Natural Sciences Managers in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$96,651
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$39,799
29.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$98,206
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
$136,450
Kept after tax
$96,651
Worth in national money
$98,206
State rank
18
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Minnesota is 18 of 48 states for natural sciences managers, with a middle wage of $136,450. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Minnesota this is well-paid work. Of 490 occupations with published figures in the state, natural sciences managers ranks 22 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $136,450 the take-home is $96,651, which is worth about $98,206 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $158,980, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Minnesota ranks 18 of 48 for natural sciences managers at $136,450. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation Minnesota publishes a median for, natural sciences managers sits 22 of 490 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Minnesota's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for natural sciences managers on its $136,450 median: $96,651 retained after tax becomes $98,206 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $158,980 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Natural Sciences Managers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $78,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $136,450 |
| Top tenth earn over | $289,790 |
| This salary | $136,450 |
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 | $96,651 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $104,530 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,362 |
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 | $124,924 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$13,311 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $136,450 as a midpoint for Minnesota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $78,050 and the ninetieth is $289,790 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Minnesota the take-home figure of $96,651, from $136,450, 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 22 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 $98,206, the adjusted value of that $136,450 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 22 of 490 in the state.
- The Minnesota median of $136,450 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $78,050 to $289,790. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Minnesota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $96,651 from $136,450. 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 22 of 490 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Minnesota, so $98,206 — the adjusted value of that $136,450 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 22 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 $158,980, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $78,050 and the top tenth $289,790 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $98,206.
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 $96,651 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 48 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 $158,980. 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 ($78,050) and the ninetieth ($289,790) 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 $98,206 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 $96,651 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.