Food Servers, Nonrestaurant in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$26,854
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$4,986
15.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,130
Indiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Indiana — 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
$31,840
Kept after tax
$26,854
Worth in national money
$29,130
State rank
33
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Indiana sits in the middle of the pack for food servers, nonrestaurant. The median is $31,840, ranking 33 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Indiana, this one sits low: 467 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Indiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $31,840 you keep $26,854, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $29,130 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $32,400, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Indiana occupies the middle band for food servers, nonrestaurant: a median of $31,840, ranking 33 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Food servers, nonrestaurant occupies position 467 of 493 in Indiana'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.
- After federal, FICA and Indiana income tax, retained pay for food servers, nonrestaurant on $31,840 is $26,854. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $29,130 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $32,400 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $31,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $38,350 |
| This salary | $31,840 |
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 Indiana | $26,854 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $27,763 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$560 |
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 | $30,708 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$677 |
| 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 Indiana earn less than $31,840. The published range is $26,360 up to $38,350, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $26,854 take-home in Indiana comes from $31,840. 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 493.
- Two cautions on $29,130, the adjusted value of that $31,840 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Indiana. 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 467 of 493 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for food servers, nonrestaurant in Indiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $26,360 to $38,350. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $26,854, from $31,840, assumes a single Indiana 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 493 locally, and the state ranks 33 of 51 for it.
- This $29,130 adjusted figure, worked from $31,840, 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 467 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 467 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $26,360 at the tenth percentile, $38,350 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Indiana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $29,130 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; Indiana then takes its own share, leaving $26,854.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($26,360 to $38,350) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Indiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Indiana'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 $29,130 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 $26,854 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Indiana 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.