Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,571
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$7,859
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,143
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
$43,430
Kept after tax
$35,571
Worth in national money
$36,143
State rank
20
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Minnesota sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $43,430, ranking 20 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Minnesota, this one sits low: 429 of 490 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $43,430 the take-home is $35,571, which is worth about $36,143 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $45,130, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Minnesota occupies the middle band for preschool teachers, except special education: a median of $43,430, ranking 20 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Preschool teachers, except special education occupies position 429 of 490 in Minnesota's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Minnesota's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for preschool teachers, except special education on its $43,430 median: $35,571 retained after tax becomes $36,143 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $45,130 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,190 |
| This salary | $43,430 |
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 | $35,571 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,076 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,011 |
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 | $41,557 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,432 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $43,430 as a midpoint for Minnesota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,060 and the ninetieth is $61,190 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $35,571 take-home in Minnesota comes from $43,430. 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 429 of 490.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $36,143 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 429.
- The Minnesota median of $43,430 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,060 to $61,190. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $35,571, from $43,430, 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 429 of 490 locally, and the state ranks 20 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,143, worked from $43,430, 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 429 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $45,130 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $36,060 at the tenth percentile, $61,190 at the ninetieth.
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 $36,143 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Minnesota's own levy, $35,571 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $45,130. 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 ($36,060 to $61,190) 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 $36,143 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 $35,571 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.