Chemists in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$73,446
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$25,834
26.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$74,627
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
$99,280
Kept after tax
$73,446
Worth in national money
$74,627
State rank
14
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Minnesota pays chemists a middle wage of $99,280, ranking 14 of 51 states and sitting about 8.81% above the national middle.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Minnesota. It ranks 81 out of 490 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- No great distortion either way. Minnesota costs about what the country costs, so from $99,280, take-home of $73,446 is worth roughly $74,627 in national money. The average comes to $102,390, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Minnesota's median for chemists is $99,280, about 8.81% above the national figure and 14 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Within Minnesota, chemists ranks 81 of 490 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Price parity in Minnesota is near the national base, so for chemists, whose median is $99,280, the adjusted figure of $74,627 differs little from $73,446 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $102,390 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Chemists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $60,010 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $99,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $158,540 |
| This salary | $99,280 |
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 | $73,446 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $78,673 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,333 |
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 | $91,849 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,748 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $99,280 as a midpoint for Minnesota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $60,010 and the ninetieth is $158,540 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $73,446 take-home in Minnesota comes from $99,280. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 81 of 490.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $74,627 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 81.
- The Minnesota median of $99,280 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $60,010 to $158,540. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $73,446, from $99,280, assumes a single Minnesota filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 81 of 490 locally, and the state ranks 14 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $74,627, worked from $99,280, 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 81 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 $102,390, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $60,010, the highest tenth $158,540, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Minnesota is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $74,627 in national terms.
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, $73,446 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 $102,390. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($60,010) and the ninetieth ($158,540) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $74,627 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 $73,446 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.