- Only 9 states pay powder coaters more at the median.
- Minnesota pays more than all 4 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 3,430 powder coaters on payrolls in Minnesota.
- At the state median wage, a powder coating shop needs to bill about $114.67 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Powder Coater pay in Minnesota, bottom to top
BLS has no separate figure for powder coaters. These are its numbers for coating, painting and spraying machine setters, operators and tenders, the closest group: workers who set up and run the machines and lines that coat, paint or spray products. They count workers on a payroll, so owners who run their own coating shop are not in them.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $19.59 | $40,750 | $17.43 |
| 25th percentile | $22.33 | $46,440 | $19.52 |
| Median | $25.10 | $52,210 | $23.20 |
| 75th percentile | $30.05 | $62,500 | $28.69 |
| 90th percentile | $33.87 | $70,460 | $35.93 |
| Average (mean) | $26.85 | $55,840 | $25.30 |
Pay is bunched up in Minnesota. The top tenth earn $33.87 an hour or more, about 1.7 times the $19.59 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 2.1 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
The floor is higher than nationally ($19.59 against $17.43) but the ceiling is lower ($33.87 against $35.93), which squeezes pay toward the middle.
The average, $26.85, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Minnesota compares with other states
Over a full year, the Minnesota median of $52,210 is $3,960 more than the national $48,250.
In the state ranking, Minnesota sits 10th, between Connecticut ($25.43) and Hawaii ($24.99). The range runs from $20.65 in West Virginia to $33.61 in Alaska.
Minnesota pays powder coaters more than any of its neighboring states, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Someone working near the border can earn more by taking work on this side of it.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in Minnesota. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
Every state ranked, with the national pay range: national powder coater salary by state.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Minnesota |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | $25.10 | $52,210 | |
| Iowa | $23.72 | $49,330 | −$1.38 an hour |
| North Dakota | $24.53 | $51,020 | −$0.57 an hour |
| South Dakota | $23.07 | $47,980 | −$2.03 an hour |
| Wisconsin | $23.64 | $49,170 | −$1.46 an hour |
How many powder coaters work in Minnesota
About 3,430 powder coaters work on payrolls in Minnesota, 2.2% of the 158,740 nationwide, the 17th largest count among the states.
That is 1.2 of every 1,000 jobs in Minnesota, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a powder coating shop in Minnesota should charge
Higher wages in Minnesota go straight into the price. Take a powder coating shop in Minnesota paying the state median of $25.10 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its starting numbers (40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit).
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $25.10 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $56,202 |
| Break-even rate | ($56,202 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $97.47 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $97.47 ÷ 0.85 | $114.67 |
That is $114.67 per billable hour, 4.6 times the wage, and $3.34 more than the $111.33 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $30.05 in Minnesota, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $123.36.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $22.33, the rate only drops to $109.80.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a powder coater in Minnesota
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how powder coating shops run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 51-9124, coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: powder coater salary by state.