Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$25,859
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$3,611
12.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,951
Tennessee costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Tennessee — 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
$29,470
Kept after tax
$25,859
Worth in national money
$27,951
State rank
25
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Tennessee sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $29,470, ranking 25 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 Tennessee, this one sits low: 480 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Tennessee does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $29,470 you keep $25,859, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $27,951 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $29,680, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Tennessee occupies the middle band for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers: a median of $29,470, ranking 25 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 480 of 491 in Tennessee'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.
- After federal, FICA and Tennessee income tax, retained pay for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers on $29,470 is $25,859. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $27,951 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $29,680 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 | $21,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $29,470 |
| Top tenth earn over | $37,420 |
| This salary | $29,470 |
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 Tennessee | $25,859 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,859 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,340 |
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 | $29,470 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,621 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
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 Tennessee earn under $29,470 and half over. The published range runs $21,220 at the tenth percentile to $37,420 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Tennessee the take-home figure of $25,859, from $29,470, 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 480 of 491 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $27,951, the adjusted value of that $29,470 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Tennessee. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 480 of 491 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers in Tennessee, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $21,220 to $37,420; 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 Tennessee is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $25,859 from $29,470. 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 480 of 491 locally.
- This $27,951 adjusted figure, worked from $29,470, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 480 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 480 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $21,220 at the bottom tenth to $37,420 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. Tennessee is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $27,951 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $25,859 survives, because Tennessee levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
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 ($21,220 to $37,420) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Tennessee rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Tennessee'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 $27,951 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Tennessee levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $25,859 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.