Food Preparation Workers in Mississippi
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$22,261
after federal, FICA and Mississippi tax
Tax takes
$3,979
15.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$25,502
Mississippi costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Mississippi — 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
$26,240
Kept after tax
$22,261
Worth in national money
$25,502
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Mississippi pays food preparation workers a middle wage of $26,240, 50 of 51 states and about 25.71% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Mississippi this is lower-paid work. Of 486 occupations the state publishes figures for, food preparation workers ranks 470. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Mississippi is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $26,240 the take-home is $22,261; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $25,502 would nationally. The average comes to $26,750, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Mississippi's $26,240 median for food preparation workers places it 50 of 51 states, about 25.71% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation Mississippi reports, food preparation workers ranks 470 of 486, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Post-tax income for food preparation workers in Mississippi, on $26,240, is $22,261 — equivalent to $25,502 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 $26,750 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 | $18,790 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $26,240 |
| Top tenth earn over | $36,100 |
| This salary | $26,240 |
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 Mississippi | $22,261 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $23,219 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,608 |
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 | $25,077 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,898 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
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 food preparation workers in Mississippi earn under $26,240 and half over. The published range runs $18,790 at the tenth percentile to $36,100 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Mississippi's $22,261, worked from $26,240. 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 470 of 486.
- One number stands for prices across all of Mississippi, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $25,502, the adjusted value of that $26,240 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 470 of 486 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for food preparation workers in Mississippi, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $18,790 to $36,100; 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.
- The Mississippi take-home of $22,261, on $26,240 for work ranking 470 of 486 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 470 of 486 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Mississippi, so $25,502 — the adjusted value of that $26,240 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 470 of 486 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $18,790 at the tenth percentile, $36,100 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Mississippi is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $25,502 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 Mississippi adds its own income tax on top — which is why $22,261 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 ($18,790 to $36,100) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Mississippi rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Mississippi'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 $25,502 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 $22,261 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Mississippi 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.