Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $102K, rent takes 22.3% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,384/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new software quality assurance analysts and testers typically earn — is $66K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,965/month. At HUD’s $1,384/month FMR, rent would take 35% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $102K locally vs. $104K nationally, a 2% difference.

Minnesota pays $102K median vs. the U.S. average of $104K — that’s -2%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 92.6), the purchasing-power equivalent is $110K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $101,700 a year, that works out to about $49 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $66,090, and experienced software quality assurance analysts and testers can clear $137,310. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $6,204/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,384/month, which eats 22.3% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Minnesota has a Regional Price Parity of 92.6 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median software quality assurance analysts and testers salary is worth about $109,827 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.