Food Processing Workers, All Other in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,441
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$7,609
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,713
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$44,050
Kept after tax
$36,441
Worth in national money
$39,713
State rank
8
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for food processing workers, all other is strong here. Missouri's middle earner gets $44,050, putting the state 8 of 46 — about 11.01% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 488 occupations Missouri reports figures for, this is number 363.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $44,050 you keep $36,441 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $39,713 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $43,860.
- For food processing workers, all other, Missouri sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $44,050, ranking 8 of 46 and running about 11.01% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- In Missouri's occupational distribution, food processing workers, all other sits at 363 of 488 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay in Missouri is $36,441 after the full tax stack, from $44,050. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $39,713 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $43,860 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Food Processing Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,420 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,050 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,190 |
| This salary | $44,050 |
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 Missouri | $36,441 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,574 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,046 |
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 | $42,640 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,265 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Missouri earn less than $44,050. The published range is $37,420 up to $57,190, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $36,441 take-home in Missouri comes from $44,050. 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 363 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $39,713 uses one figure for the whole of Missouri. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 363.
- Reported values are medians; for food processing workers, all other in Missouri the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,420 to $57,190. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $36,441, from $44,050, assumes a single Missouri 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 363 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 8 of 46 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $39,713, worked from $44,050, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Missouri address, on work sitting at 363 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,420 at the bottom tenth to $57,190 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 Missouri sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $39,713 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Missouri adds its own income tax on top — which is why $36,441 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 46 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,420 to $57,190) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Missouri rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Missouri'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 $39,713 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 $36,441 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.