Bartenders in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$26,582
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$5,568
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,980
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$32,150
Kept after tax
$26,582
Worth in national money
$27,980
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Utah is 22 of 51 states for bartenders, with a middle wage of $32,150. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Utah this is lower-paid work. Of 487 occupations the state publishes figures for, bartenders ranks 470. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Utah does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $32,150 you keep $26,582, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $27,980 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $40,430, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Utah ranks 22 of 51 for bartenders at $32,150. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Utah reports, bartenders ranks 470 of 487, 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 Utah income tax, retained pay for bartenders on $32,150 is $26,582. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $27,980 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 $40,430 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Bartenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $17,640 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $32,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,080 |
| This salary | $32,150 |
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 Utah | $26,582 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $28,013 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$847 |
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 | $30,369 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,024 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Utah earn less than $32,150. The published range is $17,640 up to $75,080, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Utah the take-home figure of $26,582, from $32,150, 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 470 of 487 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $27,980 uses one figure for the whole of Utah. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 487 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 470.
- Reported values are medians; for bartenders in Utah the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $17,640 to $75,080. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Utah is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $26,582 from $32,150. 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 470 of 487 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $27,980, worked from $32,150, 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 Utah address, on work sitting at 470 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $40,430 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $17,640 at the bottom tenth to $75,080 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Utah is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $27,980 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 Utah's own levy, $26,582 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 Utah is $40,430. 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 ($17,640) and the ninetieth ($75,080) 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?
Utah'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 $27,980 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 $26,582 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.