Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in Ohio
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,391
after federal, FICA and Ohio tax
Tax takes
$5,329
14.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,191
Ohio costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Ohio — 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
$36,720
Kept after tax
$31,391
Worth in national money
$34,191
State rank
30
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Ohio is 30 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $36,720. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Ohio this is lower-paid work. Of 494 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 440. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Ohio is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $36,720 the take-home is $31,391; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $34,191 would nationally. The average comes to $37,160, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Ohio ranks 30 of 51 for cooks, institution and cafeteria at $36,720. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Ohio reports, cooks, institution and cafeteria ranks 440 of 494, 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.
- Post-tax income for cooks, institution and cafeteria in Ohio, on $36,720, is $31,391 — equivalent to $34,191 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $37,160 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $29,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,720 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,010 |
| This salary | $36,720 |
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 Ohio | $31,391 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,685 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,585 |
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 | $36,355 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,917 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Ohio earn less than $36,720. The published range is $29,530 up to $46,010, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Ohio the take-home figure of $31,391, from $36,720, 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 440 of 494 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Ohio, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $34,191, the adjusted value of that $36,720 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 440 of 494 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for cooks, institution and cafeteria in Ohio the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $29,530 to $46,010. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Ohio is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,391 from $36,720. 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 440 of 494 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Ohio, so $34,191 — the adjusted value of that $36,720 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 440 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $29,530 at the tenth percentile, $46,010 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Ohio sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $34,191 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 Ohio adds its own income tax on top — which is why $31,391 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($29,530 to $46,010) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Ohio rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Ohio'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 $34,191 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 $31,391 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Ohio 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.