Chemical Engineer.
Minneapolis.
$132,000
median salary, 8% above the national average
$104,000 to $164,000. Last updated August 2026.
Get the job.
Data points to own the conversation.
If you are evaluating a Chemical Engineer offer in Minneapolis, MN, here is the reality: $104,000 to $164,000, with $132,000 as the midpoint. 8% above the national average. Industry sector is the top differentiator, with petroleum, semiconductor, and pharmaceutical chemical engineers earning 20 to 35% more than those in food processing or water treatment. Do not accept the first number. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Chemical Engineer in Minneapolis, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $122,730 for Chemical Engineers (SOC 17-2041) in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metropolitan area, based on 170 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$66,110
25th percentile
$90,980
Median
$122,730
75th percentile
$172,090
90th percentile
$269,800
Workers surveyed
170
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Chemical Engineers (SOC 17-2041) rather than Chemical Engineer specifically. The Minneapolis range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 17-2041Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $119,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$86,000
to $106,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$112,000
to $139,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$145,000
to $172,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$165,000
to $205,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $36,000 to the total package.
Base
$132,000
Equity
$20,000
Bonus
$13,000
Signing
$3,000
Estimated total: $168,000
How Minneapolis compares.
Minneapolis, MN
$132,000
Cost of living: 5% above average
National Average
$122,000
Minneapolis is $10,000 above
Chemical Engineer salary by city.
Salary by role in Minneapolis.
What you should know.
Here is what the Chemical Engineer market actually looks like in Minneapolis. Minneapolis is a Fortune 500 powerhouse with Target, UnitedHealth Group, Best Buy, and 3M headquartered in the metro. The city's strong corporate base creates consistent demand across finance, healthcare, retail tech, and supply chain roles. Quality of life is high, and employers offer competitive salaries to offset the cold winters. Industry sector is the top differentiator, with petroleum, semiconductor, and pharmaceutical chemical engineers earning 20 to 35% more than those in food processing or water treatment. Process scale-up experience, Six Sigma certification, and expertise with hazardous materials handling drive additional premiums.
Entry-level chemical engineers start at $76,000 to $88,000. Senior process engineers earn $100,000 to $128,000 after five to eight years. Engineering directors and plant managers reach $140,000 to $185,000 in high-demand industries. In Minneapolis, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
Base salary is not the full picture. Oil and gas employers add 10 to 20% bonuses tied to production targets. Semiconductor fabs offer equity grants worth $10,000 to $40,000 annually. Shift differentials of 5 to 15% apply for engineers managing 24/7 production facilities. And on the tax side: minnesota's top income tax rate is 9.85%, one of the highest state rates. There is no city income tax in Minneapolis, but the state burden significantly reduces take home pay. When someone quotes you $132,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Emphasize retention risk when negotiating. Minneapolis employers know that remote opportunities from warmer, lower tax states are a constant competitive threat. The range for Chemical Engineers in Minneapolis runs from $104,000 to $164,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
Considering a related role?
- An LLM Engineer in Minneapolis earns $134,000 (2% more)
- The highest-paying role in Minneapolis is CTO at $321,000
Common questions.
Chemical Engineer salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Minneapolis.
Related salary pages
Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to Chemical Engineers in Minneapolis.
Related tools.
Do you work as a chemical engineer in Minneapolis?
Your individual figure is never published. Submissions appear only as aggregate percentiles, and nothing is shown for a role and city until at least five people have reported. It is stored against your account, which is what keeps the dataset clean.
Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Chemical Engineer Salary in Minneapolis, MN." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/chemical-engineer/minneapolis
Want this data on your site? Embed the salary widget. One script tag, free forever.
Related tools