Cooks, Short Order in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$27,111
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$5,039
15.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,547
Minnesota costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Minnesota — 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
$32,150
Kept after tax
$27,111
Worth in national money
$27,547
State rank
31
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Minnesota is 31 of 49 states for cooks, short order, with a middle wage of $32,150. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Minnesota this is lower-paid work. Of 490 occupations the state publishes figures for, cooks, short order ranks 482. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Minnesota costs about what the country costs, so from $32,150, take-home of $27,111 is worth roughly $27,547 in national money. The average comes to $33,030, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Minnesota ranks 31 of 49 for cooks, short order at $32,150. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Minnesota reports, cooks, short order ranks 482 of 490, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Price parity in Minnesota is near the national base, so for cooks, short order, whose median is $32,150, the adjusted figure of $27,547 differs little from $27,111 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $33,030 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Cooks, Short Order
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,150 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $32,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,460 |
| This salary | $32,150 |
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 Minnesota | $27,111 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $28,013 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,280 |
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 | $31,028 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,548 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $32,150 as a midpoint for Minnesota, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $23,150 and the ninetieth is $44,460 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $27,111 take-home in Minnesota comes from $32,150. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 482 of 490.
- One number stands for prices across all of Minnesota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $27,547, the adjusted value of that $32,150 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 482 of 490 in the state.
- The Minnesota median of $32,150 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $23,150 to $44,460. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $27,111, from $32,150, assumes a single Minnesota filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 482 of 490 locally, and the state ranks 31 of 49 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Minnesota, so $27,547 — the adjusted value of that $32,150 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 482 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $23,150 at the bottom tenth to $44,460 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Minnesota is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $27,547 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; Minnesota then takes its own share, leaving $27,111.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($23,150 to $44,460) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Minnesota rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Minnesota'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 $27,547 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 $27,111 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Minnesota 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.