Food Servers, Nonrestaurant in Alaska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,785
after federal, FICA and Alaska tax
Tax takes
$5,305
13.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,233
Alaska costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alaska — 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
$38,090
Kept after tax
$32,785
Worth in national money
$32,233
State rank
5
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for food servers, nonrestaurant is strong here. Alaska's middle earner gets $38,090, putting the state 5 of 51 — about 7.72% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Alaska this is lower-paid work. Of 430 occupations the state publishes figures for, food servers, nonrestaurant ranks 399. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Alaska costs about what the country costs, so from $38,090, take-home of $32,785 is worth roughly $32,233 in national money. The average lands at $37,860, below the middle of the range.
- For food servers, nonrestaurant, Alaska sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $38,090, ranking 5 of 51 and running about 7.72% 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.
- Against every occupation Alaska reports, food servers, nonrestaurant ranks 399 of 430, 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 Alaska is near the national base, so for food servers, nonrestaurant, whose median is $38,090, the adjusted figure of $32,233 differs little from $32,785 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $37,860 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $25,140 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,090 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,160 |
| This salary | $38,090 |
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 Alaska | $32,785 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,785 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,506 |
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 | $38,090 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,821 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 102 |
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 servers, nonrestaurant in Alaska earn under $38,090 and half over. The published range runs $25,140 at the tenth percentile to $46,160 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Alaska the take-home figure of $32,785, from $38,090, 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 399 of 430 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,233 uses one figure for the whole of Alaska. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 430 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 399.
- Figures are distribution medians for food servers, nonrestaurant in Alaska, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $25,140 to $46,160; 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 Alaska is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $32,785 from $38,090. 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 399 of 430 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,233, worked from $38,090, 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 Alaska address, on work sitting at 399 of 430 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $25,140 at the tenth percentile, $46,160 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $32,233 of national purchasing power.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $32,785 of this wage reaches your account, because Alaska takes no income tax from wages — but federal tax, Social Security and Medicare still apply exactly as they do everywhere else.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($25,140 to $46,160) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alaska rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Alaska's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $32,233 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Alaska levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $32,785 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.