Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,418
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$6,122
16.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,198
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$36,540
Kept after tax
$30,418
Worth in national money
$31,198
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 31 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $36,540. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Pennsylvania this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 445. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $36,540, take-home of $30,418 is worth roughly $31,198 in national money. The average comes to $36,950, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Pennsylvania ranks 31 of 51 for cooks, institution and cafeteria at $36,540. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Pennsylvania reports, cooks, institution and cafeteria ranks 445 of 492, 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.
- Price parity in Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for cooks, institution and cafeteria, whose median is $36,540, the adjusted figure of $31,198 differs little from $30,418 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $36,950 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $28,390 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,540 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,380 |
| This salary | $36,540 |
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 Pennsylvania | $30,418 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,540 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,259 |
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 | $35,144 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,522 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Pennsylvania earn less than $36,540. The published range is $28,390 up to $46,380, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Pennsylvania's $30,418, worked from $36,540. 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 445 of 492.
- Two cautions on $31,198, the adjusted value of that $36,540 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Pennsylvania. 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 492 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for cooks, institution and cafeteria in Pennsylvania the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $28,390 to $46,380. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Pennsylvania take-home of $30,418, on $36,540 for work ranking 445 of 492 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 445 of 492 in the state.
- This $31,198 adjusted figure, worked from $36,540, 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 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 445 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $28,390 at the bottom tenth to $46,380 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Pennsylvania is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $31,198 in national terms.
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 Pennsylvania's own levy, $30,418 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 ($28,390 to $46,380) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $31,198 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 $30,418 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.