Prices, pay, taxes, homes and family budgets, county by county, from the same official data the site's calculators use.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis measures price levels in every state against a national average of 100. Minnesota scores 98.6 overall, so a $75,000 salary at average US prices buys what $73,966 buys here. Compare any salary with another state.
| Price level | Minnesota (US = 100) | Rank, most expensive first |
|---|---|---|
| Everything | 98.6 | 22nd of 51 |
| Rents | 91.3 | 23rd of 51 |
| Goods | 100.5 | — |
| Other services | 100.2 | — |
Home electricity averaged 15.45 cents a kilowatt-hour in 2024, against 17.06 across all states. A gallon of regular gas cost $4.02 at the end of August 2026, against $4.12.
Across all 2,949,820 jobs the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts in Minnesota, the median pay is $56,920 a year, or $27.36 an hour; that ranks 12th of the 50 states and DC. One worker in ten earns less than $33,540 and one in ten more than $125,730.
Minnesota taxes wages in brackets, with a top rate of 9.85%. The brackets in Minnesota. A single filer on the median $56,920, with no retirement or health deductions, takes home about $44,528 a year, or $1,713 every two weeks, after $4,650 of federal income tax, $4,354 of Social Security and Medicare and $3,388 of state income tax. Work out your own paycheck in Minnesota.
The five occupations employing the most people, with their median annual pay:
| Occupation | Jobs | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 128,680 | $38,370 |
| Retail Salespersons | 74,840 | $36,370 |
| General and Operations Managers | 72,860 | $99,340 |
| Registered Nurses | 70,110 | $101,510 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 58,970 | $31,370 |
Of the 20 largest occupations, the best paid are software developers ($130,050), registered nurses ($101,510), general and operations managers ($99,340). See what common jobs pay in every state.
Across the 87 Minnesota counties with their own Zillow home value, the median typical home is worth $278,266, and across the 37 with their own rent figure the median typical rent is $1,286 a month. A typical home costs 2.99 years of the county's median family income, at the median county.
With 10% down at 7.03%, the average 30-year rate on September 24, 2026, that home costs about $2,224 a month with tax, insurance and mortgage insurance, which takes $95,336 a year of income under the usual 28% guideline. The median family can afford its own county's typical home in 43.7% of Minnesota's counties, against 44.9% of counties nationally. Try it with your own income.
At the median county, home values changed +4.1% over the past year and +26.4% over five years, and rents +3.5% over the past year.
The most expensive Minnesota counties are Carver County ($496,643), Washington County ($450,135) and Scott County ($448,244); the least expensive are Traverse County ($150,603), Kittson County ($155,956) and Koochiching County ($160,804).
The Economic Policy Institute prices what a modest but adequate standard of living costs in every county: housing, food, transport, healthcare, childcare, other necessities and taxes. In the median Minnesota county, that comes to $44,541 a year for one adult and $98,920 for two adults and two children, of which $15,716 is childcare. The national averages are $47,367 and $101,771. Median family income in the median county is $93,056.
| Two adults, two children | Per year, median county | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | $11,196 | $933 |
| Food | $12,250 | $1,021 |
| Transportation | $20,529 | $1,711 |
| Healthcare | $17,337 | $1,445 |
| Childcare | $15,716 | $1,310 |
| Other necessities | $7,321 | $610 |
| Taxes | $13,769 | $1,147 |
Each line is its own median across counties, so the lines do not add up exactly to the total.
