Food Servers, Nonrestaurant in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,412
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$5,458
14.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,777
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — 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
$38,870
Kept after tax
$33,412
Worth in national money
$30,777
State rank
4
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Washington pays food servers, nonrestaurant a middle wage of $38,870, ranking 4 of 51 states and sitting about 9.93% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Washington, this one sits low: 486 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $38,870 the take-home is $33,412. But Washington costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $30,777 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $42,000, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Washington's median for food servers, nonrestaurant is $38,870, about 9.93% above the national figure and 4 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Food servers, nonrestaurant occupies position 486 of 493 in Washington'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 after federal, FICA and Washington income tax is $33,412 for food servers, nonrestaurant, from $38,870. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $30,777. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $42,000 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 | $35,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,870 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,910 |
| This salary | $38,870 |
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 Washington | $33,412 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,412 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,606 |
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 | $38,870 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,362 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $38,870 as a midpoint for Washington, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $35,050 and the ninetieth is $50,910 — 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 Washington's $33,412, worked from $38,870. 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 486 of 493.
- Two cautions on $30,777, the adjusted value of that $38,870 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Washington. 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 486 of 493 locally.
- The Washington median of $38,870 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $35,050 to $50,910. 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 Washington take-home of $33,412, on $38,870 for work ranking 486 of 493 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 486 of 493 in the state.
- This $30,777 adjusted figure, worked from $38,870, 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 486 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 486 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $42,000, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $35,050 and the top tenth $50,910, so most people doing this work in Washington sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $30,777 of national purchasing power.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $33,412 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
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.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Washington is $42,000. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,050 to $50,910) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Washington rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $30,777 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?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $33,412 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.