Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers in Ohio
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$25,711
after federal, FICA and Ohio tax
Tax takes
$3,689
12.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,004
Ohio costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Ohio — 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
$29,400
Kept after tax
$25,711
Worth in national money
$28,004
State rank
26
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Ohio sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $29,400, ranking 26 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 Ohio, this one sits low: 483 of 494 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Ohio is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $29,400 the take-home is $25,711; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $28,004 would nationally. The average comes to $31,340, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Ohio occupies the middle band for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers: a median of $29,400, ranking 26 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 483 of 494 in Ohio'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.
- Post-tax income for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers in Ohio, on $29,400, is $25,711 — equivalent to $28,004 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $31,340 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $22,900 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $29,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $39,070 |
| This salary | $29,400 |
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 Ohio | $25,711 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,803 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,451 |
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 | $29,285 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,754 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
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 dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers in Ohio earn under $29,400 and half over. The published range runs $22,900 at the tenth percentile to $39,070 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Ohio the take-home figure of $25,711, from $29,400, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 483 of 494 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Ohio, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $28,004, the adjusted value of that $29,400 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 483 of 494 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers in Ohio, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $22,900 to $39,070; 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.
- Take-home for Ohio is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $25,711 from $29,400. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 483 of 494 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Ohio, so $28,004 — the adjusted value of that $29,400 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 483 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $31,340, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $22,900 at the bottom tenth to $39,070 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. Ohio is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $28,004 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; Ohio then takes its own share, leaving $25,711.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 Ohio is $31,340. 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 ($22,900 to $39,070) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Ohio rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Ohio'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 $28,004 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 $25,711 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Ohio 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.