Food Preparation Workers in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,573
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$5,637
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,722
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$35,210
Kept after tax
$29,573
Worth in national money
$32,722
State rank
23
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Nebraska sits in the middle of the pack for food preparation workers. The median is $35,210, ranking 23 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 Nebraska, this one sits low: 450 of 488 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $35,210 you keep $29,573 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $32,722 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $34,880.
- Nebraska occupies the middle band for food preparation workers: a median of $35,210, ranking 23 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.
- Food preparation workers occupies position 450 of 488 in Nebraska'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.
- Retained pay in Nebraska is $29,573 after the full tax stack, from $35,210. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $32,722 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $34,880 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Food Preparation Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,740 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,210 |
| Top tenth earn over | $42,560 |
| This salary | $35,210 |
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 Nebraska | $29,573 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,471 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,365 |
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 | $34,092 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,651 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $35,210 as a midpoint for Nebraska, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $28,740 and the ninetieth is $42,560 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $29,573 take-home in Nebraska comes from $35,210. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 450 of 488.
- Two cautions on $32,722, the adjusted value of that $35,210 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Nebraska. 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 450 of 488 locally.
- The Nebraska median of $35,210 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $28,740 to $42,560. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $29,573, from $35,210, assumes a single Nebraska filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 450 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 23 of 51 for it.
- This $32,722 adjusted figure, worked from $35,210, 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 450 of 488 in the state. The occupation ranks 450 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $28,740 at the bottom tenth to $42,560 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Nebraska sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $32,722 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Nebraska then takes its own share, leaving $29,573.
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 ($28,740 to $42,560) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska'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 $32,722 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 $29,573 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.