2016 Salary Survey: Who Makes What?

We asked the nosy questions (or looked them up, in the case of salaries that are publicly available) so you could compare your earnings to those of other Minnesotans. Then we took a deeper look at how we earn the money we make—and how we feel about it.


Illustration by Luke Lucas

We used the most recent data available; all figures are within the past few years.


Arts, Culture, & Media

Lee Gundersheimer
Managing Director, Great River Shakespeare Festival
$50,000

Jon McTaggart
President & CEO, American Public Media Group
$558,588 

Michelle Moore
Managing Director of Inclusion & Community, American Public Media Group
$80,946 

Kaywin Feldman
Director & President, Minneapolis Institute of Art
$436,744 

Stacey Poirier
Artistic Director, Theatre Unbound
$7,238 

Trish Santini
Director of External Relations, Guthrie Theater 
$192,502 

Equity Actor, Children’s Theater Company
$735/week (union minimum, 10 shows) 

James Pagliarini
President & CEO, Twin Cities Public Television
$359,676 

Steven Copes
Concertmaster & Violinist, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra
$112,075 

Maintenance Machinist, Star Tribune
$30/hour 

Ticketing Representative, Science Museum of MN
$9/hour

Office Manager, Grand Marais Art Colony
$27,000–$30,000 

Digital Strategy & Innovation InternMinnesota Public Radio
$20–$25/hour


Government

Richard Stanek
Sheriff, Hennepin County
$158,905

Andrew Baker
Medical Examiner, Hennepin County
$246,707

Susanne Gens
Executive Director, MN State Arts Board
$93,163

Suzanne Tuttle
Children & Families Services Manager, Anoka County
$89,489

Librarian, Dakota County
$75,279

Ed McDonald
Executive Director, Council on Black Minnesotans
$76,728

Marketing Manager, Explore Minnesota Tourism
$50,536

Micah Pace
Chef to Governor Dayton
$48,462

Sales Rep, MN State Lottery
$59,267

Allison O’Toole
Deputy Director, MNSure 
$42,731

Bus DriverMetro Transit
$119,092 (includes $63,684 of overtime pay)

911 DispatcherRamsey County
$52,113

Research ConsultantMN House of Representatives
$62,724

Marcus Travis
Guest Services Manager, Mpls. Convention Center
$93,941

Bret Smith
Impound Lot Manager, St. Paul
$96,568

Probation Officer, Washington County
$42,188

Maintenance Technician, St. Paul Public Housing 
$17.14/hour 

Security Badging Supervisor, MSP Airport
$55,663–$76,829


Nonprofits

Gail Dorfman
Executive Director, St. Stephen’s Human Services
$34,408

Barbara Koch
Executive Director, Life Time Fitness Foundation
$139,500

James Blaha
Treasurer & CFO, Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
$276,916 

Mark Crea
CEO, Feed My Starving Children
$190,576 

Patrick Plonski
Executive Director, Books for Africa
$143,123 

Lee Sheehy
Program Director, Region & Communities, McKnight Foundation
$147,204 

Holly Sampson
President, Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation
$142,375

Ray Aboyan
Chief Operating Officer, Animal Humane Society
$82,430

Gail Bjorge
PresidentPicket Fence Poodle Rescue
$0 

Wayne Eller
Executive Director, East Central MN Habitat for Humanity
$3,600

Call Center Representative for Non-Profit Pledge Drive
$12/hour

Creative Arts Therapist, East Side Neighborhood Services
$21/hour

Event Staff, James J. Hill Center
$12–$14/hour

Event & Communications Intern, Arc Greater Twin Cities 
$500 stipend


Education

Eric Kaler
President, University of Minnesota
$626,450 

Adjunct Research Professor, University of Minnesota
$21,320

Steven Jay Rosenstone
Chancellor, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities 
$371,767