The Department of Education's College Scorecard lists 110 colleges in Minnesota, 54 of them public. The median public college reports a cost of attendance of $19,591 a year, covering tuition, housing, books and other expenses. Ten years after enrolling, the median school's former students earn $45,628. Compare degrees and schools.
| Aitkin County | $281,939 | +4.9% | — | $76,311 | $103,522 |
| Anoka County | $377,642 | +2.2% | $1,742 | $114,908 | $135,927 |
| Becker County | $366,411 | +4.9% | — | $90,218 | $97,484 |
| Beltrami County | $273,584 | +3.0% | $1,286 | $85,344 | $98,920 |
| Benton County | $314,211 | +3.2% | $1,184 | $95,017 | $107,329 |
| Big Stone County | $206,086 | +10.4% | — | $82,794 | $97,636 |
| Blue Earth County | $306,726 | +2.6% | $1,199 | $95,459 | $112,398 |
| Brown County | $254,656 | +8.9% | — | $89,439 | $96,748 |
| Carlton County | $308,185 | +4.0% | $1,152 | $95,721 | $108,220 |
| Carver County | $496,643 | +2.5% | $2,048 | $149,132 | $144,680 |
| Cass County | $347,262 | +3.8% | — | $80,760 | $100,428 |
| Chippewa County | $229,496 | +8.5% | — | $92,994 | $95,411 |
| Chisago County | $392,440 | +2.5% | $1,316 | $115,382 | $124,976 |
| Clay County | $306,815 | +2.4% | $1,214 | $105,824 | $103,379 |
| Clearwater County | $258,301 | +12.4% | — | $82,824 | $97,232 |
| Cook County | $442,617 | +4.8% | — | $87,419 | $109,244 |
| Cottonwood County | $166,899 | −1.0% | — | $87,667 | $95,548 |
| Crow Wing County | $377,784 | +3.3% | $1,267 | $91,123 | $98,705 |
| Dakota County | $400,941 | +1.7% | $1,688 | $130,111 | $138,866 |
| Dodge County | $336,960 | +5.9% | — | $109,639 | $120,192 |
| Douglas County | $355,467 | +3.0% | $1,449 | $97,354 | $96,732 |
| Faribault County | $164,313 | +5.7% | — | $79,663 | $100,621 |
| Fillmore County | $289,055 | +2.0% | — | $91,230 | $109,232 |
| Freeborn County | $200,332 | +5.8% | $1,032 | $87,236 | $98,131 |
| Goodhue County | $326,886 | +2.0% | $1,282 | $104,799 | $110,423 |
| Grant County | $245,343 | +8.5% | — | $85,086 | $97,350 |
| Hennepin County | $394,800 | +1.7% | $1,764 | $131,862 | $136,413 |
| Houston County | $330,506 | +4.1% | — | $97,976 | $116,949 |
| Hubbard County | $325,741 | +2.6% | $1,095 | $84,240 | $96,773 |
| Isanti County | $343,789 | +2.3% | $1,516 | $97,450 | $120,105 |
| Itasca County | $255,996 | +0.3% | — | $83,917 | $101,905 |
| Jackson County | $227,470 | +3.2% | $1,126 | $88,140 | $95,596 |
| Kanabec County | $277,214 | +6.0% | — | $86,385 | $95,057 |
| Kandiyohi County | $291,304 | +2.3% | $950 | $93,317 | $96,651 |
| Kittson County | $155,956 | +4.1% | — | $94,471 | $98,269 |
| Koochiching County | $160,804 | +5.5% | — | $85,230 | $97,674 |
| Lac qui Parle County | $218,326 | +7.1% | — | $92,463 | $96,405 |
| Lake County | $284,941 | +4.7% | — | $93,547 | $117,063 |
| Lake of the Woods County | $231,709 | +3.6% | — | $89,208 | $105,459 |
| Le Sueur County | $362,128 | +2.9% | — | $108,147 | $108,181 |
| Lincoln County | $208,745 | +6.9% | — | $86,875 | $96,959 |
| Lyon County | $227,201 | +8.0% | — | $93,906 | $94,012 |
| Mahnomen County | $180,539 | +6.5% | — | $64,342 | $96,613 |
| Marshall County | $208,274 | +8.3% | — | $92,132 | $97,718 |
