Food Preparation Workers in Delaware
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,623
after federal, FICA and Delaware tax
Tax takes
$6,307
17.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,845
Delaware costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Delaware — 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
$35,930
Kept after tax
$29,623
Worth in national money
$29,845
State rank
15
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Delaware is one of the better-paying states for food preparation workers. The middle earner takes $35,930, which ranks 15 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 1.73% above the national middle.
- Against 445 occupations Delaware publishes, food preparation workers lands at 409. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- No great distortion either way. Delaware costs about what the country costs, so from $35,930, take-home of $29,623 is worth roughly $29,845 in national money. The average comes to $36,360, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Delaware ranks 15 of 51 states publishing a median for food preparation workers, at $35,930 — about 1.73% 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.
- Within Delaware, this work ranks 409 of 445 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.
- Price parity in Delaware is near the national base, so for food preparation workers, whose median is $35,930, the adjusted figure of $29,845 differs little from $29,623 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $36,360 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Food Preparation Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,930 |
| Top tenth earn over | $43,070 |
| This salary | $35,930 |
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 Delaware | $29,623 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,050 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,107 |
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 | $34,154 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,548 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $35,930 as a midpoint for Delaware, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,200 and the ninetieth is $43,070 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Delaware the take-home figure of $29,623, from $35,930, 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 409 of 445 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Delaware, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $29,845, the adjusted value of that $35,930 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 409 of 445 in the state.
- The Delaware median of $35,930 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,200 to $43,070. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Delaware is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $29,623 from $35,930. 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 409 of 445 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Delaware, so $29,845 — the adjusted value of that $35,930 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 409 of 445 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $31,200 at the tenth percentile, $43,070 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Delaware is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $29,845 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Delaware adds its own income tax on top — which is why $29,623 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,200 to $43,070) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Delaware rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Delaware'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 $29,845 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 $29,623 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Delaware 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.