrical Engineers	$112,260	$53.97	40
19	Industrial Production Managers	$112,200	$53.94	70
20	Commercial Pilots	$111,680	*	40

Ranked by median; an occupation whose median BLS withholds or top-codes in this area cannot appear here, however well it pays.

20 largest occupations in Grand Forks, ND-MN

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Retail Salespersons in North Dakota	1,620	31.25	1.25	$34,440
2	Fast Food and Counter Workers in North Dakota	1,490	28.71	1.16	$29,540
3	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in North Dakota	1,350	25.88	0.93	$41,080
4	Registered Nurses in North Dakota	1,280	24.66	1.13	$79,070
4	Cashiers in North Dakota	1,280	24.60	1.24	$30,980
6	General and Operations Managers in North Dakota	1,220	23.54	1.04	$85,420
7	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in North Dakota	1,100	21.12	1.59	$59,360
8	Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in North Dakota	1,030	19.87	2.18	$36,580
8	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in North Dakota	1,030	19.87	1.05	$43,580
10	Nursing Assistants in North Dakota	930	17.84	1.91	$45,740
11	Office Clerks, General in North Dakota	920	17.61	1.11	$48,570
12	Stockers and Order Fillers in North Dakota	830	15.93	0.87	$35,460
13	Waiters and Waitresses in North Dakota	820	15.68	1.07	$27,820
14	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in North Dakota	790	15.27	1.07	$37,020
15	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in North Dakota	750	14.34	1.31	$47,920
16	Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators in North Dakota	710	13.59	1.50	$51,850
17	Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in North Dakota	600	11.51	1.17	$48,040
18	Customer Service Representatives in North Dakota	580	11.23	0.67	$42,560
19	Cooks, Restaurant in North Dakota	560	10.86	1.20	$36,800
20	Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in North Dakota	540	10.34	1.16	$61,430

Most concentrated occupations in Grand Forks, ND-MN

The 10 occupations with the highest location quotient among those employing at least 100 people in the area. A quotient of 2.00 means the occupation's share of local jobs is twice its national share.

Rank	Occupation	Location quotient	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Median annual
1	Education Teachers, Postsecondary	5.34	110	2.09	$77,540
2	Food Batchmakers	3.13	180	3.52	$50,720
3	Highway Maintenance Workers	3.01	160	3.00	$62,050
4	Education Administrators, Postsecondary	2.89	170	3.36	$102,080
5	Childcare Workers	2.39	410	7.97	$30,210
6	Sheet Metal Workers	2.38	100	1.83	$61,460
7	Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines	2.37	140	2.69	$77,860
8	Food Servers, Nonrestaurant	2.30	230	4.36	$37,280
9	Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators	2.29	370	7.05	$61,520
10	Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in North Dakota	2.18	1,030	19.87	$36,580

Occupation groups in Grand Forks, ND-MN

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$101,600	$115,780	3,210	61.69	0.86
Architecture and Engineering	$83,680	$93,710	910	17.49	1.04
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$79,070	$111,040	3,710	71.43	1.13
Computer and Mathematical	$77,510	$81,060	690	13.29	0.39
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$76,720	$82,050	540	10.33	1.09
Business and Financial Operations	$74,630	$79,570	2,340	45.05	0.66
Legal	$70,110	$82,700	230	4.51	0.54
Protective Service	$61,040	$63,190	1,000	19.32	0.80
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$60,830	$65,250	2,570	49.48	1.26
Educational Instruction and Library	$60,670	$64,810	4,100	78.77	1.35
Construction and Extraction	$59,470	$62,800	2,760	53.06	1.28
Community and Social Service	$59,360	$60,910	1,070	20.53	1.20
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$54,140	$62,820	610	11.70	0.89
Production	$51,850	$53,990	2,950	56.72	1.03
Office and Administrative Support	$47,630	$50,360	5,260	101.15	0.89
Transportation and Material Moving	$45,860	$49,490	4,810	92.48	1.05
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$45,380	$44,590	130	2.58	0.92
Healthcare Support	$44,680	$43,270	2,680	51.62	1.02
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$37,760	$41,240	1,540	29.52	1.01
Sales and Related	$36,230	$45,640	4,580	88.11	1.02
Personal Care and Service	$33,410	$36,610	1,310	25.11	1.20
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$32,220	$34,140	5,000	96.07	1.09

Every occupation in North Dakota and Minnesota, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profiles. All 248 published occupations for this area are in the wage explorer; other metros are on the metros hub.

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Grand Forks, ND-MN estimates (area 24220).

*: Wage estimate not available.

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
Jobs per 1,000 is the occupation's employment per 1,000 jobs in the Grand Forks, ND-MN area; the location quotient is that share divided by the national share.
The concentration table keeps only occupations with employment of 100 or more in the area, so a quotient built on a handful of rounded jobs cannot top it.
The area spans North Dakota and Minnesota; its figures are the whole MSA, as BLS publishes them, under the primary state North Dakota.