Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria in Vermont
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,141
after federal, FICA and Vermont tax
Tax takes
$8,229
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,469
Vermont costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Vermont — 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
$46,370
Kept after tax
$38,141
Worth in national money
$39,469
State rank
7
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Vermont pays this job a middle wage of $46,370, ranking 7 of 51 states and sitting about 23.82% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Vermont, this one sits low: 367 of 453 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $46,370 you keep $38,141 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $39,469 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $46,260.
- Vermont's median for cooks, institution and cafeteria is $46,370, about 23.82% above the national figure and 7 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Cooks, institution and cafeteria occupies position 367 of 453 in Vermont's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay in Vermont is $38,141 after the full tax stack, from $46,370. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $39,469 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $46,260 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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 | $38,120 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,370 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,560 |
| This salary | $46,370 |
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 Vermont | $38,141 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,438 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,116 |
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 | $44,756 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,349 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Vermont earn less than $46,370. The published range is $38,120 up to $56,560, 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 Vermont's $38,141, worked from $46,370. 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 367 of 453.
- Two cautions on $39,469, the adjusted value of that $46,370 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Vermont. 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 367 of 453 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for cooks, institution and cafeteria in Vermont the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,120 to $56,560. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Vermont take-home of $38,141, on $46,370 for work ranking 367 of 453 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 367 of 453 in the state.
- This $39,469 adjusted figure, worked from $46,370, 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 367 of 453 in the state. The occupation ranks 367 of 453 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $38,120 at the tenth percentile, $56,560 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Vermont sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $39,469 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 Vermont's own levy, $38,141 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 ($38,120 to $56,560) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Vermont rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Vermont'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 $39,469 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 $38,141 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Vermont 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.