Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in New York
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,164
after federal, FICA and New York tax
Tax takes
$8,716
19.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,531
New York costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in New York — 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
$45,880
Kept after tax
$37,164
Worth in national money
$34,531
State rank
9
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New York is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $45,880, which ranks 9 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 22.51% above the national middle.
- Within New York this is lower-paid work. Of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 410. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $45,880 the take-home is $37,164. But New York costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $34,531 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $46,850, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New York ranks 9 of 51 states publishing a median for cooks, institution and cafeteria, at $45,880 — about 22.51% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Against every occupation New York reports, cooks, institution and cafeteria ranks 410 of 493, 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New York income tax is $37,164 for cooks, institution and cafeteria, from $45,880. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $34,531. ⚠️ 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 $46,850 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 | $36,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,620 |
| This salary | $45,880 |
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 New York | $37,164 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,045 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,649 |
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 | $43,540 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,832 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $45,880 as a midpoint for New York, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,280 and the ninetieth is $59,620 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $37,164 take-home in New York comes from $45,880. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 410 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of New York, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $34,531, the adjusted value of that $45,880 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 410 of 493 in the state.
- The New York median of $45,880 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,280 to $59,620. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $37,164, from $45,880, assumes a single New York filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 410 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 9 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New York, so $34,531 — the adjusted value of that $45,880 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 410 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,280 and the top tenth $59,620, so most people doing this work in New York sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. New York costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $34,531 rather than its face figure.
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; New York then takes its own share, leaving $37,164.
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 ($36,280 to $59,620) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to New York rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
New York's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $34,531 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 $37,164 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and New York 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.