Lawyer Salary in Minnesota (2026)
The average Lawyer in Minnesota earns around $165,000/year. After taxes, your estimated take-home is $113,924/year ($9,494/month).
Take-Home Pay Breakdown
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
Annual Take-Home Pay | $113,924 |
Monthly Take-Home Pay | $9,494 |
Biweekly Take-Home Pay | $4,382 |
Hourly Take-Home Pay based on 2,080 hrs/year | $55/hr |
Federal Tax | $28,334 |
State Tax | $10,119 |
FICA Taxes | $12,623 |
Effective Tax Rate total taxes ÷ gross salary | 30.96% |
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Lawyer Salary Ranges in Minnesota
Not all Lawyers earn the same — not even close
Minnesota's lawyer market is anchored by Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath Minneapolis (~1,300 attorneys nationally including ~500 MN, the country's 30th-largest firm by attorney headcount, post-2020 Faegre Baker Daniels + Drinker Biddle merger), Dorsey & Whitney HQ Minneapolis (~500 attorneys, the country's largest law firm HQ'd in MN), Robins Kaplan Mpls (plaintiff-side IP + commercial litigation specialty), Stoel Rives Mpls + Lindquist & Vennum legacy, plus substantial in-house counsel at UnitedHealth + Target + 3M + Best Buy + Cargill + Medtronic.
Partner (Faegre / Dorsey / AmLaw 200)
$685,000–$2,650,000+ TC
Faegre Drinker MSP partner · Dorsey Mpls partner · AmLaw 100 equity partner · profit-share
Senior Counsel / Of Counsel
$365,000–$685,000
Senior non-equity attorney · MSP AmLaw · partner-track band · specialty practice
Senior Associate (5-8 yrs)
$285,000–$485,000
AmLaw 200 senior associate MSP · partner-track + Cravath-scale pay at largest MN firms
Mid-Level Associate (3-5 yrs)
$215,000–$315,000
AmLaw associate · transitioning to senior associate band · clear partner-track or in-house decision
Junior Associate (0-2 yrs)
$165,000–$225,000
U of MN Law + Mitchell Hamline pipeline · Cravath-scale at AmLaw 200 MSP offices
Senior Corporate Counsel (Fortune 500)
$215,000–$385,000
UHG · Target · 3M · Best Buy · Cargill · Medtronic in-house · transactional + commercial
Senior Healthcare Counsel
$205,000–$365,000
UHG + HealthPartners + Allina + Mayo Clinic counsel · HIPAA + payer + provider specialty
Senior Litigation Counsel (Plaintiff)
$285,000–$985,000+ TC
Robins Kaplan plaintiff IP + class action · contingent-fee leverage · senior litigator
Senior Estate / Tax Attorney
$185,000–$385,000
Faegre Drinker T&E · Dorsey T&E · MN $3M estate planning + private-client specialty
Assistant County / City Attorney
$95,000–$165,000
Hennepin County · Ramsey County · Mpls + St. Paul city attorneys · public-sector ladder
Worth knowing: Dorsey & Whitney HQ Minneapolis is the largest law firm HQ'd in MN and a feature most national legal-career surveys understate for the state. Dorsey & Whitney (~500 attorneys across MSP + Denver + NYC + DC + Seattle + Salt Lake City + international offices, founded 1912, one of the AmLaw 200 firms HQ'd outside the major coastal financial centers) operates substantial corporate + securities + healthcare + IP + litigation practices serving the dense Twin Cities Fortune 500 client base. Dorsey partners clear $685K-$2.65M+ TC. Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath Minneapolis (~500 MN attorneys post-2020 Faegre Baker Daniels + Drinker Biddle merger, ~1,300 attorneys nationally as one of the AmLaw 100 firms) anchors the second-largest MN legal employer. Robins Kaplan Mpls operates the country's deepest plaintiff-side IP + commercial litigation practice in the upper Midwest. MN's 9.85% top bracket catches partner + senior associate comp at $250K+ TC squarely — for a $1.5M partner the MN state tax adds ~$143-150K/year vs SD/TX/FL residency, creating substantial residency-planning opportunity at senior partner level. The $3M estate exemption creates substantial private-client estate planning practice for MN-based T&E attorneys.
Sources & Methodology
- →IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 — 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction
- →IRS Notice 2025-67 — 2026 retirement-plan contribution limits
- →IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-19 — 2026 HSA contribution limits
- →Social Security Administration — 2026 Social Security wage base
- →Minnesota Department of Revenue - 2026 income tax brackets, standard deduction and dependent exemption amounts
- →BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — Lawyer wage data for Minnesota
Salary figures are market estimates for Lawyers in Minnesota and vary by employer, specialty, seniority, and metro. Take-home math assumes a single filer with no dependents, the standard deduction, and Minnesota 2026 state rates. Local taxes, insurance premiums, and pre-tax contributions will move your number — run the calculator for your own situation.
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More on Minnesota
Salaries by profession, top-paying roles by industry, and an economic breakdown for Minnesota in 2026.
Tax brackets, standard deductions, and take-home estimates for Minnesota in 2026.
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