Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,531
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$6,489
17.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,366
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$37,020
Kept after tax
$30,531
Worth in national money
$29,366
State rank
5
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Maryland pays this job a middle wage of $37,020, ranking 5 of 51 states and sitting about 8.95% above the national middle.
- Against 489 occupations Maryland publishes, this job lands at 456. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $37,020 the take-home is $30,531. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $29,366 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $38,340, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maryland's median for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers is $37,020, about 8.95% above the national figure and 5 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Within Maryland, this work ranks 456 of 489 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Maryland income tax is $30,531 for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers, from $37,020. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $29,366. ⚠️ 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 $38,340 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,020 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,930 |
| This salary | $37,020 |
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 Maryland | $30,531 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,926 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,487 |
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 | $35,284 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,218 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $37,020 as a midpoint for Maryland, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,840 and the ninetieth is $45,930 — 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 Maryland's $30,531, worked from $37,020. 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 456 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $29,366 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 456.
- The Maryland median of $37,020 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,840 to $45,930. 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 Maryland take-home of $30,531, on $37,020 for work ranking 456 of 489 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 456 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $29,366, worked from $37,020, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 456 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $38,340, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,840 and the top tenth $45,930, so most people doing this work in Maryland sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $29,366 — 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; Maryland then takes its own share, leaving $30,531.
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.
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 Maryland is $38,340. 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 ($31,840 to $45,930) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $29,366 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 $30,531 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.