What Substitute Teachers, Short-Term earn in Le Sueur County, MN
The median pay for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term in Le Sueur County, MN is $50,390 per year, which works out to $24.23 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metropolitan area, the labor market that Le Sueur County, MN belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $53,200, which is 5.6% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 7,510 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. Le Sueur County, MN has roughly 29,113 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $37,750 a year ($18.15 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $75,890 or more ($36.49 an hour). That is a gap of $38,140 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $41,700 at the 25th percentile and $61,340 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.0 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: $24.23 an hour or $50,390 a year at the median for Le Sueur County, MN. Before any deductions, that is $4,199 a month, $1,938 every two weeks and $969 each week. After taxes the same job pays $19.56 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Substitute Teachers, Short-Term
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Substitute Teachers, Short-Term this way: "Teach students on a short-term basis as a temporary replacement for a regular classroom teacher, typically using the regular teacher's lesson plan."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Answer students' questions"; "Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, or teacher training workshops to improve professional competence"; "Counsel students with adjustment or academic problems"; "Distribute or collect tests or homework assignments".
Job outlook for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 556,100 jobs in 2025 to 567,000 in 2035, a change of +2%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 65,000 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 11.7% of current employment each year. About 5.2% of the people in this occupation are self-employed, and wage figures cover wage and salary workers only.
Typical entry-level education: bachelor's degree. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $41,670 for this occupation; the Le Sueur County, MN median of $50,390 is 20.9% above it.
How pay in Le Sueur County, MN compares
Compared with the Minnesota average
A worker in this occupation in Le Sueur County, MN earns $932 more than the Minnesota average of $49,458, a premium of 1.9%. Over a year that premium is worth $932 before tax and roughly $752 after tax. Within Minnesota, Le Sueur County, MN already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term is $44,399 across the contiguous United States. At $50,390, Le Sueur County, MN pays $5,991 more, which is 13.5% above that benchmark. 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 Le Sueur County, MN
Among the 586 occupations with published wages in Le Sueur County, MN, Substitute Teachers, Short-Term ranks number 443 by median pay, ahead of about 24% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $178,080 a year, which is $127,690 more than the median for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term.
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 Substitute Teachers, Short-Term earning the Le Sueur County, MN median of $50,390, they add up to $9,711. The result is $40,679 of take-home pay a year ($3,390 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $19 goes to taxes and $81 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 19.3%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $34,640. 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 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $3,918, an effective 7.8% of gross pay, well below the 12% 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 $3,124 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $731. FICA totals $3,855, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Minnesota
Minnesota income tax on this salary is $1,938 a year, or 3.8% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 49% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $161 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 Le Sueur County, MN
IRS Statistics of Income data for Le Sueur County, MN show an average adjusted gross income of $86,607 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 11.9% across all filers. Filers in the $50,000 to under $75,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 7.5%, compared with the 7.8% 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 Le Sueur County, MN
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Le Sueur County, MN: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $40,679 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Le Sueur County, MN, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $839 a month ($10,068 a year), and at $1,098 for two bedrooms. For Substitute Teachers, Short-Term, a one-bedroom absorbs 24.8% of take-home pay and 20.0% 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 6.8% of gross pay for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term in Le Sueur 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 $17,003 a year in Le Sueur County, MN. Subtract that from $40,679 of take-home pay and $23,676 remains, which is $1,973 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 47.0% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Le Sueur County, MN
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Le Sueur County, MN: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Le Sueur County, MN, set beside the Minnesota and national medians.
Property taxes in Le Sueur County, MN
Homeowners in Le Sueur County, MN pay a median of $3,366 a year in real estate taxes, in line with the Minnesota median of $3,357 and 8% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $316,500, the median tax bill is 1.06% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Substitute Teachers, Short-Term median of $50,390, a tax bill of that size would equal 6.7% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Le Sueur County, MN
Renters in Le Sueur County, MN pay a median gross rent of $942 a month in the Census survey, 26% below the Minnesota median of $1,280. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $839 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $316,500, 4% below the Minnesota median of $329,300. Median household income is $94,968, 7% above the Minnesota median of $89,062, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 10.6% of that income.
Commuting in Le Sueur County, MN
Workers in Le Sueur County, MN who travel to a workplace spend an average of 24.6 minutes each way, 8% above the Minnesota average of 22.7. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.1 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 9.6% of workers in Le Sueur County, MN work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Substitute Teachers, Short-Term afford to live in Le Sueur 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 $50,390 that ceiling is $1,260 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $839 is $421 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $16.13 an hour; the median for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term is $24.23, which is 50% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $19.56 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 9.9 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,098 a month means $549 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $3,480 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $27,156.
How fast you can save
At $1,973 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 6 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 12 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Substitute Teachers, Short-Term pay in Le Sueur County, MN
How much do Substitute Teachers, Short-Term make per hour in Le Sueur County, MN?
The median is $24.23 per hour, based on $50,390 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $18.15 at the 10th percentile to $36.49 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Substitute Teachers, Short-Term take home after taxes in Le Sueur County, MN?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $50,390 becomes $40,679 a year. That is $3,390 a month, $1,565 every two weeks or $782 a week.
How much tax do Substitute Teachers, Short-Term pay in Le Sueur County, MN?
Total taxes are $9,711 a year, an effective rate of 19.3%: $3,918 federal income tax, $3,855 FICA and $1,938 Minnesota income tax.
Do Substitute Teachers, Short-Term earn more in Le Sueur County, MN than elsewhere in Minnesota?
Yes. The local median of $50,390 is +1.9% versus the Minnesota average of $49,458, a difference of $932 a year.
Can Substitute Teachers, Short-Term afford a one-bedroom apartment in Le Sueur County, MN?
A one-bedroom costs $839 a month against take-home pay of $3,390, which is 24.7% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,260 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term in Le Sueur County, MN?
About $1,973 a month ($23,676 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $17,003 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Le Sueur County, MN at the 30% guideline?
$16.13 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $10,068 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term is $24.23.
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.