Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$74,984
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$26,716
26.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$76,190
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
$101,700
Kept after tax
$74,984
Worth in national money
$76,190
State rank
20
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Minnesota pays this job around $101,700 at the midpoint, 20 of 46 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Within Minnesota this is well-paid work. Of 490 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 71 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $101,700, tax leaves $74,984, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $76,190 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $104,720, since top earners drag the number up.
- For software quality assurance analysts and testers the Minnesota median is $101,700, ranking 20 of 46 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Ranked against every occupation Minnesota publishes a median for, software quality assurance analysts and testers sits 71 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.
- Because Minnesota sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for software quality assurance analysts and testers — median $101,700 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $74,984 retained, $76,190 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $104,720 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $66,090 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $101,700 |
| Top tenth earn over | $137,310 |
| This salary | $101,700 |
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 | $74,984 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $80,376 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,523 |
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 | $94,035 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,010 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $101,700 as a midpoint for Minnesota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $66,090 and the ninetieth is $137,310 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Minnesota the take-home figure of $74,984, from $101,700, 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 71 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 $76,190 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 71.
- The Minnesota median of $101,700 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $66,090 to $137,310. 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 $74,984 from $101,700. 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 71 of 490 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $76,190, worked from $101,700, 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 71 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $66,090 and the top tenth $137,310, so most people doing this work in Minnesota sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $76,190 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $74,984 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 46 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($66,090 to $137,310) 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 $76,190 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 $74,984 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.