Bartenders in Oklahoma
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$21,410
after federal, FICA and Oklahoma tax
Tax takes
$3,380
13.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$24,250
Oklahoma costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oklahoma — 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
$24,790
Kept after tax
$21,410
Worth in national money
$24,250
State rank
43
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Oklahoma is among the lower-paying states for bartenders. The middle earner takes $24,790, ranking 43 of 51 states — about 27.81% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Oklahoma, this one sits low: 487 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Oklahoma does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $24,790 you keep $21,410, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $24,250 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $29,260, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Oklahoma ranks 43 of 51 for bartenders, with a median of $24,790 — about 27.81% 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 487 of 492 in Oklahoma'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 Oklahoma income tax, retained pay for bartenders on $24,790 is $21,410. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $24,250 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 $29,260 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 | $16,230 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $24,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,050 |
| This salary | $24,790 |
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 Oklahoma | $21,410 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $22,025 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,585 |
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 | $24,043 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,871 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 Oklahoma earn under $24,790 and half over. The published range runs $16,230 at the tenth percentile to $48,050 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 Oklahoma's $21,410, worked from $24,790. 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 487 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Oklahoma, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $24,250, the adjusted value of that $24,790 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 487 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for bartenders in Oklahoma, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $16,230 to $48,050; 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 Oklahoma take-home of $21,410, on $24,790 for work ranking 487 of 492 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 487 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Oklahoma, so $24,250 — the adjusted value of that $24,790 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 487 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $29,260, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $16,230 at the bottom tenth to $48,050 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $24,250.
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 Oklahoma's own levy, $21,410 remains.
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 Oklahoma is $29,260. 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 ($16,230) and the ninetieth ($48,050) 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?
Oklahoma'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 $24,250 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 $21,410 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oklahoma 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.