Food Preparation Workers in Oklahoma
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,328
after federal, FICA and Oklahoma tax
Tax takes
$4,212
14.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,556
Oklahoma costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oklahoma — 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
$28,540
Kept after tax
$24,328
Worth in national money
$27,556
State rank
45
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Oklahoma pays food preparation workers a middle wage of $28,540, 45 of 51 states and about 19.2% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Oklahoma this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, food preparation workers ranks 469. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Oklahoma does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $28,540 you keep $24,328, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $27,556 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $28,710, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Oklahoma's $28,540 median for food preparation workers places it 45 of 51 states, about 19.2% 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 Oklahoma reports, food preparation workers ranks 469 of 492, 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.
- After federal, FICA and Oklahoma income tax, retained pay for food preparation workers on $28,540 is $24,328. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $27,556 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 $28,710 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Food Preparation Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $20,800 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $28,540 |
| Top tenth earn over | $35,980 |
| This salary | $28,540 |
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 Oklahoma | $24,328 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,112 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,714 |
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 | $27,587 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,073 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 Oklahoma earn under $28,540 and half over. The published range runs $20,800 at the tenth percentile to $35,980 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Oklahoma the take-home figure of $24,328, from $28,540, 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 469 of 492 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $27,556, the adjusted value of that $28,540 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Oklahoma. 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 469 of 492 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for food preparation workers in Oklahoma, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $20,800 to $35,980; 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 Oklahoma is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $24,328 from $28,540. 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 469 of 492 locally.
- This $27,556 adjusted figure, worked from $28,540, 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 469 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 469 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $20,800 and the top tenth $35,980, so most people doing this work in Oklahoma sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Oklahoma is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $27,556 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 Oklahoma adds its own income tax on top — which is why $24,328 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 ($20,800 to $35,980) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Oklahoma rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Oklahoma'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 $27,556 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 $24,328 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oklahoma 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.