Cooks, Restaurant in Kansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,735
after federal, FICA and Kansas tax
Tax takes
$6,395
18.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,940
Kansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kansas — 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
$35,130
Kept after tax
$28,735
Worth in national money
$31,940
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kansas is among the lower-paying states for cooks, restaurant. The middle earner takes $35,130, ranking 42 of 51 states — about 6.04% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Kansas, this one sits low: 444 of 488 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Kansas is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $35,130 the take-home is $28,735; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $31,940 would nationally. The average lands at $34,900, below the middle of the range.
- Kansas ranks 42 of 51 for cooks, restaurant, with a median of $35,130 — about 6.04% 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 444 of 488 in Kansas'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.
- Post-tax income for cooks, restaurant in Kansas, on $35,130, is $28,735 — equivalent to $31,940 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 $34,900 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Cooks, Restaurant
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,120 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,540 |
| This salary | $35,130 |
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 Kansas | $28,735 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,407 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$650 |
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 | $33,049 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$786 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $35,130 as a midpoint for Kansas, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $26,120 and the ninetieth is $44,540 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Kansas the take-home figure of $28,735, from $35,130, 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 444 of 488 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $31,940, the adjusted value of that $35,130 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 444 of 488 in the state.
- The Kansas median of $35,130 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $26,120 to $44,540. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Kansas is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $28,735 from $35,130. 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 444 of 488 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kansas, so $31,940 — the adjusted value of that $35,130 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 444 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $26,120 and the top tenth $44,540, so most people doing this work in Kansas sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $31,940.
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; Kansas then takes its own share, leaving $28,735.
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 ($26,120 to $44,540) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Kansas rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Kansas'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 $31,940 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 $28,735 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kansas 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.