Living in Minnesota · 2026
Is $97,000 enough to live in Minnesota?
Single adult · MN · 2026 tax brackets · Real cost-of-living data
Monthly take-home
$5,896
Avg monthly expenses
$2,331
Avg monthly surplus
$3,565
Savings potential
~60%
After-tax take-home in Minnesota
How $97,000 feels in Minnesota cities
Rent: HUD FMR 2026 · Food: USDA Low-Cost Plan × COL · Transport/Utilities/Healthcare: BLS CES × COL
Minneapolis
COL index: 1.17× national avg
St Paul
COL index: 1.10× national avg
Rochester
COL index: 0.95× national avg
Duluth
COL index: 0.88× national avg
Bloomington
COL index: 1.08× national avg
Brooklyn Park
COL index: 1.05× national avg
50 / 30 / 20 Budget Planner
Based on your monthly take-home of $5,896 ($70,752/yr)
$2,948
per month
- ›Rent / mortgage
- ›Groceries
- ›Utilities
- ›Insurance
- ›Minimum debt payments
- ›Transportation
$1,769
per month
- ›Dining out
- ›Streaming services
- ›Gym
- ›Hobbies
- ›Travel
- ›Shopping
$1,179
per month
- ›Emergency fund
- ›401(k) / IRA
- ›Investments
- ›Down payment fund
- ›Debt payoff (extra)
Needs / year
$35,376
Wants / year
$21,226
Savings / year
$14,150
Salary Intelligence
Moderate salary in MinneapolisRent takes 27% of take-home income, which is above the ideal 25% but still manageable. Savings will be limited; consider lower-cost housing to improve your financial position.
Lifestyle Assessment
A $97,000 salary comfortably supports a good single lifestyle in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with approximately $3,180/month (~54% of take-home) available for savings — meeting or exceeding the recommended 20% savings rate.
Purchasing Power
Minneapolis's above-average cost of living (index: 1.17) means $97,000 provides the purchasing power of roughly $82,906 in an average-cost US city, or $97,829 in Austin. Moving to a lower-cost state could effectively increase your take-home by thousands.
State & National Benchmark
$97,000 is 92% above the Minnesota individual median of $50,400 and 73% above the US national individual median of $56,000. This is a top-quartile income in this state.
State individual median
$50,400
+92%
State household median
$87,012
+11%
Tax reduction strategies
$97,000 vs. Minnesota income benchmarks
Individual median (Minnesota)
$50,400
+92% vs. this salary
Household median (Minnesota)
$87,012
+11% vs. this salary
Source: US Census Bureau ACS 2023
Related salary insights
Explore other salary levels in Minnesota
Data Sources
- •Tax calculations: IRS federal tax tables
- •Rent data: HUD Fair Market Rents
- •Cost-of-living index: C2ER / ACCRA Cost of Living Index
Data updated monthly using government datasets.