Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,462
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$4,488
15.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$25,972
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$28,950
Kept after tax
$24,462
Worth in national money
$25,972
State rank
28
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Michigan is 28 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $28,950. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Michigan this is lower-paid work. Of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 491. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $28,950 you keep $24,462 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $25,972 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $31,010, since top earners drag the number up.
- Michigan ranks 28 of 51 for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop at $28,950. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Michigan reports, hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop ranks 491 of 493, 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.
- Retained pay in Michigan is $24,462 after the full tax stack, from $28,950. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $25,972 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $31,010 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $25,960 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $28,950 |
| Top tenth earn over | $37,270 |
| This salary | $28,950 |
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 Michigan | $24,462 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,441 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$209 |
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 | $27,749 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$252 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $28,950 as a midpoint for Michigan, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $25,960 and the ninetieth is $37,270 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $24,462 take-home in Michigan comes from $28,950. 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 491 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $25,972 uses one figure for the whole of Michigan. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 491.
- The Michigan median of $28,950 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $25,960 to $37,270. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $24,462, from $28,950, assumes a single Michigan 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 491 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 28 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $25,972, worked from $28,950, 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 Michigan address, on work sitting at 491 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 $31,010, 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 $25,960 and the top tenth $37,270, so most people doing this work in Michigan sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Michigan is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $25,972 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 Michigan's own levy, $24,462 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.
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 Michigan is $31,010. 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 ($25,960 to $37,270) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $25,972 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 $24,462 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.