Cooks, Restaurant in New York
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,515
after federal, FICA and New York tax
Tax takes
$8,165
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,999
New York costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in New York — 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
$43,680
Kept after tax
$35,515
Worth in national money
$32,999
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- New York is one of the better-paying states for cooks, restaurant. The middle earner takes $43,680, which ranks 8 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 16.82% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in New York, this one sits low: 434 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $43,680 the take-home is $35,515. But New York costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $32,999 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $43,150, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- New York ranks 8 of 51 states publishing a median for cooks, restaurant, at $43,680 — about 16.82% 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 434 of 493 in New York'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 after federal, FICA and New York income tax is $35,515 for cooks, restaurant, from $43,680. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $32,999. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $43,150 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 | $34,490 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $54,240 |
| This salary | $43,680 |
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 New York | $35,515 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,277 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,362 |
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 | $41,487 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,485 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $43,680 as a midpoint for New York, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $34,490 and the ninetieth is $54,240 — 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 New York's $35,515, worked from $43,680. 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 434 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,999 uses one figure for the whole of New York. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 434.
- The New York median of $43,680 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $34,490 to $54,240. 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 New York take-home of $35,515, on $43,680 for work ranking 434 of 493 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 434 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,999, worked from $43,680, 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 New York address, on work sitting at 434 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $34,490 and the top tenth $54,240, so most people doing this work in New York sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $32,999 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and New York adds its own income tax on top — which is why $35,515 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($34,490 to $54,240) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to New York rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
New York's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $32,999 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $35,515 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and New York 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.