Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,519
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$5,381
15.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,169
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$34,900
Kept after tax
$29,519
Worth in national money
$32,169
State rank
43
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Missouri. The middle earner gets $34,900. That is 43 of 51 states, and about 6.81% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 488 occupations Missouri publishes, this job lands at 445. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where Missouri does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $34,900 you keep $29,519, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $32,169 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $35,190, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For cooks, institution and cafeteria, Missouri sits in the lower band at $34,900, ranking 43 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 6.81%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Missouri, this work ranks 445 of 488 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and Missouri income tax, retained pay for cooks, institution and cafeteria on $34,900 is $29,519. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $32,169 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 $35,190 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $43,700 |
| This salary | $34,900 |
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 Missouri | $29,519 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,222 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,069 |
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 | $34,025 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,292 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
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 Missouri earn under $34,900 and half over. The published range runs $28,600 at the tenth percentile to $43,700 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Missouri the take-home figure of $29,519, from $34,900, 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 445 of 488 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $32,169, the adjusted value of that $34,900 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Missouri. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 445 of 488 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for cooks, institution and cafeteria in Missouri, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $28,600 to $43,700; 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 Missouri is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $29,519 from $34,900. 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 445 of 488 locally.
- This $32,169 adjusted figure, worked from $34,900, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 445 of 488 in the state. The occupation ranks 445 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $28,600 at the tenth percentile, $43,700 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Missouri is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $32,169 in national terms.
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; Missouri then takes its own share, leaving $29,519.
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 ($28,600 to $43,700) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Missouri rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Missouri'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 $32,169 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 $29,519 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.