What Lawyers earn in Hennepin County, MN
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $159,620: the median annual pay for Lawyers in Hennepin County, MN. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $76.74 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $183,110, which is 14.7% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 10,160 people working in this occupation across the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Hennepin County, MN has roughly 1,269,496 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Lawyers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $85,810 a year ($41.25 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $352,210 or more ($169.33 an hour). That is a gap of $266,400 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $116,860 at the 25th percentile and $219,710 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 4.1 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $76.74 an hour or $159,620 a year at the median for Hennepin County, MN. Before any deductions, that is $13,302 a month, $6,139 every two weeks and $3,070 each week. After taxes the same job pays $53.02 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Hennepin County, MN compares
Compared with the Minnesota average
A worker in this occupation in Hennepin County, MN earns $9,914 more than the Minnesota average of $149,706, a premium of 6.6%. Over a year that premium is worth $9,914 before tax and roughly $6,849 after tax. Within Minnesota, Hennepin County, MN already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
Nationally, Lawyers earn an employment-weighted average of $160,953 across the contiguous United States, so $159,620 in Hennepin County, MN is essentially average. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Hennepin County, MN
Among the 586 occupations with published wages in Hennepin County, MN, Lawyers ranks number 26 by median pay, ahead of about 96% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Financial Managers at $165,620 a year, which is $6,000 more than the median for Lawyers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Lawyers earning the Hennepin County, MN median of $159,620, they add up to $49,348. The result is $110,272 of take-home pay a year ($9,189 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $31 goes to taxes and $69 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 30.9%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $143,870. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 24% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $27,376, an effective 17.2% of gross pay, well below the 24% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $9,896 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $2,314. FICA totals $12,211, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Minnesota
Minnesota income tax on this salary is $9,761 a year, or 6.1% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 36% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $813 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Hennepin County, MN
IRS Statistics of Income data for Hennepin County, MN show an average adjusted gross income of $118,064 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 16.4% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 11.8%, compared with the 17.2% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Hennepin County, MN
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Hennepin County, MN: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $110,272 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Hennepin County, MN, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,427 a month ($17,124 a year), and at $1,734 for two bedrooms. For Lawyers, a one-bedroom absorbs 15.5% of take-home pay and 10.7% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 2.2% of gross pay for Lawyers in Hennepin County, MN. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Minnesota residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,632 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $409, for $2,041 in total. Gasoline in Minnesota averages $3.15 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,458.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $24,059 a year in Hennepin County, MN. Subtract that from $110,272 of take-home pay and $86,214 remains, which is $7,184 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 54.0% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Lawyers afford to live in Hennepin County, MN?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $159,620 that ceiling is $3,990 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,427 is $2,563 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $27.44 an hour; the median for Lawyers is $76.74, which is 180% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $53.02 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 6.2 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,734 a month means $867 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $6,720 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $92,934.
How fast you can save
At $7,184 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 2 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 4 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Lawyers pay in Hennepin County, MN
How much do Lawyers make per hour in Hennepin County, MN?
The median is $76.74 per hour, based on $159,620 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $41.25 at the 10th percentile to $169.33 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Lawyers take home after taxes in Hennepin County, MN?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $159,620 becomes $110,272 a year. That is $9,189 a month, $4,241 every two weeks or $2,121 a week.
How much tax do Lawyers pay in Hennepin County, MN?
Total taxes are $49,348 a year, an effective rate of 30.9%: $27,376 federal income tax, $12,211 FICA and $9,761 Minnesota income tax.
Do Lawyers earn more in Hennepin County, MN than elsewhere in Minnesota?
Yes. The local median of $159,620 is +6.6% versus the Minnesota average of $149,706, a difference of $9,914 a year.
Can Lawyers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Hennepin County, MN?
A one-bedroom costs $1,427 a month against take-home pay of $9,189, which is 15.5% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $3,990 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Lawyers in Hennepin County, MN?
About $7,184 a month ($86,214 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $24,059 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Hennepin County, MN at the 30% guideline?
$27.44 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $17,124 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Lawyers is $76.74.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Minnesota rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.