Database Administrator.
Minneapolis.
$113,000
median salary, 5% above the national average
$86,000 to $149,000. Updated for 2026.
The numbers.
Everything you need to negotiate with confidence.
If you are evaluating a Database Administrator offer in Minneapolis, MN, here is the reality: $86,000 to $149,000, with $113,000 as the midpoint. 5% above the national average. DBAs managing mission-critical Oracle, SQL Server, or PostgreSQL clusters for Fortune 500 companies earn the highest base salaries. Do not accept the first number.
Salary range
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How Minneapolis compares
Minneapolis, MN
$113,000
Cost of living: 5% above average
National Average
$108,000
Minneapolis is $5,000 above
What you should know
The Database Administrator landscape in Minneapolis is not what most salary sites will tell you. Minneapolis is a Fortune 500 powerhouse with Target, UnitedHealth Group, Best Buy, and 3M headquartered in the metro. The city's strong corporate base creates consistent demand across finance, healthcare, retail tech, and supply chain roles. Quality of life is high, and employers offer competitive salaries to offset the cold winters. DBAs managing mission-critical Oracle, SQL Server, or PostgreSQL clusters for Fortune 500 companies earn the highest base salaries. Expertise in performance tuning, disaster recovery design, and database migration to cloud-managed services adds 15 to 20% over general administration. Financial and healthcare data compliance knowledge commands additional premiums.
Junior DBAs start at $58,000 to $75,000, progressing to mid-level at $82,000 to $115,000 within three to four years. Senior DBAs earn $120,000 to $145,000, while database architects and directors of data infrastructure reach $155,000 to $210,000 at enterprise organizations. In Minneapolis, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
Base salary is not the full picture. Annual bonuses of 8 to 12% are standard, with on-call stipends adding $5,000 to $10,000. Many employers cover Oracle or Microsoft certification costs, and senior DBAs at large enterprises receive retention bonuses of $10,000 to $25,000. And on the tax side: minnesota's top income tax rate is 9.85%, one of the highest state rates. There is no city income tax in Minneapolis, but the state burden significantly reduces take home pay. When someone quotes you $113,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Emphasize retention risk when negotiating. Minneapolis employers know that remote opportunities from warmer, lower tax states are a constant competitive threat. The range for Database Administrators in Minneapolis runs from $86,000 to $149,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Top industries in Minneapolis
Negotiating in Minneapolis
Emphasize retention risk when negotiating. Minneapolis employers know that remote opportunities from warmer, lower tax states are a constant competitive threat.