Cooks, Fast Food in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$25,916
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$4,514
14.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,676
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$30,430
Kept after tax
$25,916
Worth in national money
$28,676
State rank
25
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Nebraska sits in the middle of the pack for cooks, fast food. The median is $30,430, ranking 25 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Nebraska, this one sits low: 476 of 488 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $30,430 you keep $25,916 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $28,676 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $31,910, since top earners drag the number up.
- Nebraska occupies the middle band for cooks, fast food: a median of $30,430, ranking 25 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Cooks, fast food occupies position 476 of 488 in Nebraska'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.
- Retained pay in Nebraska is $25,916 after the full tax stack, from $30,430. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $28,676 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $31,910 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Cooks, Fast Food
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,080 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $30,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $36,910 |
| This salary | $30,430 |
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 Nebraska | $25,916 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $26,631 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,272 |
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 | $29,541 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,538 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
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 cooks, fast food in Nebraska earn under $30,430 and half over. The published range runs $28,080 at the tenth percentile to $36,910 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 Nebraska's $25,916, worked from $30,430. 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 488.
- One number stands for prices across all of Nebraska, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $28,676, the adjusted value of that $30,430 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 488 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for cooks, fast food in Nebraska, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $28,080 to $36,910; 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 Nebraska take-home of $25,916, on $30,430 for work ranking 476 of 488 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 488 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Nebraska, so $28,676 — the adjusted value of that $30,430 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 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $31,910, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $28,080 at the bottom tenth to $36,910 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $28,676.
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; Nebraska then takes its own share, leaving $25,916.
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 Nebraska is $31,910. 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 ($28,080 to $36,910) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska'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 $28,676 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 $25,916 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.