Is $25K a Good Salary in Minnesota? 2026 Take-Home Pay & Cost of Living

Tight~10th percentile · Below Average
Quick answer

Honestly, $25K in Minnesota is tight for a single adult — you'll cover essentials but saving is hard.

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Take-home pay breakdown

Gross / year
$25,000
Net / year
$21,309
Net / month
$1,776
Effective tax
14.8%

Where your paycheck actually goes

Approximate split of $25,000 gross — federal, state/provincial, social, and what lands in your account.

Federal income tax
$1,919
8%
State income tax
$739
3%
Social contributions
$1,033
4%
Take-home (net)
$21,309
85%
What this means in real life

At $25K/year in Minnesota, a single adult typically clears about $1,776/month after tax. Rent on a 1-bedroom averages $1,300, leaving roughly $476 for everything else. Without roommates or a cheaper neighborhood like Saint Paul, this income usually means living paycheck to paycheck.

Lifestyle verdict
Difficult without trade-offs

In Minnesota, $25K is tight for a single adult — roommates, a cheaper neighborhood like Saint Paul, or a side income make the math work. A family on this alone would struggle.

How it stacks up in Minnesota

Local median household$84,000
This salary$25,000
1.5× median$126,000

Roughly the 10th percentile of Minnesota households. Below Average.

Who can comfortably live on this?

Same take-home pay, three very different realities.

Single adult
Stretched

One income, one rent.

Budget: $3,100/mo
Short: $1,324/mo
Couple, no kids
Stretched

Shared rent, two earners possible.

Budget: $4,316/mo
Short: $2,540/mo
Family (2 adults + kids)
Stretched

Bigger apartment, childcare, more food.

Budget: $5,326/mo
Short: $3,550/mo
Reality check

What can you actually afford in Minnesota with $25K?

A realistic monthly breakdown for a single adult — rent in Minneapolis, food, transport, insurance, and what's left to save. Tuned to the cost of living in Minnesota.

Net / month
$1,776
Typical spend
$3,100
100% of net
Monthly leftover
$0
0% saveable
Spent 100%Saved 0%
  • Rent in Minneapolis

    $1,300/mo
    1-bedroom, average neighborhood
  • Food & groceries

    $395/mo
    Cooking mostly, eating out 1–2×/week
  • Car & transport

    $451/mo
    Fuel, insurance, public transit
  • Health & insurance

    $301/mo
    Coverage, dental, prescriptions
  • Utilities & internet

    $183/mo
    Power, water, mobile, broadband
  • Entertainment & dining

    $207/mo
    Streaming, restaurants, weekends
  • Savings potential

    $0/mo
    What's left after a typical month
Lifestyle insight

With $25K in Minnesota, a single adult is essentially break-even in Minneapolis — covering rent and basics, but with little room to save without roommates or a cheaper neighborhood.

People love reality. Not just taxes.

Lifestyle & affordability

What life actually looks like on this salary

Can you live comfortably on this in Minnesota?

$25K in Minnesota sits in a real-world context shaped by local rent, car dependency, and US-style health insurance costs.

On $25K, a single adult in Minneapolis usually needs to budget carefully — rent, a car, and health coverage are the three pressure points.

Outside Minneapolis, the same paycheck typically goes 15–30% further on housing, which dramatically changes the savings picture.

  • Rent in Minneapolis drives most of the affordability story
  • A car (and its insurance) is usually a fixed monthly line
  • Employer-sponsored health coverage shapes real take-home
Reality check

$25K in Minnesota is workable solo in smaller cities, tight in Minneapolis.

Lifestyle snapshot

1-bedroom in a decent neighborhood, one car, cooking most nights, modest savings.

Monthly budget for a single adult in Minnesota

Below typical living costs by about 1324/month. Workable only with cheaper housing, roommates, or lower-cost cities in the region.

Housing (rent + insurance)
$1,300
42%
Transportation
$451
15%
Groceries
$395
13%
Utilities & internet
$183
6%
Healthcare
$301
10%
Entertainment & dining
$207
7%
Misc & personal
$263
8%
Total
$3,100
Surplus / month
-$1,324

Savings potential

With a typical single-adult budget, you could put away roughly $0/year — about 0% of take-home pay. Cheaper housing or living outside Minneapolis can lift this significantly.

Savings rate0%

Try your own numbers

All math runs locally in your browser — nothing is saved.

Tight
$
$
$
Net / month
$1,776
Leftover / month
-$1,324
Rent share
73%

Tip: housing experts suggest keeping rent under 30% of take-home pay. You're at 73%.

Rent share of take-home

Average rent in Minnesota: $1,300 (1BR) · $1,600 (2BR).

1BR rent vs net monthly73%
2BR rent vs net monthly90%

Salary ladder in Minnesota

  1. $15KTight
    Take-home / mo
    $1,114
    Save
    $0/mo
    Pctl
    6th
    $662/mo

    Roommates likely needed in Minneapolis.

  2. $20KTight
    Take-home / mo
    $1,445
    Save
    $0/mo
    Pctl
    8th
    $331/mo

    Roommates likely needed in Minneapolis.

  3. $25KTight
    Take-home / mo
    $1,776
    Save
    $0/mo
    Pctl
    10th

    Roommates likely needed in Minneapolis.

    You are here
  4. $30KTight
    Take-home / mo
    $2,051
    Save
    $0/mo
    Pctl
    13th
    +$275/mo

    Roommates likely needed in Minneapolis.

  5. $35KTight
    Take-home / mo
    $2,365
    Save
    $0/mo
    Pctl
    16th
    +$589/mo

    Roommates likely needed in Minneapolis.

What changes if you earn more?

Going from $25K to $35K in Minnesota:

Take-home / month
+$589
Est. monthly savings
+$0
Rent burden
−18.2pp

Compare $25,000 across countries

Explore other salary ranges in Minnesota

Compare with neighboring states
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Common questions

These estimates are approximate and may vary by city, taxes, rent, family size, and personal spending. Use them as a starting point, not a substitute for personalised financial or tax advice.

Last updated: 2026. Estimates use simplified federal + state tax models and median rent figures.