Museum Technicians and Conservators in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,581
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$9,559
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,234
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
$50,140
Kept after tax
$40,581
Worth in national money
$41,234
State rank
18
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Minnesota sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $50,140, ranking 18 of 45 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 490 occupations Minnesota reports figures for, this is number 349.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $50,140 the take-home is $40,581, which is worth about $41,234 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $53,720, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Minnesota occupies the middle band for museum technicians and conservators: a median of $50,140, ranking 18 of 45. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Minnesota's occupational distribution, museum technicians and conservators sits at 349 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 museum technicians and conservators on its $50,140 median: $40,581 retained after tax becomes $41,234 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $53,720 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Museum Technicians and Conservators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,690 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $50,140 |
| Top tenth earn over | $70,950 |
| This salary | $50,140 |
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 | $40,581 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,467 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,468 |
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 | $47,793 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,985 |
| 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 museum technicians and conservators in Minnesota earn under $50,140 and half over. The published range runs $39,690 at the tenth percentile to $70,950 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Minnesota the take-home figure of $40,581, from $50,140, 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 349 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 $41,234 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 349.
- Figures are distribution medians for museum technicians and conservators in Minnesota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $39,690 to $70,950; 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 $40,581 from $50,140. 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 349 of 490 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $41,234, worked from $50,140, 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 349 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 $53,720, 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 — $39,690 at the tenth percentile, $70,950 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 $41,234.
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 $40,581 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 45 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $53,720. 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 ($39,690 to $70,950) 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 $41,234 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 $40,581 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.