Minnesota / Minnesota Zoological Garden

Agency file

Minnesota Zoological Garden

Source file: Minnesota — State Employee Payroll / ingested Jun 18, 2026

The Minnesota Zoological Garden is a government agency that delivers public services and programs within its jurisdiction.

In 2025, this agency had 487 employees with median total compensation of $46,651; the highest distinct record was $405,933.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $21.6M
Employees: 487
Median total: $46,651
Highest record: $405,933

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

$389$129,641+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 487 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($46,651) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $42,388 (96%)
Overtime — $1,212 (3%)
Other — $716 (2%)
Benefits — $0 (0%)

What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$3,509

$7,460

$46,651

$69,092

$89,050

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $89,050 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $3,509. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Student Worker Clerical

78 · $4,293

Zoo Keeper

66 · $59,763

Interpret Naturalist 1

51 · $10,022

Customer Services Specialist

35 · $23,323

General Maintenance Worker

19 · $25,372

The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.

Trend

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 2 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2024	$19.6M —	500 —	$31,947 —
2025	$21.6M ▲ 10.1%	487 ▼ 2.6%	$46,651 ▲ 46.0%

Record list

Employees

Page 1

Amanda Worthington

Groundskeeper Inter/Minnesota Zoological Garden

2024 total comp

$43,438

Sub-department: Horticulture
Base pay: $43,345
Overtime: $93
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $43,438
Hire date: 2022-07-06
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 60
Union / bargaining unit: Service
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Dakota

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: Yes
Agency Number: E77
Bargaining Unit Number: 203
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Amanda Worthington works as a Groundskeeper Inter for Minnesota Zoological Garden within Horticulture. Their tenure dates to 2022, about 2 years as a full-time employee. Amanda earned $43,438 in 2024. Their bargaining unit is Service.

Alex Dutchin

Laborer General/Minnesota Zoological Garden

2024 total comp

$42,288

Sub-department: Farm
Base pay: $40,503
Overtime: $1,785
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $42,288
Hire date: 2021-09-01
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 10
Union / bargaining unit: Service
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Dakota

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: Yes
Agency Number: E77
Bargaining Unit Number: 203
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Alex Dutchin works as a Laborer General for Minnesota Zoological Garden within Farm. They have served since 2021 (about 3 years) as a full-time employee. Alex earned $42,288 in 2024. Their bargaining unit is Service.

Cynthia Bjork-Groebner

Zoo Keeper/Minnesota Zoological Garden

2024 total comp

$41,986

Sub-department: Northern Trail
Base pay: $36,600
Overtime: $12
Other pay: $5,374
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $41,986
Hire date: 1989-10-02
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 65
Union / bargaining unit: Technical
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Dakota

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: No
Agency Number: E77
Bargaining Unit Number: 207
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Cynthia Bjork-Groebner holds the role of Zoo Keeper at Minnesota Zoological Garden within Northern Trail. They have served since 1989 (about 35 years) as a full-time employee. In 2024, their total compensation was $41,986. Their bargaining unit is Technical.

Rachel Jaskela

Zoo Keeper/Minnesota Zoological Garden

2025 total comp

$41,774

Sub-department: Tropics & MN Trail
Base pay: $39,690
Overtime: $2,084
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $41,774
Hire date: 2024-10-09
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 69
Union / bargaining unit: Technical
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Dakota

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: E77
Bargaining Unit Number: 207
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Rachel Jaskela works as a Zoo Keeper for Minnesota Zoological Garden within Tropics & MN Trail. They have served since 2024 (about a year) as a full-time employee. Rachel earned $41,774 in 2025. Union affiliation: Technical.

Tiffany Mcdowell

Customer Services Specialist Senior/Minnesota Zoological Garden

2024 total comp

$40,977

Sub-department: Guest Services
Base pay: $39,677
Overtime: $1,283
Other pay: $16
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $40,977
Hire date: 2017-01-25
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 64
Union / bargaining unit: Clerical
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Dakota

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: Yes
Agency Number: E77
Bargaining Unit Number: 206
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Tiffany Mcdowell holds the role of Customer Services Specialist Senior at Minnesota Zoological Garden within Guest Services. Their tenure dates to 2017, about 7 years as a full-time employee. In 2024, their total compensation was $40,977. Their bargaining unit is Clerical.

Alan Gutierrez Luna

Interpret Naturalist Aide/Minnesota Zoological Garden

2025 total comp

$40,823

Sub-department: Farm
Base pay: $37,740
Overtime: $2,808
Other pay: $275
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $40,823
Hire date: 2024-05-22
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 61
Union / bargaining unit: Technical
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Dakota

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: E77
Bargaining Unit Number: 207
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Alan Gutierrez Luna holds the role of Interpret Naturalist Aide at Minnesota Zoological Garden within Farm. They have served since 2024 (about a year) as a full-time employee. In 2025, their total compensation was $40,823. They are represented by Technical.

Henry Cochrane

Groundskeeper Inter/Minnesota Zoological Garden

2025 total comp

$38,641

Sub-department: Horticulture
Base pay: $38,641
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $38,641
Hire date: 2024-02-14
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 60
Union / bargaining unit: Service
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Dakota

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: E77
Bargaining Unit Number: 203
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Henry Cochrane is a Groundskeeper Inter at Minnesota Zoological Garden within Horticulture. They have served since 2024 (about a year), working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $38,641. Union affiliation: Service.

Caitlin Bailey

Emergency Medical Technician/Minnesota Zoological Garden

2025 total comp

$38,575

Sub-department: Health & Security
Base pay: $37,529
Overtime: $855
Other pay: $192
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $38,575
Hire date: 2022-07-06
Employment type: Part-Time
Pay grade: 64
Union / bargaining unit: Service
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.75
Work county: Dakota

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: E77
Bargaining Unit Number: 203
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Caitlin Bailey holds the role of Emergency Medical Technician at Minnesota Zoological Garden within Health & Security. They have served since 2022 (about 3 years) as a part-time, 0.75 FTE employee. In 2025, their total compensation was $38,575. They are represented by Service.

Austin Elliott

Plant Mntc Engineer/Minnesota Zoological Garden

2025 total comp

$38,294

Sub-department: Engineering
Base pay: $30,720
Overtime: $5,760
Other pay: $1,814
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $38,294
Hire date: 2025-01-29
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 95
Union / bargaining unit: Craft, Maintenance, Labor
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Dakota

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: E77
Bargaining Unit Number: 202
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Austin Elliott holds the role of Plant Mntc Engineer at Minnesota Zoological Garden within Engineering. Their tenure dates to 2025, under a year as a full-time employee. In 2025, their total compensation was $38,294. They are represented by Craft, Maintenance, Labor.

Gabrielle Jeppesen

State Program Administrative Technician Specialist/Minnesota Zoological Garden

2025 total comp

$38,266

Sub-department: Animal Health
Base pay: $37,936
Overtime: $330
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $38,266
Hire date: 2024-10-23
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 65
Union / bargaining unit: Technical
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Dakota

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: E77
Bargaining Unit Number: 207
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Minnesota Zoological Garden, Gabrielle Jeppesen serves as a State Program Administrative Technician Specialist within Animal Health. Their tenure dates to 2024, about a year, working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $38,266. Union affiliation: Technical.