That dollar amount results from a 14.6% advance from $23.5 billion four years earlier in 2021.
Year over year, the overall value of goods exported from Minnesota grew by 8.2% compared to $24.8 billion for 2023.
Minnesota ranks as America’s 23rd most lucrative exporters by state well behind front-runners including Texas, California, New York state, Louisiana, and Illinois.
The value of Minnesota’s exports equals 1.3% of the United States’ overall exported products for 2024, up from 1.2% one year prior.
In addition, Minnesota’s exported products represent 5.4% of the state’s total economic output or nominal Gross Domestic Product in 2024 ($500.9 billion).
Given Minnesota’s population of 5.79 million people, its total $26.9 billion in 2024 exported goods translates to roughly $4,650 for every resident in the North Star State. That dollar metric outpaces the average $4,300 per capita for 2023.
Minnesota’s unemployment rate was 3.3% at the end of June 2025, up from 3.2% one year earlier per YCharts.
Minnesota’s Top 10 Exports
The following export products represent the highest dollar value in Minnesota global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Minnesota.
Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.
- Light petroleum oils excluding biodiesel: US$2.4 billion (8.7% of total Minnesotan exports)
- Medical needles, catheters: $672.5 million (2.5%)
- Medical/dental/veterinarian instruments: $667.5 million (2.5%)
- Civilian aircraft, engines or other parts: $551.5 million (2.1%)
- Electronic integrated circuits (miscellaneous): $521.6 million (1.9%)
- Agglomerated iron ores: $511.1 million (1.9%)
- Parts for filtering/purifying machines: $477.1 million (1.8%)
- Optical instruments for semi-conductor wafers: $451.9 million (1.7%)
- Artificial human body parts, accessories: $447.9 million (1.7%)
- Electro-diagnostic equipment, parts: $426.8 million (1.6%)
Minnesota’s top 10 exports generated over one-quarter (26.3%) of the overall value of the state’s global shipments.
Light petroleum oils excluding biodiesel was the fastest grower among Minnesota’s top 10 export categories, propelled by a 149.4% acceleration from 2023 to 2024.
In second place were exported optical instruments for semi-conductor wafers (up 127.7%) well ahead of Minnesotan shipments of medical, dental or veterinarian instruments (up 127.7%), then civilian aircraft or engines or other aircraft parts (up 10.1%).
The severest decliner among Minnesota’s top 10 export products was for agglomerated iron ores, recording a -10% downtick from 2023.
More Key Facts about Minnesota’s International Trade
Minnesota incurred an overall -US$13.7 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2024. That dollar amount reflects an -11.2% expansion from -$12.3 billion in red ink for 2023.
Another way of saying surplus or deficit is positive or negative net exports. In a nutshell, the term “net exports” quantifies the amount by which foreign spending on a state’s goods or services exceeds or lags that same state’s spending on foreign goods or services.
Below are Minnesota’s top 10 import products highlighting the state’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2024.
- Crude petroleum oils: US$8.6 billion (21.3% of total Minnesotan imports)
- Wheeled toys (tricycles, scooters, pedal cars, carriages): $1.9 billion (4.7%)
- Heart pacemakers: $837.6 million (2.1%)
- Artificial human body parts, accessories: $784.3 million (1.9%)
- Medical/dental/veterinarian instruments: $713.1 million (1.8%)
- Large aircraft: $510.8 million (1.3%)
- Hearing aids: $508.1 million (1.3%)
- Electrical energy: $489.9 million (1.2%)
- Electro-diagnostic equipment, parts: $448.4 million (1.1%)
- Medical needles, catheters: $412.6 million (1%)
Minnesota has negative net exports notably in the international trade of crude petroleum oils, heart pacemakers and artificial body parts. In turn, these cashflows indicate Minnesota’s competitive disadvantages under those product categories.
Minnesota’s Major Trade Partners
The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased approaching three-quarters (71.4%) worth of the total value of products exported from Minnesota during 2024.
- Canada: $7.9 billion (29.4% of total Minnesotan exports)
- Mexico: $4.2 billion (15.6%)
- mainland China: $2 billion (7.5%)
- Japan: $1 billion (3.7%)
- Ireland: $781.7 million (2.9%)
- South Korea: $732.1 million (2.7%)
- Belgium: $694.1 million (2.6%)
- Germany: $648.9 million (2.4%)
- Taiwan: $641.5 million (2.4%)
- Netherlands: $613.7 million (2.3%)
Minnesota’s top trade partners in North America (Canada and Mexico) purchased over two-fifths (45%) of the overall value of exported goods from the North Star State. That percentage exceeds the 41.6% for the prior year.
In comparison, 16.2% of Minnesota’s export sales went to top customers in Asia (mainland China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan).
Another 10.2% worth was bought by leading importers in Europe (Ireland, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands).
Minnesotan Export Companies
Twenty-four of Minnesota-based corporations rank among Fortune 1000 Companies, a list that showcases America’s largest businesses. Selected examples are listed below.
- C.H. Robinson (transportation services, third-party logistics)
- Donaldson Company (air filters, filtration engines, gas turbines)
- Fastenal Company (industrial/safety/construction supplies)
- H.B. Fuller Company (industrial adhesives)
- Hormel Foods Corp (deli meats, ethnic foods, spam)
- Land O’Lakes (dairy foods, animal nutritition, crop protection)
- Patterson Companies (medical/dental/veterinarian goods)
- Polaris Industries (snow mobiles, all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles)
- The Mosaic Company (concentrated phosphate, potash)
- The Toro Company (lawn mowers, snow blowers, irrigation items)
Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business sells.
Minnesota’s capital is Saint Paul, a city with nicknames like “STP” and “the Saintly City”.
See also New Mexico’s Top 10 Exports, New Jersey’s Top 10 Exports, Missouri’s Top 10 Exports, Pennsylvania’s Top 10 Exports and Mississippi’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
FlagPictures.org, Flags of US States. Accessed on July 22, 2025
Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 22, 2025
GeoLounge, Fortune 1000 Companies List for 2021 , Fortune 1000 by State and Place. Accessed on July 22, 2025
IBIS World, Minnesota Economic Profile (gross domestic product, profile). Accessed on July 22, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 22, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 22, 2025
United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts: Minnesota. Accessed on July 22, 2025
USA Trade Online, Official Source of Trade Statistics. Accessed on July 22, 2025
Wikipedia, List of Minnesota Companies. Accessed on July 22, 2025
Wikipedia, List of U.S. states and territories by GDP. Accessed on July 22, 2025
Wikipedia, Minnesota. Accessed on July 22, 2025
YCharts, Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Report. Accessed on July 22, 2025