Food Processing Workers, All Other in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,661
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$6,209
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,530
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$35,870
Kept after tax
$29,661
Worth in national money
$28,530
State rank
41
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maryland is among the lower-paying states for food processing workers, all other. The middle earner takes $35,870, ranking 41 of 46 states — about 9.6% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Maryland, this one sits low: 467 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Maryland is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $35,870 the take-home is $29,661; in national-average money that behaves like $28,530. The average comes to $36,040, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Maryland ranks 41 of 46 for food processing workers, all other, with a median of $35,870 — about 9.6% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Food processing workers, all other occupies position 467 of 489 in Maryland'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.
- Take-home for food processing workers, all other in Maryland, on $35,870, is $29,661; deflated by the state's price level, $28,530. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $36,040 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 | $31,680 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,870 |
| Top tenth earn over | $40,910 |
| This salary | $35,870 |
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 Maryland | $29,661 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,002 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,373 |
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 | $34,202 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,079 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $35,870 as a midpoint for Maryland, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,680 and the ninetieth is $40,910 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $29,661 take-home in Maryland comes from $35,870. 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 467 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maryland, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $28,530, the adjusted value of that $35,870 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 467 of 489 in the state.
- The Maryland median of $35,870 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,680 to $40,910. 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 $29,661, from $35,870, assumes a single Maryland 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 467 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 41 of 46 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maryland, so $28,530 — the adjusted value of that $35,870 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 467 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $31,680 and the top tenth $40,910, so most people doing this work in Maryland sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $28,530 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; Maryland then takes its own share, leaving $29,661.
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 ($31,680 to $40,910) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $28,530 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $29,661 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.