Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,334
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$17,166
22.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$59,272
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
$75,500
Kept after tax
$58,334
Worth in national money
$59,272
State rank
9
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Minnesota's middle earner gets $75,500, putting the state 9 of 50 — about 20.45% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 490 occupations Minnesota reports figures for, this is number 199.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $75,500 the take-home is $58,334, which is worth about $59,272 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $72,880, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For kindergarten teachers, except special education, Minnesota sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $75,500, ranking 9 of 50 and running about 20.45% 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.
- In Minnesota's occupational distribution, kindergarten teachers, except special education sits at 199 of 490 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Minnesota's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for kindergarten teachers, except special education on its $75,500 median: $58,334 retained after tax becomes $59,272 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $72,880 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $75,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $98,680 |
| This salary | $75,500 |
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 | $58,334 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,944 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,473 |
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 | $70,368 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,179 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of kindergarten teachers, except special education in Minnesota earn under $75,500 and half over. The published range runs $45,280 at the tenth percentile to $98,680 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Minnesota the take-home figure of $58,334, from $75,500, 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 199 of 490 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Minnesota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $59,272, the adjusted value of that $75,500 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 199 of 490 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for kindergarten teachers, except special education in Minnesota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $45,280 to $98,680; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Minnesota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $58,334 from $75,500. 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 199 of 490 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Minnesota, so $59,272 — the adjusted value of that $75,500 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 199 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 $72,880, 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 — $45,280 at the tenth percentile, $98,680 at the ninetieth.
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 $59,272 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Minnesota then takes its own share, leaving $58,334.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 $72,880. 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 ($45,280 to $98,680) 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 $59,272 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 $58,334 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.