Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,827
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$7,553
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,537
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$41,380
Kept after tax
$33,827
Worth in national money
$32,537
State rank
18
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Maryland pays this job around $41,380 at the midpoint, 18 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Measured against other jobs in Maryland, this one sits low: 420 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $41,380 the take-home is $33,827. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $32,537 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $42,750, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For cooks, institution and cafeteria the Maryland median is $41,380, ranking 18 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Cooks, institution and cafeteria occupies position 420 of 489 in Maryland'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 after federal, FICA and Maryland income tax is $33,827 for cooks, institution and cafeteria, from $41,380. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $32,537. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $42,750 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,380 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,750 |
| This salary | $41,380 |
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 Maryland | $33,827 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,429 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,922 |
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 | $39,386 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,743 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maryland earn less than $41,380. The published range is $35,520 up to $49,750, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Maryland's $33,827, worked from $41,380. 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 420 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,537 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 420.
- Reported values are medians; for cooks, institution and cafeteria in Maryland the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $35,520 to $49,750. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Maryland take-home of $33,827, on $41,380 for work ranking 420 of 489 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 420 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,537, worked from $41,380, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 420 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $42,750, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $35,520 at the bottom tenth to $49,750 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Maryland costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $32,537 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Maryland adds its own income tax on top — which is why $33,827 of this wage survives to your account.
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 Maryland is $42,750. 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 ($35,520 to $49,750) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $32,537 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $33,827 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.