Photographer Salary 2026 in Minnesota
BLS estimates the median photographer wage in Minnesota at $46,470 a year, about $22.34 an hour over a full-time year. BLS estimates 730 jobs in the state. The state median estimate is 4.1% above the national median of $44,660.
Estimated take home in Minnesota, a year
$36,955
On the state median of $46,470, after federal tax, Social Security, Medicare and Minnesota income tax and Minnesota payroll contributions. A single filer with a blank Form W-4: $1,421.34 a fortnight, an effective rate of 20.5%.
The spread in Minnesota
BLS publishes selected percentile estimates for the state, not only the median. The take home column applies the current Minnesota model to published numeric estimates; lower-bound rows stay uncalculated.
| Percentile | A year | An hour | Estimated take home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest tenth | $36,890 | $17.74 | $29,943 |
| Lower quarter | $44,450 | $21.37 | $35,480 |
| Median | $46,470 | $22.34 | $36,955 |
| Upper quarter | $65,050 | $31.27 | $50,535 |
| Highest tenth | $84,530 | $40.64 | $62,980 |
Minnesota against the states next door
The wage estimates are BLS’s. Take home is modeled only where BLS publishes a numeric median estimate; # lower bounds remain labelled and uncalculated.
| State | Median | Estimated take home |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | $46,470 | $36,955 |
| Iowa | $38,290 | $32,027 |
| North Dakota | $37,410 | $32,246 |
| South Dakota | $45,330 | $38,597 |
| Wisconsin | $42,060 | $34,274 |
Relative to the state’s all-occupations estimate
BLS estimates the all-occupations median in Minnesota at $56,920. The published photographer median estimate is 0.82times that benchmark; nationally the corresponding ratio is 0.88. This ratio is a wage comparison only and does not adjust for cost of living or individual experience.
Modeled gross pay for selected take home targets in Minnesota
These are illustrative reverse calculations for a single filer using the deductions currently represented for Minnesota. An actual payroll result may differ.
| Target take home | Estimated gross needed | An hour |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $64,300 | $30.91 |
| $60,000 | $79,800 | $38.37 |
| $75,000 | $103,570 | $49.79 |
| $100,000 | $144,400 | $69.42 |
The same rate at different hours
BLS converts the annual estimate using a 2,080-hour year. This table shows illustrative weekly-hour scenarios using the same hourly estimate and theMinnesota deductions currently represented by the model.
| Hours a week | Gross a year | Estimated take home | A fortnight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | $23,234 | $19,649 | $755.73 |
| 24 | $27,880 | $23,207 | $892.56 |
| 30 | $34,850 | $28,416 | $1,092.92 |
| 36 | $41,820 | $33,558 | $1,290.67 |
| 40 | $46,467 | $36,955 | $1,421.34 |
| 48 | $55,761 | $43,749 | $1,682.65 |
Put in your own hours
Seeded with the Minnesota median. Change the hours, your Form W-4 answers or the state.
Estimated average take home pay, biweekly
$1,421.34
$46,467.20 a year gross; the model estimates $36,954.76 after the deductions shown. That is 79.5% of gross under these assumptions.
Worked out from: single filer · a blank Form W-4 · 40 hours a week · 0 MN allowances.
- Minnesota withholds against its own allowance of $0 rather than the deduction on the return; this is the employer-method estimate represented by the model, not a promise of what a payslip will show. The model's return-based tax estimate is $1,667.45 for the year against $2,357.18 of modeled withholding, a difference of about $689.73 that may increase a refund or reduce a balance due when you file.
- Minnesota's employers use a chart of their own rather than the return's brackets: it exempts the first $4,700 outright for a single filer, which the return does not, and reaches 6.80% at $38,010 rather than $33,310. Each allowance on Form W-4MN is worth $5,300. Where no W-4MN is on file the Department requires withholding at single with no allowances, which is what this shows unless you say otherwise.
About this calculator. It is general guidance, not a payslip. The figures are estimates based on selected 2026 federal and state publications and modeled assumptions. Sources, interpretations and code may be incomplete or wrong, and the result should not be relied on as an exact calculation of tax, payroll or anything else. Your employer knows things this page cannot: a mid-year rate change, a benefit deduction, a garnishment, a local tax, or what it has already withheld this year. Nothing here is tax, legal or financial advice, and using it creates no professional relationship. For anything that turns on the exact number, ask an accountant or a qualified adviser. Methodology and sources.
Pay history
Each numeric bar is the published Minnesota median estimate for photographer in that year’s release. A BLS # lower bound or a year without an exact result is labelled instead of silently dropped. Bars run from zero. The 2021 method break is marked, and the earlier published bars remain visible as historical context without being joined to the post-change calculations.
- 2012$34,760
- 2013$40,980
- 2014$35,600
- 2015$37,660
- 2016$37,470
- 2017$38,980
- 2018$47,810
- 2019$52,180
- 2020$51,510
- 2021BLS changed its estimation method in May 2021; site calculations start here.
- 2021$48,270
- 2022$50,520
- 2023estimate not released
- 2024$54,650
- 2025$46,470
BLS changed the OEWS estimation method beginning with the May 2021 estimates. Pre-2021 bars remain as raw published reference points; the wage, inflation, and employment calculations use post-change endpoints only. BLS also explains that the survey’s pooled design and changes in methods or classifications limit comparisons over time. The chart itself contains no future data point.
BLS estimated employment at 38,420 in 2021 and 51,760 in 2025, a modeled change of 34.7% between the two published estimates.
Questions people ask
What is the median photographer salary in Minnesota?+
BLS estimates the median at $46,470 a year, about $22.34 an hour over a full-time year. The published mean estimate is $56,220. In the cited data, that median estimate is 4.1% above the national estimate of $44,660.
What is a photographer salary in Minnesota after taxes?+
Using the state median estimate and the page's default filing assumptions, the model estimates $36,955 a year after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Minnesota income tax and the state payroll contributions represented here. The corresponding modeled biweekly amount is $1,421.34.
What is the salary range for a photographer in Minnesota?+
The BLS lowest-tenth estimate is $36,890, and the highest-tenth estimate is $84,530. “At least” preserves the Bureau's # lower-bound marker; the figures are wage estimates rather than career stages.
Does a photographer earn more in Minnesota or nearby?+
Against the states it borders, Minnesota's median of $46,470 is higher than every neighboring state with an available numeric median estimate; the nearest is South Dakota at $45,330. The table also shows modeled take home estimates under the same assumptions; it is not a comparison of actual payslips.
Photographer pay in other states
Or see photographer pay nationally and how Minnesota taxes any wage.
Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 27-4021. OEWS surveys wages in May and publishes about a year later, so this release appeared in May 2026 and is the most recent. Annual figures convert at 2,080 hours a year, as BLS states them. Tax is worked out here from the 2026 federal and Minnesota tables.