Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$22,829
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$4,291
15.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$25,374
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$27,120
Kept after tax
$22,829
Worth in national money
$25,374
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Alabama pays this job a middle wage of $27,120, 50 of 51 states and about 27.58% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Alabama this is lower-paid work. Of 482 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 468. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $27,120 you keep $22,829, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $25,374 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $27,870, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Alabama's $27,120 median for cooks, institution and cafeteria places it 50 of 51 states, about 27.58% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation Alabama reports, cooks, institution and cafeteria ranks 468 of 482, 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 Alabama income tax, retained pay for cooks, institution and cafeteria on $27,120 is $22,829. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $25,374 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 $27,870 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $20,040 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $27,120 |
| Top tenth earn over | $37,960 |
| This salary | $27,120 |
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 Alabama | $22,829 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $23,943 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$734 |
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 | $25,766 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$866 |
| 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, institution and cafeteria in Alabama earn under $27,120 and half over. The published range runs $20,040 at the tenth percentile to $37,960 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Alabama the take-home figure of $22,829, from $27,120, 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 468 of 482 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Alabama, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $25,374, the adjusted value of that $27,120 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 468 of 482 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for cooks, institution and cafeteria in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $20,040 to $37,960; 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.
- Take-home for Alabama is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $22,829 from $27,120. 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 468 of 482 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Alabama, so $25,374 — the adjusted value of that $27,120 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 468 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $20,040 at the bottom tenth to $37,960 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 $25,374.
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 Alabama's own levy, $22,829 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($20,040 to $37,960) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $25,374 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 $22,829 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.