Cooks, Fast Food in Vermont
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,873
after federal, FICA and Vermont tax
Tax takes
$6,357
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,983
Vermont costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Vermont — 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
$38,230
Kept after tax
$31,873
Worth in national money
$32,983
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for cooks, fast food is strong here. Vermont's middle earner gets $38,230, putting the state 6 of 51 — about 23.76% ahead of the national figure.
- Measured against other jobs in Vermont, this one sits low: 423 of 453 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Vermont is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $38,230 the take-home is $31,873; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $32,983 would nationally. The average lands at $37,110, below the middle of the range.
- For cooks, fast food, Vermont sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $38,230, ranking 6 of 51 and running about 23.76% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Cooks, fast food occupies position 423 of 453 in Vermont'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.
- Post-tax income for cooks, fast food in Vermont, on $38,230, is $31,873 — equivalent to $32,983 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $37,110 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Cooks, Fast Food
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,540 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $39,650 |
| This salary | $38,230 |
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 Vermont | $31,873 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,898 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$871 |
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 | $36,955 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,053 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Vermont earn less than $38,230. The published range is $31,540 up to $39,650, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Vermont the take-home figure of $31,873, from $38,230, 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 423 of 453 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Vermont, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $32,983, the adjusted value of that $38,230 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 423 of 453 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for cooks, fast food in Vermont the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,540 to $39,650. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Vermont is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,873 from $38,230. 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 423 of 453 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Vermont, so $32,983 — the adjusted value of that $38,230 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 423 of 453 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $31,540 at the tenth percentile, $39,650 at the ninetieth.
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 $32,983.
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 Vermont's own levy, $31,873 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,540 to $39,650) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Vermont rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Vermont'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 $32,983 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 $31,873 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Vermont 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.