Food Servers, Nonrestaurant in Mississippi
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$23,052
after federal, FICA and Mississippi tax
Tax takes
$4,198
15.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$26,408
Mississippi costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Mississippi — 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
$27,250
Kept after tax
$23,052
Worth in national money
$26,408
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Mississippi is among the lower-paying states for food servers, nonrestaurant. The middle earner takes $27,250, ranking 50 of 51 states — about 22.94% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Mississippi, this one sits low: 462 of 486 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Mississippi is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $27,250 the take-home is $23,052; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $26,408 would nationally. The average lands at $26,970, below the middle of the range.
- Mississippi ranks 50 of 51 for food servers, nonrestaurant, with a median of $27,250 — about 22.94% 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 462 of 486 in Mississippi'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.
- Post-tax income for food servers, nonrestaurant in Mississippi, on $27,250, is $23,052 — equivalent to $26,408 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $26,970 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $19,940 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $27,250 |
| Top tenth earn over | $34,270 |
| This salary | $27,250 |
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 Mississippi | $23,052 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $24,050 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,659 |
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 | $26,038 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,975 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $27,250 as a midpoint for Mississippi, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $19,940 and the ninetieth is $34,270 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Mississippi's $23,052, worked from $27,250. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 462 of 486.
- One number stands for prices across all of Mississippi, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $26,408, the adjusted value of that $27,250 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 462 of 486 in the state.
- The Mississippi median of $27,250 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $19,940 to $34,270. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Mississippi take-home of $23,052, on $27,250 for work ranking 462 of 486 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 462 of 486 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Mississippi, so $26,408 — the adjusted value of that $27,250 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 462 of 486 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $19,940 at the tenth percentile, $34,270 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Mississippi is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $26,408 in national terms.
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; Mississippi then takes its own share, leaving $23,052.
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 ($19,940 to $34,270) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Mississippi rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Mississippi'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 $26,408 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 $23,052 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Mississippi 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.