2026 January 1 – June 30 Business Retention & Expansion (BR&E) Program Report
During the first half of 2026, January 1 to June 30, Minot Area Chamber EDC visited 21 businesses as part of their Business Retention and Expansion efforts. Background information was collected from each business prior to an on-site interview being conducted. A summary of the data gathered is below.
• Ten of the businesses are from the construction sector, four are from the manufacturing sector and seven of the businesses are from various other sectors.
o The sites visited in Minot are the headquarters for 13 of the businesses, a division for six of the businesses and office operations for two.
o The primary product or service provided by 15 of the businesses is a component, five provide a finished product and one business provides both equally.
o Nineteen of the businesses serve a regional market, one has a national market and one serves the local market.
o Their reported market coverage ranged from 10% to 75%, with an average of 42% and a median of 35%.
o Sixteen of the businesses are current members/investors of MACEDC.
• The businesses have a total of 996 employees, including 863 in full-time, non-seasonal positions.
o The current workforce of the businesses is exceeding their expectations in terms of quality, stability and availability. (Figure 1)
o Over the last three years, five of the businesses added positions (16 jobs added total) and five of the businesses eliminated positions (33 jobs lost total).
• Annual sales, among those willing to share that information, ranged from $3M to $163M, with a median of $8.5M and an average of $32M.
o Capital investments over the past two years ranged from $0 to $10M, with a median of $1M and an average of $1M
• Six of the businesses are growing, nine are maturing and six businesses said they are declining.
o Company sales are increasing for eight of the businesses and stable for 13.
• Six of the businesses indicated they have plans to expand within the next five years.
o The age/condition of facilities and labor costs were rated as the biggest barriers to growth in Minot, followed closely by cost of living and tax rates. (Figure 2)
o Minot’s business climate received a mean rating of 3.00 on a scale of one to five, with one being low and five being high.
• The businesses indicated that possible legislative changes over the next two years were much more likely to benefit them than adversely affect them.
• The biggest challenges facing businesses in Minot are economic issues/price instability and finding enough qualified employees
• Fifteen of the businesses reported issues with employee recruitment, which they indicated was primarily industrywide but also a community issue
o The biggest needs are for managers, skilled laborers, those in the trades and experienced professionals
o There is an average of 2.4 unfilled positions per business, with a total of 45 overall The number of open positions has been stable for 17 of the businesses, increasing for two and decreasing for one business
• The biggest advantages to being located in Minot are the people, location and relationships/sense of community.
o The biggest disadvantage to being in Minot is the location.
• The highest rated aspects of life in Minot are the airport and fire department. (Figure 3)
o Child care services and housing were the lowest rated aspects of life in Minot. (Figure 3)
Figure 1
Mean Rating: Workforce (1=Greatly Needs Help, 5=Exceeds Expectations)
Figure 2
Mean Rating: Barriers to Growth in Minot (1=Low, 5=High)
Figure 4
Mean Rating: Barriers to Growth in Minot Year Over Year Comparisons (1=Low, 5=High)
Q3 2025 - Q2 2026 (N=46)
Q3 2024 - Q2 2025 (N=51)
Q3 2023 - Q2 2024 (N=44)
Q3 2022 - Q2 2023 (N=49)
Q3 2021 - Q2 2022 (N=56)
Figure 5
Mean Rating: Minot’s Business Climate Year Over Year Comparisons (1=Low, 5=High)
Q3 2025 - Q2 2026 (N=46)
Q3 2024 - Q2 2025 (N=51)
Q3 2023 - Q2 2024 (N=44)
Q3 2022 - Q2 2023 (N=49)
Q3 2021 - Q2 2022 (N=56)
Figure 6
Mean Rating: Workforce Year Over Year Comparisons (1=Greatly Needs Help, 5=Exceeds Expectations)
Availability of workers
Stability of workers
Quality of workers
Q3 2025 - Q2 2026 (N=46)
Q3 2023 - Q2 2024 (N=44)
Q3 2021 - Q2 2022 (N=56)
Q3 2024 - Q2 2025 (N=51)
Q3 2022 - Q2 2023 (N=49)
Figure 7 (Continued)