Cooks, Restaurant in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,833
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$8,457
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,935
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$45,290
Kept after tax
$36,833
Worth in national money
$37,935
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maine is one of the better-paying states for cooks, restaurant. The middle earner takes $45,290, which ranks 6 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 21.13% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Maine, this one sits low: 400 of 484 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $45,290 the take-home is $36,833, which is worth about $37,935 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $45,240, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Maine ranks 6 of 51 states publishing a median for cooks, restaurant, at $45,290 — about 21.13% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Cooks, restaurant occupies position 400 of 484 in Maine'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.
- Maine's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for cooks, restaurant on its $45,290 median: $36,833 retained after tax becomes $37,935 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $45,240 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Cooks, Restaurant
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,040 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,290 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,530 |
| This salary | $45,290 |
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 Maine | $36,833 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,571 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,757 |
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 | $43,128 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,125 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $45,290 as a midpoint for Maine, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $38,040 and the ninetieth is $49,530 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Maine's $36,833, worked from $45,290. 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 400 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,935 uses one figure for the whole of Maine. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 400.
- The Maine median of $45,290 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $38,040 to $49,530. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Maine take-home of $36,833, on $45,290 for work ranking 400 of 484 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 400 of 484 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,935, worked from $45,290, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Maine address, on work sitting at 400 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $38,040 and the top tenth $49,530, so most people doing this work in Maine 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 $37,935.
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 Maine's own levy, $36,833 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 ($38,040 to $49,530) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maine rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine'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 $37,935 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 $36,833 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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.