Waiters and Waitresses in Kansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,475
after federal, FICA and Kansas tax
Tax takes
$6,645
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,763
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
$36,120
Kept after tax
$29,475
Worth in national money
$32,763
State rank
21
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kansas sits in the middle of the pack for waiters and waitresses. The median is $36,120, ranking 21 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Kansas, this one sits low: 430 of 488 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $36,120 you keep $29,475 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $32,763 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $39,170, since top earners drag the number up.
- Kansas occupies the middle band for waiters and waitresses: a median of $36,120, ranking 21 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Waiters and waitresses occupies position 430 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 $29,475 after the full tax stack, from $36,120. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $32,763 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $39,170 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Waiters and Waitresses
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $17,370 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,120 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,890 |
| This salary | $36,120 |
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 | $29,475 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,202 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$654 |
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 | $33,971 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$791 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Kansas earn less than $36,120. The published range is $17,370 up to $62,890, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Kansas the take-home figure of $29,475, from $36,120, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 430 of 488 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $32,763, the adjusted value of that $36,120 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 430 of 488 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for waiters and waitresses in Kansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $17,370 to $62,890. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Kansas is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $29,475 from $36,120. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 430 of 488 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kansas, so $32,763 — the adjusted value of that $36,120 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 430 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 $39,170, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $17,370, the highest tenth $62,890, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Kansas sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $32,763 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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, $29,475 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 Kansas is $39,170. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($17,370) and the ninetieth ($62,890) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $32,763 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 $29,475 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.