Food Preparation Workers in Alaska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,881
after federal, FICA and Alaska tax
Tax takes
$4,839
13.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,360
Alaska costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alaska — 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
$35,720
Kept after tax
$30,881
Worth in national money
$30,360
State rank
17
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alaska is one of the better-paying states for food preparation workers. The middle earner takes $35,720, which ranks 17 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 1.13% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Alaska, this one sits low: 417 of 430 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $35,720 the take-home is $30,881, which is worth about $30,360 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $37,230, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Alaska ranks 17 of 51 states publishing a median for food preparation workers, at $35,720 — about 1.13% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Food preparation workers occupies position 417 of 430 in Alaska'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.
- Alaska's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for food preparation workers on its $35,720 median: $30,881 retained after tax becomes $30,360 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $37,230 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Food Preparation Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,350 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,720 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,440 |
| This salary | $35,720 |
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 Alaska | $30,881 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,881 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,418 |
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 | $35,720 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,715 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 102 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Alaska earn less than $35,720. The published range is $30,350 up to $46,440, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Alaska the take-home figure of $30,881, from $35,720, 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 417 of 430 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,360 uses one figure for the whole of Alaska. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 430 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 417.
- Reported values are medians; for food preparation workers in Alaska the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $30,350 to $46,440. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Alaska is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,881 from $35,720. 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 417 of 430 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,360, worked from $35,720, 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 Alaska address, on work sitting at 417 of 430 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $37,230, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $30,350 at the tenth percentile, $46,440 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Alaska run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $30,360 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $30,881 survives, because Alaska 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?
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 Alaska is $37,230. 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 ($30,350 to $46,440) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alaska rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Alaska's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $30,360 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Alaska levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $30,881 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.