Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,174
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$7,026
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,814
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$38,200
Kept after tax
$31,174
Worth in national money
$32,814
State rank
23
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Utah is 23 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $38,200. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Utah this is lower-paid work. Of 487 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 427. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Utah is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $38,200 the take-home is $31,174; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $32,814 would nationally. The average comes to $39,570, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Utah ranks 23 of 51 for cooks, institution and cafeteria at $38,200. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Utah reports, cooks, institution and cafeteria ranks 427 of 487, 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 Utah, on $38,200, is $31,174 — equivalent to $32,814 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 $39,570 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,870 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,200 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,600 |
| This salary | $38,200 |
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 Utah | $31,174 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,874 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,016 |
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 | $36,084 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,228 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
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 Utah earn under $38,200 and half over. The published range runs $28,870 at the tenth percentile to $48,600 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 Utah's $31,174, worked from $38,200. 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 427 of 487.
- One number stands for prices across all of Utah, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $32,814, the adjusted value of that $38,200 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 427 of 487 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for cooks, institution and cafeteria in Utah, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $28,870 to $48,600; 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 Utah take-home of $31,174, on $38,200 for work ranking 427 of 487 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 427 of 487 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Utah, so $32,814 — the adjusted value of that $38,200 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 427 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $39,570, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $28,870 at the bottom tenth to $48,600 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 Utah sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $32,814 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Utah's own levy, $31,174 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.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Utah is $39,570. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,870 to $48,600) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Utah rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah'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 $32,814 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 $31,174 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.