Architecture firms in Minnesota: 324 offices statewide, the size limits for building without an architect, and how to hire

This report is for Minnesota owners, cities, school districts and businesses deciding whether and whom to hire for building design, for architects and designers looking at employers across the state, and for sellers whose customers are design firms. For the Twin Cities alone, see architecture firms in Minneapolis.

Minnesota's architecture offices

County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023, NAICS 541310 (Architectural Services), state of Minnesota:

CBP counts establishments with paid employees: a firm with Minneapolis and Duluth offices counts twice, and architects working alone without staff are left out.

A few big offices, many small ones

In bands: 283 offices under 20 employees, 32 with 20 to 99 and nine with 100 or more. The Census Bureau withholds the classes from 250 up; the total less the published classes leaves one office of that size. The state file also reports employees by size class: the eight offices with 100 to 249 employees hold 1,391 jobs, a third of the state's 4,173, and the 25 with 20 to 49 hold 743.

Where they are

Hennepin has 56% of the offices and 73% of the jobs, and six of the eight offices with 100 to 249 employees. Outside the Twin Cities, Duluth's St. Louis County, St. Cloud's Stearns County and Rochester's Olmsted County each have a cluster. Dakota's and Stearns's employee counts were published with the Census Bureau's high-noise flag (its confidentiality noise moved them by 5% or more), so we don't report them. County rows cover 292 of the 324 offices; the rest sit in smaller counties or aren't assigned to one.

Mostly S corporations

The 44 C corporation offices average about 41 employees, the S corporations under nine (our calculations). For a client, legal form says little about quality; for a seller, it hints at who signs: owner-principals at the S corporations, a finance or operations function at the larger C corporations.

When you need an architect

The licensing board's rule 1800.5200 says plans and specifications for erecting, enlarging, altering or remodeling any building must be prepared and certified by a licensed architect or engineer, with three kinds of exception: the building types the statute exempts (one- and two-family homes, farm buildings and temporary construction sheds), remodeling that doesn't change structural or system loads, exits or the occupancy class in ways that could breach the building code, and small buildings within the limits in rule 1800.5900:

The exemption doesn't apply to a second new building by the same owner or contractor on the same or a neighboring parcel within 24 months of the first permit. Anything larger needs sealed plans, and your building official has the final word on your permit.

Firms and the person in responsible charge

Minnesota licenses people, not firms: section 326.14 lets a corporation, partnership or other firm practice architecture provided the person in responsible charge of the work is licensed. Board rule 1800.4600 adds that professional firms must file periodic reports with the board under chapter 319B. So ask each firm who is in responsible charge of your project and check that architect's license with the board. NCARB counts 3,981 Minnesota architect licenses in 2025, 52% held by Minnesota residents.

For state buildings, Minnesota runs a designer selection process for large projects, described in the Minneapolis report. Private clients should follow the same order: shortlist on qualifications, then negotiate the fee. AIA's B104-2017 abbreviated agreement fits a medium project of limited scope, such as many of the buildings just above the exemption limits.

Finding a firm, finding a job

The AIA Minnesota firm directory lists 194 member firms, filterable by region (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Northern, Southeast and Southwest Minnesota) and by project type, from worship and education to senior housing. AIA Minnesota also runs a job board. BLS counted 2,340 architects in Minnesota in May 2025, at a mean wage of $102,620 and a median of $99,940. SEC records list no public architecture company based in the state.

Selling to Minnesota architecture firms

The market splits cleanly. 251 offices have fewer than ten employees and an owner-principal who decides. The 41 offices with 20 or more employees, the large Hennepin practices among them, have finance and operations staff who run evaluations.

Illustrative example. The company, prices and results are invented.

Lakes Project Accounting (lakesprojectaccounting.example) sets up project accounting and billing for design firms moving off general bookkeeping software. It targets the 64 offices with 10 to 99 employees, the size at which billing by phase and tracking work in progress outgrow a spreadsheet, and keeps the 35 advertising for an office manager or accountant. Eight conversations lead to three implementations at $18,000. Knowing which 35 are growing, and who runs the books at each, is the research Bebop does for every account in the list.

Subject: Billing by phase at [firm]

Hi [first name],

Firms of [firm]'s size usually reach the point where invoicing by phase and tracking work in progress take someone a week each month. We set up project accounting for design firms and train your team in four weeks.

Would a 20-minute look at how you bill today be useful?

[Your name]
[Company], [postal address]

Next step: compare with the state's builders in construction companies in Minnesota.