Cooks, Short Order in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,949
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$8,161
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,178
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — 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
$43,110
Kept after tax
$34,949
Worth in national money
$32,178
State rank
4
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Hawaii is one of the better-paying states for cooks, short order. The middle earner takes $43,110, which ranks 4 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 20.15% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Hawaii, this one sits low: 386 of 437 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $43,110 the take-home is $34,949. But Hawaii costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $32,178 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $44,930, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Hawaii ranks 4 of 49 states publishing a median for cooks, short order, at $43,110 — about 20.15% 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, short order occupies position 386 of 437 in Hawaii'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 Hawaii income tax is $34,949 for cooks, short order, from $43,110. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $32,178. ⚠️ 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 $44,930 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Cooks, Short Order
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,110 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,640 |
| This salary | $43,110 |
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 Hawaii | $34,949 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,819 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,711 |
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 | $40,782 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,907 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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, short order in Hawaii earn under $43,110 and half over. The published range runs $36,840 at the tenth percentile to $61,640 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Hawaii's $34,949, worked from $43,110. 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 386 of 437.
- One number stands for prices across all of Hawaii, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $32,178, the adjusted value of that $43,110 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 386 of 437 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for cooks, short order in Hawaii, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,840 to $61,640; 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.
- The Hawaii take-home of $34,949, on $43,110 for work ranking 386 of 437 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 386 of 437 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Hawaii, so $32,178 — the adjusted value of that $43,110 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 386 of 437 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $44,930, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,840 and the top tenth $61,640, so most people doing this work in Hawaii sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Hawaii run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $32,178 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; Hawaii then takes its own share, leaving $34,949.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Hawaii is $44,930. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,840 to $61,640) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Hawaii rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $32,178 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 $34,949 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.