Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,285
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$5,855
16.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,171
North Carolina costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in North Carolina — 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
$36,140
Kept after tax
$30,285
Worth in national money
$32,171
State rank
35
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in North Carolina. The middle earner gets $36,140. That is 35 of 51 states, and about 3.5% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 489 occupations North Carolina publishes, this job lands at 436. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where North Carolina does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $36,140 you keep $30,285, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $32,171 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $36,130, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For cooks, institution and cafeteria, North Carolina sits in the lower band at $36,140, ranking 35 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 3.5%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within North Carolina, this work ranks 436 of 489 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 North Carolina income tax, retained pay for cooks, institution and cafeteria on $36,140 is $30,285. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $32,171 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 $36,130 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,140 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,130 |
| This salary | $36,140 |
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 North Carolina | $30,285 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,218 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$45 |
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 | $34,979 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$54 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in North Carolina earn less than $36,140. The published range is $28,050 up to $45,130, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $30,285, from $36,140, 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 436 of 489 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $32,171, the adjusted value of that $36,140 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of North Carolina. 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 436 of 489 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for cooks, institution and cafeteria in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $28,050 to $45,130. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for North Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,285 from $36,140. 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 436 of 489 locally.
- This $32,171 adjusted figure, worked from $36,140, 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 436 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 436 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $28,050 and the top tenth $45,130, so most people doing this work in North Carolina sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $32,171.
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 North Carolina's own levy, $30,285 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 ($28,050 to $45,130) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to North Carolina rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
North Carolina'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 $32,171 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 $30,285 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and North Carolina 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.