Find a Job You Really Want In
At Zippia, our goal is to traverse the nation to uncover both the best and the most challenging places for job seekers.
In this article, we take a closer look at the cities in Minnesota that present the most obstacles for job hunters, following our recent exploration of the top job markets in the state.
These cities face significant hurdles, making it difficult for residents to secure the career advancement opportunities they desire.
After analyzing data from the 100 largest cities in Minnesota, we have identified the ten cities that rank as the most challenging places to find a job in the North Star State:
Continue reading to learn how we arrived at these rankings.
For additional reading about Minnesota job markets, check out:
How We Identified the Most Challenging Job Markets in Minnesota
Our analysis focused on cities in Minnesota with populations exceeding 5,000, resulting in a selection of 100 cities.
We ranked these cities based on several key criteria, assigning values from one to 100, where 1 indicates the most challenging position within each category.
The final ranking reflects the average score across all criteria, with the city receiving the lowest overall score recognized as “The Most Challenging City in Minnesota for Job Seekers.”
The criteria considered in our assessment included:
1. Brainerd
Population: 13,609 Recent Job Growth: 0.46%
Future Job Growth: 34.40%
2. Grand Rapids
Population: 10,865 Recent Job Growth: -0.02%
Future Job Growth: 32.90%
3. Hibbing
Population: 16,345 Recent Job Growth: 0.39%
Future Job Growth: 35.10%
4. Cloquet
Population: 12,097 Recent Job Growth: 0.39%
Future Job Growth: 34.30%
5. Duluth
Population: 86,239 Recent Job Growth: 0.39%
Future Job Growth: 35.70%
6. Fairmont
Population: 10,579 Recent Job Growth: 0.09%
Future Job Growth: 35.50%
7. New Ulm
Population: 13,435 Recent Job Growth: 0.59%
Future Job Growth: 36.40%
8. Austin
Population: 24,632 Recent Job Growth: 0.44%
Future Job Growth: 36.90%
9. Winona
Population: 27,727 Recent Job Growth: 0.64%
Future Job Growth: 37.30%
10. North Branch
Population: 10,057 Recent Job Growth: 0.93%
Future Job Growth: 36.10%
Final Thoughts
Based on our analysis, Brainerd ranks as the most challenging city in Minnesota for job seekers in 2026.
As the state’s economy continues to evolve and job opportunities increase, these cities are still struggling to keep pace.
We hope that with time, they can enhance their job markets and provide better opportunities for their residents.
Complete List of the Most Challenging Job Markets in Minnesota
| City | Rank |
|---|---|
| Brainerd | 1 |
| Grand Rapids | 2 |
| Hibbing | 3 |
| Cloquet | 4 |
| Duluth | 5 |
| Fairmont | 6 |
| New Ulm | 7 |
| Austin | 8 |
| Winona | 9 |
| North Branch | 10 |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
