Food Servers, Nonrestaurant in Kansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,182
after federal, FICA and Kansas tax
Tax takes
$4,858
16.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$26,879
Kansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kansas — 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
$29,040
Kept after tax
$24,182
Worth in national money
$26,879
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kansas is among the lower-paying states for food servers, nonrestaurant. The middle earner takes $29,040, ranking 46 of 51 states — about 17.87% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Kansas, this one sits low: 475 of 488 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $29,040 you keep $24,182 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $26,879 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $28,610.
- Kansas ranks 46 of 51 for food servers, nonrestaurant, with a median of $29,040 — about 17.87% 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 servers, nonrestaurant occupies position 475 of 488 in Kansas'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.
- Retained pay in Kansas is $24,182 after the full tax stack, from $29,040. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $26,879 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $28,610 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $21,770 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $29,040 |
| Top tenth earn over | $35,250 |
| This salary | $29,040 |
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 Kansas | $24,182 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,514 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$624 |
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 | $27,410 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$754 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
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 Kansas earn under $29,040 and half over. The published range runs $21,770 at the tenth percentile to $35,250 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $24,182 take-home in Kansas comes from $29,040. 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 475 of 488.
- Two cautions on $26,879, the adjusted value of that $29,040 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Kansas. 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 475 of 488 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for food servers, nonrestaurant in Kansas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $21,770 to $35,250; 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.
- Retained pay of $24,182, from $29,040, assumes a single Kansas 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 475 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 46 of 51 for it.
- This $26,879 adjusted figure, worked from $29,040, 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 475 of 488 in the state. The occupation ranks 475 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $21,770 at the tenth percentile, $35,250 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Kansas is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $26,879 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Kansas's own levy, $24,182 remains.
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 ($21,770 to $35,250) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Kansas rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Kansas'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 $26,879 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 $24,182 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kansas 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.