Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,126
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$4,194
14.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$26,171
Indiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Indiana — 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
$28,320
Kept after tax
$24,126
Worth in national money
$26,171
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Indiana sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $28,320, ranking 31 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Indiana, this one sits low: 485 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $28,320 you keep $24,126 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $26,171 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $28,590, since top earners drag the number up.
- Indiana occupies the middle band for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers: a median of $28,320, ranking 31 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers occupies position 485 of 493 in Indiana'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 in Indiana is $24,126 after the full tax stack, from $28,320. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $26,171 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $28,590 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $20,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $28,320 |
| Top tenth earn over | $37,280 |
| This salary | $28,320 |
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 Indiana | $24,126 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $24,932 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$515 |
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 | $27,341 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$618 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Indiana earn less than $28,320. The published range is $20,610 up to $37,280, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Indiana's $24,126, worked from $28,320. 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 485 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $26,171 uses one figure for the whole of Indiana. 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 485.
- Reported values are medians; for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers in Indiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $20,610 to $37,280. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Indiana take-home of $24,126, on $28,320 for work ranking 485 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 485 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $26,171, worked from $28,320, 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 Indiana address, on work sitting at 485 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $20,610 at the bottom tenth to $37,280 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. Indiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $26,171 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; Indiana then takes its own share, leaving $24,126.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($20,610 to $37,280) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Indiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Indiana'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 $26,171 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 $24,126 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Indiana 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.