Bartenders in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,271
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$18,219
23.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,652
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — 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
$76,490
Kept after tax
$58,271
Worth in national money
$53,652
State rank
1
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Hawaii is one of the better-paying states for bartenders. The middle earner takes $76,490, which ranks 1 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 122.74% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Bartenders ranks 159 among 437 occupations Hawaii publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $76,490 the take-home is $58,271. But Hawaii costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $53,652 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $76,740, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Hawaii ranks 1 of 51 states publishing a median for bartenders, at $76,490 — about 122.74% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 159 of 437 in Hawaii places bartenders in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Hawaii income tax is $58,271 for bartenders, from $76,490. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $53,652. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $76,740 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bartenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,670 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $76,490 |
| Top tenth earn over | $117,540 |
| This salary | $76,490 |
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 Hawaii | $58,271 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,641 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$10,810 |
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 | $70,278 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$14,317 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Hawaii earn less than $76,490. The published range is $30,670 up to $117,540, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Hawaii the take-home figure of $58,271, from $76,490, 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 159 of 437 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $53,652 uses one figure for the whole of Hawaii. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 437 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 159.
- Reported values are medians; for bartenders in Hawaii the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $30,670 to $117,540. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Hawaii is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $58,271 from $76,490. 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 159 of 437 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $53,652, worked from $76,490, 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 Hawaii address, on work sitting at 159 of 437 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $30,670 and the top tenth $117,540 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $53,652 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Hawaii then takes its own share, leaving $58,271.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($30,670) and the ninetieth ($117,540) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $53,652 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $58,271 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii 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.