Animal Caretakers in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,321
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$6,109
16.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,809
Minnesota costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Minnesota — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$36,430
Kept after tax
$30,321
Worth in national money
$30,809
State rank
15
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for animal caretakers is strong here. Minnesota's middle earner gets $36,430, putting the state 15 of 51 — about 3.03% ahead of the national figure.
- Measured against other jobs in Minnesota, this one sits low: 467 of 490 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $36,430 the take-home is $30,321, which is worth about $30,809 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $38,320, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For animal caretakers, Minnesota sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $36,430, ranking 15 of 51 and running about 3.03% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Animal caretakers occupies position 467 of 490 in Minnesota's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Minnesota's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for animal caretakers on its $36,430 median: $30,321 retained after tax becomes $30,809 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $38,320 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Animal Caretakers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,050 |
| This salary | $36,430 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Minnesota | $30,321 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,452 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,557 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $35,023 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,883 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $36,430 as a midpoint for Minnesota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $29,440 and the ninetieth is $48,050 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Minnesota the take-home figure of $30,321, from $36,430, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 467 of 490 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,809 uses one figure for the whole of Minnesota. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 490 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 467.
- The Minnesota median of $36,430 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $29,440 to $48,050. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Minnesota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,321 from $36,430. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 467 of 490 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,809, worked from $36,430, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Minnesota address, on work sitting at 467 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $38,320, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $29,440 at the tenth percentile, $48,050 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $30,809.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Minnesota's own levy, $30,321 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Minnesota is $38,320. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($29,440 to $48,050) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Minnesota rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Minnesota's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $30,809 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $30,321 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Minnesota income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.