| Martin County | $225,383 | +5.2% | — | $84,877 | $99,835 |
| McLeod County | $301,752 | +2.6% | $1,392 | $100,785 | $95,624 |
| Meeker County | $300,716 | +5.9% | $1,055 | $95,693 | $95,954 |
| Mille Lacs County | $319,422 | +2.2% | $1,075 | $86,552 | $109,707 |
| Morrison County | $317,603 | +3.0% | — | $86,099 | $95,822 |
| Mower County | $207,760 | +4.1% | $1,016 | $91,150 | $103,097 |
| Murray County | $259,031 | +10.0% | — | $93,387 | $96,477 |
| Nicollet County | $320,010 | +4.5% | $1,230 | $107,917 | $111,010 |
| Nobles County | $246,917 | +7.8% | — | $79,909 | $94,912 |
| Norman County | $185,586 | +8.0% | — | $93,056 | $97,047 |
| Olmsted County | $356,492 | +3.9% | $1,675 | $119,991 | $139,838 |
| Otter Tail County | $340,757 | +6.0% | $937 | $92,690 | $96,341 |
| Pennington County | $197,064 | −3.0% | — | $99,464 | $97,593 |
| Pine County | $264,561 | +4.0% | — | $83,709 | $98,881 |
| Pipestone County | $204,394 | +10.4% | — | $82,486 | $96,254 |
| Polk County | $255,717 | +6.3% | $926 | $96,684 | $102,250 |
| Pope County | $345,046 | +3.9% | — | $96,298 | $101,858 |
| Ramsey County | $343,915 | +1.8% | $1,532 | $106,698 | $130,515 |
| Red Lake County | $216,697 | +10.8% | — | $96,667 | $97,872 |
| Redwood County | $188,248 | +7.2% | — | $85,558 | $97,649 |
| Renville County | $200,011 | +9.1% | — | $88,220 | $98,099 |
| Rice County | $355,943 | +2.6% | $1,601 | $103,790 | $110,942 |
| Rock County | $274,487 | +4.9% | — | $95,000 | $96,604 |
| Roseau County | $229,477 | +2.6% | — | $89,022 | $97,809 |
| Scott County | $448,244 | +1.5% | $1,840 | $138,181 | $142,007 |
| Sherburne County | $395,563 | +2.3% | $1,508 | $121,435 | $117,133 |
| Sibley County | $295,137 | +6.5% | — | $94,167 | $97,091 |
| St. Louis County | $262,678 | +7.1% | $1,414 | $94,308 | $106,659 |
| Stearns County | $315,310 | +2.7% | $1,291 | $95,813 | $128,055 |
| Steele County | $301,700 | +2.9% | $1,161 | $106,301 | $104,590 |
| Stevens County | $217,739 | +7.5% | — | $95,352 | $99,184 |
| Swift County | $203,799 | +5.5% | — | $78,565 | $96,711 |
| Todd County | $278,266 | +4.8% | — | $76,498 | $98,092 |
| Traverse County | $150,603 | +9.9% | — | $92,500 | $98,018 |
| Wabasha County | $317,980 | +5.4% | $2,100 | $96,933 | $115,656 |
| Wadena County | $233,915 | +5.4% | — | $78,803 | $95,769 |
| Waseca County | $262,166 | +2.5% | — | $89,052 | $102,934 |
| Washington County | $450,135 | +2.7% | $2,029 | $135,690 | $144,876 |
| Watonwan County | $178,577 | +4.9% | — | $85,403 | $99,160 |
| Wilkin County | $226,047 | +5.8% | — | $93,241 | $93,265 |
| Winona County | $285,659 | +3.5% | $1,188 | $97,837 | $103,944 |
| Wright County | $400,102 | +1.3% | $1,831 | $123,867 | $120,247 |
| Yellow Medicine County | $179,511 | +5.9% | — | $88,091 | $97,128 |
A dash means the source publishes no figure for that county. Home values and rents are Zillow's own county figures only; counties Zillow does not cover are left blank rather than filled with a state average.
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County figures are medians across Minnesota's counties, each counting once, so they describe the spread of places rather than of people. Property tax and insurance vary widely; the calculators let you use your own.