Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in Mississippi
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$23,162
after federal, FICA and Mississippi tax
Tax takes
$4,228
15.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$26,534
Mississippi costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Mississippi — 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
$27,390
Kept after tax
$23,162
Worth in national money
$26,534
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Mississippi pays this job a middle wage of $27,390, 49 of 51 states and about 26.86% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Mississippi this is lower-paid work. Of 486 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 459. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Mississippi does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $27,390 you keep $23,162, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $26,534 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $27,850, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Mississippi's $27,390 median for cooks, institution and cafeteria places it 49 of 51 states, about 26.86% 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 Mississippi reports, cooks, institution and cafeteria ranks 459 of 486, 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 Mississippi income tax, retained pay for cooks, institution and cafeteria on $27,390 is $23,162. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $26,534 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 $27,850 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 | $20,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $27,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $36,620 |
| This salary | $27,390 |
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 Mississippi | $23,162 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $24,166 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,666 |
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 | $26,171 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,987 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Mississippi earn less than $27,390. The published range is $20,760 up to $36,620, 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 Mississippi's $23,162, worked from $27,390. 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 459 of 486.
- One number stands for prices across all of Mississippi, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $26,534, the adjusted value of that $27,390 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 459 of 486 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for cooks, institution and cafeteria in Mississippi the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $20,760 to $36,620. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Mississippi take-home of $23,162, on $27,390 for work ranking 459 of 486 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 459 of 486 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Mississippi, so $26,534 — the adjusted value of that $27,390 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 459 of 486 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $20,760 at the tenth percentile, $36,620 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Mississippi is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $26,534 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 Mississippi's own levy, $23,162 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 ($20,760 to $36,620) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Mississippi rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Mississippi'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 $26,534 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 $23,162 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Mississippi 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.