Bakers in Vermont

Racks of fresh sourdough loaves cooling in a bakery before it opens.

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026

You keep

$33,221

after federal, FICA and Vermont tax

Tax takes

$6,759

16.9% of the whole

Worth, in national money

$34,378

Vermont costs less than average

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

$39,980

Kept after tax

$33,221

Worth in national money

$34,378

State rank

8

of 51 states

What this pays, and what it is worth

  • This is a good state for the work. Vermont pays bakers a middle wage of $39,980, ranking 8 of 51 states and sitting about 7.59% above the national middle.
  • Within Vermont this is lower-paid work. Of 453 occupations the state publishes figures for, bakers ranks 413. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
  • Here is where Vermont does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $39,980 you keep $33,221, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,378 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $42,830, because the best-paid pull it up.
  • Vermont's median for bakers is $39,980, about 7.59% above the national figure and 8 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
  • Against every occupation Vermont reports, bakers ranks 413 of 453, 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.
  • After federal, FICA and Vermont income tax, retained pay for bakers on $39,980 is $33,221. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,378 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $42,830 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.

Compare this career across states

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Pay band: Bakers

The state median for this job

50thpercentile, roughly
Lowest tenth earn under$33,260
Half earn under$39,980
Top tenth earn over$55,430
This salary$39,980

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

Compare with
+$1,083take-home per year in Texas
Take-home in Vermont$33,221
Take-home in Texas$34,304
Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity+$924

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

Moving to
$0now · $39,980$38,863
$38,863in Texas, for the same life
To match take-home only$38,632
You could take a cut of−$1,117
Prices in Texas97 vs 97

State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.

Sources and assumptions
  • A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of bakers in Vermont earn under $39,980 and half over. The published range runs $33,260 at the tenth percentile to $55,430 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
  • In Vermont the take-home figure of $33,221, from $39,980, 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 413 of 453 occupations here.
  • The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,378 uses one figure for the whole of Vermont. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 453 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 413.
  • Figures are distribution medians for bakers in Vermont, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,260 to $55,430; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
  • Take-home for Vermont is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $33,221 from $39,980. 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 413 of 453 locally.
  • Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,378, worked from $39,980, 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 Vermont address, on work sitting at 413 of 453 locally.

Questions people ask

Is this the average pay for the job?

It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $42,830, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.

How much does pay for this job actually vary?

Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $33,260 and the top tenth $55,430, so most people doing this work in Vermont sit within a fairly tight band.

What does this pay actually buy where I live?

Further than the number implies. Vermont is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $34,378 in national terms.

Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?

Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Vermont adds its own income tax on top — which is why $33,221 of this wage survives to your account.

Can I compare this job across every state?

This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.

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 Vermont is $42,830. 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 ($33,260 to $55,430) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Vermont rather than a national figure.

What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?

Vermont'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 $34,378 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 $33,221 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Vermont 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.