Minnesota·Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations·SOC 19-4031

Best Chemical Technician programs in Minnesota, ranked by enrollment

Conduct chemical and physical laboratory tests to assist scientists in making qualitative and quantitative analyses of solids, liquids, and gaseous materials for research and development of new products or processes, quality control,.

31 schools in Minnesota run programs that feed this job, graduating 404 people a year. The job pays a median of $62,400 in Minnesota across about 870 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledChemical TechnicianLaboratory Analyst (Lab Analyst)Laboratory Technician (Lab Tech)Quality Control Technician (QC Tech)AssayerColoristPerfumerDye Expert
Graduates / yr
404
in Minnesota
Median pay · Minnesota
$62,400
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
870
people employed
Schools
31
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
55%
across those schools
Median net price
$21,441
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Minnesota that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

1 programs in Minnesota that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Minnesota (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Minnesota page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 40.0501In Minnesota
404
100.0%
31$42,620$23,900

Top 25 schools in Minnesota

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 4 of the 31 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
139Chemistry, General$47,45185%80%
2University of Minnesota - Duluth
Duluth, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
43Chemistry, General$44,67465%89%
3St Olaf College
Northfield, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
42Chemistry, General$44,02084%$18,12448%
4Carleton College
Northfield, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
40Chemistry, General90%$18,66920%
5Macalester College
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
21Chemistry, General87%$21,44129%
6Gustavus Adolphus College
Saint Peter, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
16Chemistry, General77%$21,60761%
7University of St Thomas
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
11Chemistry, General76%$28,88885%
8The College of Saint Scholastica
Duluth, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Chemistry, General71%$21,15093%
9College of Saint Benedict
Saint Joseph, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
9Chemistry, General77%$22,58392%
10Normandale Community College
Bloomington, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
9Chemistry, General27%
11Winona State University
Winona, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
8Chemistry, General57%75%
12Concordia College at Moorhead
Moorhead, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Chemistry, General61%$23,42563%
13Bemidji State University
Bemidji, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
5Chemistry, General48%56%
14Inver Hills Community College
Inver Grove Heights, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
5Chemistry, General24%
15Minnesota State University - Mankato
Mankato, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
4Chemistry, General54%88%
16Rochester Community and Technical College
Rochester, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
4Chemistry, General29%
17Saint Cloud State University
Saint Cloud, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
4Chemistry, General40%95%
18Concordia University - Saint Paul
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Chemistry, General46%$17,32879%
19Minneapolis Community and Technical College
Minneapolis, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
3Chemistry, General20%
20University of Minnesota - Morris
Morris, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
3Chemistry, General63%75%
21Bethel University
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Chemistry, General71%$25,22588%
22Century College
White Bear Lake, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
2Chemistry, General31%
23Hamline University
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Chemistry, General$50,00760%$20,98188%
24Metropolitan State University
Saint Paul, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
2Chemistry, General44%99%
25Minnesota State University Moorhead
Moorhead, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
2Chemistry, General57%59%

All 31 schools in Minnesota

Every school in Minnesota with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Minnesota that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of Minnesota - Twin CitiesMinneapolisPublic1391
University of Minnesota - DuluthDuluthPublic431
St Olaf CollegeNorthfieldPrivate not-for-profit421
Carleton CollegeNorthfieldPrivate not-for-profit401
Macalester CollegeSaint PaulPrivate not-for-profit211
Gustavus Adolphus CollegeSaint PeterPrivate not-for-profit161
University of St ThomasSaint PaulPrivate not-for-profit111
The College of Saint ScholasticaDuluthPrivate not-for-profit101
College of Saint BenedictSaint JosephPrivate not-for-profit91
Normandale Community CollegeBloomingtonPublic91
Winona State UniversityWinonaPublic81
Concordia College at MoorheadMoorheadPrivate not-for-profit61
Bemidji State UniversityBemidjiPublic51
Inver Hills Community CollegeInver Grove HeightsPublic51
Minnesota State University - MankatoMankatoPublic41

What chemical technicians earn in Minnesota

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Minnesota
$62,400
Mean annual
$68,240
Jobs in state
870
What the range looks like
10th pct$48,030Median$62,40090th pct$92,550
Versus the national median
+3.3%

U.S. median $60,390. Minnesota pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
0.80×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Minnesota

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
$62,820median
630 jobs
Duluth, MN-WI
$80,190median
60 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+3.7%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
6,700
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
2,100
57,000 → 59,000
Typical entry education
Associate's degree
Plus moderate-term on-the-job training

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Chemical Technicians page.

How to become a Chemical Technician

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
Associate's degree
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

ScienceReading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingWritingActive ListeningMonitoring

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Minnesota

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 7 majors mapped to Chemical Technicians7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 40.0501Chemistry, General
  • 40.0502Analytical Chemistry
  • 40.0503Inorganic Chemistry
  • 40.0504Organic Chemistry
  • 40.0509Environmental Chemistry
  • 41.0301Chemical Technology/Technician
  • 41.0303Chemical Process Technology

Common questions

Answers for people weighing chemical technicians programs in Minnesota.

What degree do you need to become a Chemical Technician?+

Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Chemistry, General, which awarded 404 degrees in Minnesota in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Chemical Technician?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Chemistry. Together they graduate about 404 people a year in Minnesota.

How much do chemical technicians earn in Minnesota?+

The median is $62,400 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 3.3% above the U.S. median of $60,390. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for chemical technicians growing?+

BLS projects a +3.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 6,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Minnesota?+

31 institutions in Minnesota reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do chemical technicians work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Chemical Technician, Laboratory Analyst (Lab Analyst), Laboratory Technician (Lab Tech), Quality Control Technician (QC Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-4031.

Programs in MinnesotaChemistry, General

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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