Food Preparation Workers in Vermont
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,580
after federal, FICA and Vermont tax
Tax takes
$5,970
16.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,645
Vermont costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Vermont — 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
$36,550
Kept after tax
$30,580
Worth in national money
$31,645
State rank
12
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Vermont is one of the better-paying states for food preparation workers. The middle earner takes $36,550, which ranks 12 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 3.48% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Vermont, this one sits low: 438 of 453 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Vermont is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $36,550 the take-home is $30,580; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $31,645 would nationally. The average comes to $38,850, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Vermont ranks 12 of 51 states publishing a median for food preparation workers, at $36,550 — about 3.48% 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 438 of 453 in Vermont'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.
- Post-tax income for food preparation workers in Vermont, on $36,550, is $30,580 — equivalent to $31,645 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 $38,850 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 | $31,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,550 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,020 |
| This salary | $36,550 |
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 Vermont | $30,580 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,548 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$820 |
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 | $35,345 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$992 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
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 Vermont earn under $36,550 and half over. The published range runs $31,840 at the tenth percentile to $49,020 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 Vermont's $30,580, worked from $36,550. 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 438 of 453.
- Two cautions on $31,645, the adjusted value of that $36,550 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Vermont. 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 438 of 453 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for food preparation workers in Vermont, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,840 to $49,020; 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 Vermont take-home of $30,580, on $36,550 for work ranking 438 of 453 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 438 of 453 in the state.
- This $31,645 adjusted figure, worked from $36,550, 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 438 of 453 in the state. The occupation ranks 438 of 453 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 $38,850, 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 — $31,840 at the tenth percentile, $49,020 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Vermont sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $31,645 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Vermont's own levy, $30,580 remains.
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 Vermont is $38,850. 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 ($31,840 to $49,020) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Vermont rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Vermont'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 $31,645 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 $30,580 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Vermont 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.