Light Truck Drivers in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,655
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$9,225
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,292
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
$48,880
Kept after tax
$39,655
Worth in national money
$40,292
State rank
4
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Minnesota pays light truck drivers a middle wage of $48,880, ranking 4 of 51 states and sitting about 8.96% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 490 occupations Minnesota reports figures for, this is number 367.
- No great distortion either way. Minnesota costs about what the country costs, so from $48,880, take-home of $39,655 is worth roughly $40,292 in national money. The average comes to $52,860, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Minnesota's median for light truck drivers is $48,880, about 8.96% above the national figure and 4 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.
- In Minnesota's occupational distribution, light truck drivers sits at 367 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.
- Price parity in Minnesota is near the national base, so for light truck drivers, whose median is $48,880, the adjusted figure of $40,292 differs little from $39,655 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $52,860 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Light Truck Drivers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,490 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $90,340 |
| This salary | $48,880 |
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 | $39,655 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,455 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,368 |
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 | $46,639 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,864 |
| 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 $48,880. The published range is $31,490 up to $90,340, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Minnesota's $39,655, worked from $48,880. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 367 of 490.
- One number stands for prices across all of Minnesota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $40,292, the adjusted value of that $48,880 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 367 of 490 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for light truck drivers in Minnesota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,490 to $90,340. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Minnesota take-home of $39,655, on $48,880 for work ranking 367 of 490 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 367 of 490 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Minnesota, so $40,292 — the adjusted value of that $48,880 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 367 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $52,860, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $31,490 at the bottom tenth to $90,340 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Minnesota sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $40,292 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $39,655.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 $52,860. 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 ($31,490) and the ninetieth ($90,340) 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 $40,292 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 $39,655 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.