Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,571
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$8,859
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,191
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
$47,430
Kept after tax
$38,571
Worth in national money
$39,191
State rank
5
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Minnesota pays this job a middle wage of $47,430, ranking 5 of 46 states and sitting about 22.78% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Minnesota, this one sits low: 388 of 490 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $47,430 the take-home is $38,571, which is worth about $39,191 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $48,220, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Minnesota's median for switchboard operators, including answering service is $47,430, about 22.78% above the national figure and 5 of 46 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Switchboard operators, including answering service occupies position 388 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 switchboard operators, including answering service on its $47,430 median: $38,571 retained after tax becomes $39,191 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $48,220 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,840 |
| This salary | $47,430 |
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 | $38,571 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,290 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,270 |
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 | $45,291 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,745 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $47,430 as a midpoint for Minnesota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $39,890 and the ninetieth is $57,840 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $38,571 take-home in Minnesota comes from $47,430. 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 388 of 490.
- One number stands for prices across all of Minnesota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $39,191, the adjusted value of that $47,430 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 388 of 490 in the state.
- The Minnesota median of $47,430 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $39,890 to $57,840. 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 $38,571, from $47,430, 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 388 of 490 locally, and the state ranks 5 of 46 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Minnesota, so $39,191 — the adjusted value of that $47,430 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 388 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $39,890 at the tenth percentile, $57,840 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Minnesota is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $39,191 in national terms.
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, $38,571 remains.
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 ($39,890 to $57,840) 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 $39,191 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 $38,571 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.
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.