What Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education earn in Ramsey County, MN
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $79,010: the median annual pay for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Ramsey County, MN. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $37.99 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 $85,250, which is 7.9% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 9,840 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. Ramsey County, MN has roughly 542,945 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $49,940 a year ($24.01 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $125,960 or more ($60.56 an hour). That is a gap of $76,020 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $62,070 at the 25th percentile and $101,090 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.5 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: $37.99 an hour or $79,010 a year at the median for Ramsey County, MN. Before any deductions, that is $6,584 a month, $3,039 every two weeks and $1,519 each week. After taxes the same job pays $28.97 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Ramsey County, MN compares
Compared with the Minnesota average
A worker in this occupation in Ramsey County, MN earns $6,972 more than the Minnesota average of $72,038, a premium of 9.7%. Over a year that premium is worth $6,972 before tax and roughly $5,317 after tax. Within Minnesota, Ramsey County, MN already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education is $75,178 across the contiguous United States. At $79,010, Ramsey County, MN pays $3,832 more, which is 5.1% 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 Ramsey County, MN
Among the 586 occupations with published wages in Ramsey County, MN, Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education ranks number 229 by median pay, ahead of about 61% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Financial Managers at $165,620 a year, which is $86,610 more than the median for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education.
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 Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education earning the Ramsey County, MN median of $79,010, they add up to $18,759. The result is $60,251 of take-home pay a year ($5,021 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $24 goes to taxes and $76 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 23.7%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $63,260. 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 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $8,831, an effective 11.2% of gross pay, well below the 22% 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 $4,899 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,146. FICA totals $6,044, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Minnesota
Minnesota income tax on this salary is $3,884 a year, or 4.9% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 44% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $324 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 Ramsey County, MN
IRS Statistics of Income data for Ramsey County, MN show an average adjusted gross income of $85,996 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 13.3% across all filers. Filers in the $75,000 to under $100,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 9.6%, compared with the 11.2% 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 Ramsey County, MN
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Ramsey County, MN: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $60,251 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Ramsey 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 Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education, a one-bedroom absorbs 28.4% of take-home pay and 21.7% 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 4.3% of gross pay for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Ramsey 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 Ramsey County, MN. Subtract that from $60,251 of take-home pay and $36,192 remains, which is $3,016 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 45.8% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education afford to live in Ramsey 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 $79,010 that ceiling is $1,975 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,427 is $548 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 Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education is $37.99, which is 38% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $28.97 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 11.4 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 $42,912.
How fast you can save
At $3,016 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 4 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 8 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education pay in Ramsey County, MN
How much do Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education make per hour in Ramsey County, MN?
The median is $37.99 per hour, based on $79,010 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $24.01 at the 10th percentile to $60.56 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education take home after taxes in Ramsey County, MN?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $79,010 becomes $60,251 a year. That is $5,021 a month, $2,317 every two weeks or $1,159 a week.
How much tax do Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education pay in Ramsey County, MN?
Total taxes are $18,759 a year, an effective rate of 23.7%: $8,831 federal income tax, $6,044 FICA and $3,884 Minnesota income tax.
Do Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education earn more in Ramsey County, MN than elsewhere in Minnesota?
Yes. The local median of $79,010 is +9.7% versus the Minnesota average of $72,038, a difference of $6,972 a year.
Can Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education afford a one-bedroom apartment in Ramsey County, MN?
A one-bedroom costs $1,427 a month against take-home pay of $5,021, which is 28.4% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,975 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Ramsey County, MN?
About $3,016 a month ($36,192 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 Ramsey 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 Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education is $37.99.
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.