Childcare Workers in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,639
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$5,881
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,115
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
$35,520
Kept after tax
$29,639
Worth in national money
$30,115
State rank
19
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Minnesota pays childcare workers around $35,520 at the midpoint, 19 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against 490 occupations Minnesota publishes, childcare workers lands at 472. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- No great distortion either way. Minnesota costs about what the country costs, so from $35,520, take-home of $29,639 is worth roughly $30,115 in national money. The average comes to $35,720, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For childcare workers the Minnesota median is $35,520, ranking 19 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Within Minnesota, this work ranks 472 of 490 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Price parity in Minnesota is near the national base, so for childcare workers, whose median is $35,520, the adjusted figure of $30,115 differs little from $29,639 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $35,720 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Childcare Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,560 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,520 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,880 |
| This salary | $35,520 |
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 | $29,639 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,720 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,498 |
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 | $34,174 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,812 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Minnesota earn less than $35,520. The published range is $28,560 up to $44,880, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $29,639 take-home in Minnesota comes from $35,520. 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 472 of 490.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,115 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 472.
- Reported values are medians; for childcare workers in Minnesota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $28,560 to $44,880. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $29,639, from $35,520, 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 472 of 490 locally, and the state ranks 19 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,115, worked from $35,520, 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 472 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $28,560 at the bottom tenth to $44,880 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $30,115 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Minnesota adds its own income tax on top — which is why $29,639 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,560 to $44,880) 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 $30,115 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 $29,639 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.