Substitute Teacher
$70-130 per day 

Jenny Arneson
School Board Chair, Minneapolis Public Schools
$22,000 

Susanne Griffin
Chief Academic Officer, Minneapolis Public Schools
$151,000 

Dennis Peterson
Superintendent, Minnetonka Public Schools
$219,490 

School Bus Driver, North St. Paul
$19/hour

Harvey Johnson
Superintendent, Laporte Public Schools
$36,650

Preschool Teacher, Minneapolis 
$15/hour

College Prep Tutor, College Tutors
$12-18


Sports

Greg Cane
Soccer Coach, University of Minnesota Duluth
$44,997

Michele Redman
Golf Coach, University of Minnesota 
$85,000 

Richard Pitino
Men’s Basketball Coach, University of Minnesota 
1.6 million

Pam Borton
Women’s Basketball Coach, University of Minnesota 
$425,000

Lindsay Whalen
Point Guard, Minnesota Lynx 
$107,000 (WNBA maximum) 

Athletic Equipment Manager, University of Minnesota 
$69,680 

Athletic Department A/V Media Producer, University of Minnesota 
$63,240 

Joe Mauer
First Baseman, Minnesota Twins
$23 million 

Adrian Peterson
Running Back, Minnesota Vikings 
$13 million 

Ricky Rubio
Point Guard, Minnesota Timberwolves 
$12.7 million 

Zach Parise
Left Winger, Minnesota Wild
$9 million 

Ted Mondale
Executive Director, Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority 
$160,325

Minor League Baseball Player, St. Paul Saints 
$1,400/month (average)


Health/Wellness

Associate PhysicianNorthpoint Health and Wellness 
$164,567

Yoga Teacher
$20/hour

Bahram Akradi
CEO, Life Time Fitness 
$6,442,310 

Associate Professor, University of Minnesota Medical School
$360,328 

Dentist, Community-University Health Care Center
$137,842

Laboratory Animal Veterinarian, University of Minnesota
$94,780 

Systems Associate, YWCA of Minneapolis
$14–$17/hour

Activities SpecialistRise Adult Day Care
$12–$13/hour

Gregory Dodd
Health & Fitness Coordinator, St. Paul Parks & Rec
$41,367


Service Sector

Nanny/Manny
$500-600/week, plus room & board

Window Cleaner
$13–25/hour 

Crew Member, Jersey Mike’s 
$9.25/hour plus tips plus half off subs 

Massage Therapist, Sister Rosalind
$19–21/hour 

Surrogate Mother
$30–35,000 

Sperm Donor
$4,000 for six months 

Pastry ChefBar La Grassa & Burch Steak & Pizza Bar 
$12-13/hour 

Kennel Attendant
$11-12/hour 

Laundry Worker
$21,000 

Management Trainee, Domino’s
$30,000


Business/Law

Lorie Gildea
Chief Justice, Minnesota Supreme Court 
$167,000 

Lori Swanson
Minnesota Attorney General
$113,859 

David Wippman
Dean, University of Minnesota Law School
$416,730

Brian Cornell
CEO, Target
$28,164,024 

CashierTarget
$9/hour

Kendall Powell
CEO, General Mills 
$14,815,089

James Cracchiolo
CEO, Ameriprise Financial 
$24,455,192 

Omar Ishrak
Chairman & CEO, Medtronic
$40,500,470 

Sally Smith
CEO, Buffalo Wild Wings 
$4,898,032 

Customer Service Agent, Ecolab
$16/hr 

Mary Moriarty
Chief Public Defender, Hennepin County
$136,846

Court Payment Center ClerkJudicial MN
$35,640

Welder, Quality Tool 
$16–20/hour


Wage Gaps by Gender and Race

Women and minorities aren’t receiving equal pay.

On average, women in Minnesota make $0.81 per every dollar paid to men. In 2015, the average full-time salary for a woman in Minnesota was $42,066 while the average full-time salary for a Minnesota man was $51,625. If current trends continue, women in Minnesota will not see equal pay until the year 2054.

In 2014, Gail Boudreaux, the now former executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group, was the highest paid woman in Minnesota, earning $14.5 million. The highest paid male in Minnesota was
James Cracchiolo, CEO of Ameriprise Financial, who earned  
$97.4 million in 2014—more than six times as much as Boudreaux.

In 2014, the average national weekly income for all races was $795. Compared to the average, whites earned 103%, Asians 121%, African Americans 81%, and Hispanics/Latinos 73%.


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