Bakers in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,626
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$5,654
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,781
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$35,280
Kept after tax
$29,626
Worth in national money
$32,781
State rank
34
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Nebraska is 34 of 51 states for bakers, with a middle wage of $35,280. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Nebraska this is lower-paid work. Of 488 occupations the state publishes figures for, bakers ranks 448. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Nebraska is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $35,280 the take-home is $29,626; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $32,781 would nationally. The average comes to $37,080, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Nebraska ranks 34 of 51 for bakers at $35,280. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Nebraska reports, bakers ranks 448 of 488, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Post-tax income for bakers in Nebraska, on $35,280, is $29,626 — equivalent to $32,781 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $37,080 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bakers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,970 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,930 |
| This salary | $35,280 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Nebraska | $29,626 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,527 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,366 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $34,158 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,652 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $35,280 as a midpoint for Nebraska, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $28,970 and the ninetieth is $47,930 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Nebraska the take-home figure of $29,626, from $35,280, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 448 of 488 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,781 uses one figure for the whole of Nebraska. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 448.
- The Nebraska median of $35,280 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $28,970 to $47,930. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Nebraska is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $29,626 from $35,280. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 448 of 488 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,781, worked from $35,280, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Nebraska address, on work sitting at 448 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $37,080, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $28,970 at the tenth percentile, $47,930 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Nebraska is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $32,781 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Nebraska's own levy, $29,626 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Nebraska is $37,080. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,970 to $47,930) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $32,781 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $29,626 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.