Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,467
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$5,923
16.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,712
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$36,390
Kept after tax
$30,467
Worth in national money
$33,712
State rank
33
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Nebraska sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $36,390, ranking 33 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Nebraska, this one sits low: 441 of 488 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Nebraska does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $36,390 you keep $30,467, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $33,712 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $37,310, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Nebraska occupies the middle band for cooks, institution and cafeteria: a median of $36,390, ranking 33 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Cooks, institution and cafeteria occupies position 441 of 488 in Nebraska'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.
- After federal, FICA and Nebraska income tax, retained pay for cooks, institution and cafeteria on $36,390 is $30,467. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $33,712 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 $37,310 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 | $29,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,380 |
| This salary | $36,390 |
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 Nebraska | $30,467 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,419 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,379 |
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 | $35,205 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,668 |
| 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 Nebraska earn under $36,390 and half over. The published range runs $29,890 at the tenth percentile to $45,380 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Nebraska's $30,467, worked from $36,390. 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 441 of 488.
- Two cautions on $33,712, the adjusted value of that $36,390 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Nebraska. 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 441 of 488 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for cooks, institution and cafeteria in Nebraska, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $29,890 to $45,380; 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.
- The Nebraska take-home of $30,467, on $36,390 for work ranking 441 of 488 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 441 of 488 in the state.
- This $33,712 adjusted figure, worked from $36,390, 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 441 of 488 in the state. The occupation ranks 441 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $29,890 at the bottom tenth to $45,380 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Nebraska sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $33,712 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Nebraska adds its own income tax on top — which is why $30,467 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($29,890 to $45,380) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska'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 $33,712 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 $30,467 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.