Bartenders in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$23,452
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$3,788
13.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$25,651
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$27,240
Kept after tax
$23,452
Worth in national money
$25,651
State rank
39
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Idaho is among the lower-paying states for bartenders. The middle earner takes $27,240, ranking 39 of 51 states — about 20.68% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Idaho, this one sits low: 476 of 476 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Idaho does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $27,240 you keep $23,452, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $25,651 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $32,670, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Idaho ranks 39 of 51 for bartenders, with a median of $27,240 — about 20.68% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Bartenders occupies position 476 of 476 in Idaho's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Idaho income tax, retained pay for bartenders on $27,240 is $23,452. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $25,651 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 $32,670 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 | $16,850 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $27,240 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,060 |
| This salary | $27,240 |
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 Idaho | $23,452 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $24,042 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$910 |
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 | $26,523 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,074 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
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 bartenders in Idaho earn under $27,240 and half over. The published range runs $16,850 at the tenth percentile to $61,060 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Idaho's $23,452, worked from $27,240. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 476 of 476.
- One number stands for prices across all of Idaho, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $25,651, the adjusted value of that $27,240 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 476 of 476 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for bartenders in Idaho, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $16,850 to $61,060; 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.
- The Idaho take-home of $23,452, on $27,240 for work ranking 476 of 476 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 476 of 476 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Idaho, so $25,651 — the adjusted value of that $27,240 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 476 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $32,670, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $16,850 and the top tenth $61,060 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $25,651.
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 Idaho's own levy, $23,452 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 Idaho is $32,670. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($16,850) and the ninetieth ($61,060) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $25,651 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 $23,452 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.