Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,394
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$4,056
14.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$26,992
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$28,450
Kept after tax
$24,394
Worth in national money
$26,992
State rank
32
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Nebraska is 32 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $28,450. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Nebraska this is lower-paid work. Of 488 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 485. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Nebraska does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $28,450 you keep $24,394, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $26,992 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $31,480, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Nebraska ranks 32 of 51 for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop at $28,450. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Nebraska reports, hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop ranks 485 of 488, 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.
- After federal, FICA and Nebraska income tax, retained pay for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop on $28,450 is $24,394. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $26,992 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 $31,480 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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 | $28,080 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $28,450 |
| Top tenth earn over | $38,750 |
| This salary | $28,450 |
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 Nebraska | $24,394 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,039 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,225 |
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 | $27,667 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,480 |
| 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 hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop in Nebraska earn under $28,450 and half over. The published range runs $28,080 at the tenth percentile to $38,750 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Nebraska's $24,394, worked from $28,450. 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 485 of 488.
- One number stands for prices across all of Nebraska, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $26,992, the adjusted value of that $28,450 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 485 of 488 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop in Nebraska, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $28,080 to $38,750; 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.
- The Nebraska take-home of $24,394, on $28,450 for work ranking 485 of 488 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 485 of 488 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Nebraska, so $26,992 — the adjusted value of that $28,450 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 485 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $31,480, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $28,080 at the bottom tenth to $38,750 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Nebraska is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $26,992 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; Nebraska then takes its own share, leaving $24,394.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 Nebraska is $31,480. 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 ($28,080 to $38,750) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska'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 $26,992 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 $24,394 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.