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Surgical Tech Jobs in Minnesota

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Minnesota
Surgical Tech Jobs

Minnesota pays surgical technologists a mean wage of $71,380, among the highest in the Midwest, driven by Mayo Clinic and three competing Twin Cities systems bidding for the same credentialed OR staff. The gap between that mean and the $62,830 median tells you most of what you need to know about where the money actually sits. Live scrub tech and OR technician openings across the state are below.

Written by Matthew Sorensen, 15+ years in executive recruiting and 500+ skilled trades and healthcare placements, including perioperative and OR roles.

Where Surgical Techs Work in Minnesota

Most job volume concentrates in the Twin Cities metro, where three networks compete head to head. Rochester and Duluth are active secondary markets with a different dynamic: one dominant employer each, which changes your leverage.

Mayo ClinicRochester
One of the highest-volume surgical programs in the world and the state's most prominent OR employer.
Allina HealthTwin Cities
Large network staffing ORs across Minneapolis and St. Paul.
M Health FairviewTwin Cities
Academic system with hospital and specialty surgical services throughout the metro.
HealthPartnersTwin Cities
Competing metro network running both hospital and outpatient surgical sites.
Essentia HealthDuluth / Northern MN
Anchors the northern Minnesota market and is the primary OR employer outside the metro corridors.

Surgical Tech Salary in Minnesota

01
$62,830 median
The number a typical Minnesota surgical tech actually earns, modestly above the national median of roughly $60,000.
02
$71,380 mean
An $8,550 gap over the median. That spread is not normal. It means a concentrated group of high-paying seats, Mayo and the large academic Twin Cities positions, is dragging the average well past where most techs land. Read the median, not the mean, when you evaluate an offer.
03
$43,290 to $90,700
Entry-level floor to the 90th percentile. Closing that $47,000 spread is a function of setting, specialty, and shift, not tenure alone. Run your own number through the salary estimator or compare by specialty.

Certification and Training

Minnesota mandates no licensure, but Mayo, Allina, and most Twin Cities systems treat CST certification as an expectation rather than a preference. In a market where the top employers compete for the same credentialed pool, the certification is what gets your resume read at all.

Programs

CAAHEP and ABHES accredited programs run 9 to 24 months through community and technical colleges statewide, including Century College in the Twin Cities metro, which places students clinically at regional system facilities. Compare options in the state-by-state program guide.

Questions Candidates Ask

Why is Minnesota's average wage so much higher than its median?

Because a small number of very well-paid positions, concentrated at Mayo and the large Twin Cities academic systems, pull the average up. If you are negotiating, anchor on the $62,830 median. A recruiter quoting you the $71,380 mean is quoting you a number most techs in the state never see.

Do I need certification to work as a surgical tech in Minnesota?

Not by state law. Minnesota has no mandatory licensure requirement. In practice the dominant employers screen for CST, so certification is the difference between a full field of openings and a narrow one.

Twin Cities or Rochester?

The Twin Cities gives you three competing systems, which means real mobility and the ability to leverage one offer against another. Rochester gives you exceptional case volume and complexity at a single employer, with correspondingly less negotiating room. Pick based on whether you are optimizing for experience or for leverage.

Related Pages

Minneapolis, MN
Surgical tech jobs in the Twin Cities metro
Jobs by Location
Browse every city and state
State Requirements
Certification rules by state
Salary Guide
What surgical techs earn nationally
Wisconsin
Openings across the state line
New Grad Jobs
Getting hired with no OR experience