Food Processing Workers, All Other in Delaware
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,270
after federal, FICA and Delaware tax
Tax takes
$7,200
18.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,513
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
$39,470
Kept after tax
$32,270
Worth in national money
$32,513
State rank
23
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Delaware is 23 of 46 states for food processing workers, all other, with a middle wage of $39,470. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Delaware this is lower-paid work. Of 445 occupations the state publishes figures for, food processing workers, all other ranks 365. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Delaware costs about what the country costs, so from $39,470, take-home of $32,270 is worth roughly $32,513 in national money. The average comes to $39,550, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Delaware ranks 23 of 46 for food processing workers, all other at $39,470. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Delaware reports, food processing workers, all other ranks 365 of 445, 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.
- Price parity in Delaware is near the national base, so for food processing workers, all other, whose median is $39,470, the adjusted figure of $32,513 differs little from $32,270 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $39,550 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Food Processing Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,860 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,470 |
| Top tenth earn over | $41,400 |
| This salary | $39,470 |
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 | $32,270 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,894 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,366 |
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 | $37,449 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,862 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Delaware earn less than $39,470. The published range is $37,860 up to $41,400, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Delaware's $32,270, worked from $39,470. 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 365 of 445.
- Two cautions on $32,513, the adjusted value of that $39,470 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Delaware. 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 365 of 445 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for food processing workers, all other in Delaware the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,860 to $41,400. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Delaware take-home of $32,270, on $39,470 for work ranking 365 of 445 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 365 of 445 in the state.
- This $32,513 adjusted figure, worked from $39,470, 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 365 of 445 in the state. The occupation ranks 365 of 445 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,860 at the bottom tenth to $41,400 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 Delaware sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $32,513 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; Delaware then takes its own share, leaving $32,270.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 46 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,860 to $41,400) 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 $32,513 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 $32,270 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.