Cooks, Restaurant in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,431
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$5,739
16.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,926
Indiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Indiana — 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
$35,170
Kept after tax
$29,431
Worth in national money
$31,926
State rank
41
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Indiana is among the lower-paying states for cooks, restaurant. The middle earner takes $35,170, ranking 41 of 51 states — about 5.94% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Indiana, this one sits low: 454 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $35,170 you keep $29,431 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $31,926 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $34,150.
- Indiana ranks 41 of 51 for cooks, restaurant, with a median of $35,170 — about 5.94% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Cooks, restaurant occupies position 454 of 493 in Indiana'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 Indiana is $29,431 after the full tax stack, from $35,170. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $31,926 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $34,150 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Cooks, Restaurant
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,000 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,190 |
| This salary | $35,170 |
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 Indiana | $29,431 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,439 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$602 |
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 | $33,915 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$729 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
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, restaurant in Indiana earn under $35,170 and half over. The published range runs $26,000 at the tenth percentile to $44,190 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Indiana the take-home figure of $29,431, from $35,170, 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 454 of 493 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $31,926, the adjusted value of that $35,170 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Indiana. 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 454 of 493 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for cooks, restaurant in Indiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $26,000 to $44,190; 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.
- Take-home for Indiana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $29,431 from $35,170. 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 454 of 493 locally.
- This $31,926 adjusted figure, worked from $35,170, 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 454 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 454 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $26,000 at the tenth percentile, $44,190 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Indiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $31,926 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Indiana then takes its own share, leaving $29,431.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($26,000 to $44,190) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Indiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Indiana'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 $31,926 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 $29,431 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Indiana 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.