SALARY · FOOD PREPARATION WORKERS · PENNSYLVANIA

Food Preparation Workers salary in Pennsylvania

You might see a bigger number on a job board. Job boards show what employers post, not what workers actually earn. BLS surveyed real employment for food preparation workers in Pennsylvania and found a median of $30,840 a year, and that survey figure is the one I trust here.

MEDIAN ANNUAL SALARY

$30,840

$15 per hour at the median · That is $4,480 (12.7 percent) below the national median of $35,320 for this occupation.

$31,880Mean annual salary
$15Mean hourly wage
$17,940People employed in this job in Pennsylvania

Salary range

25th: $27,830Median: $30,84075th: $36,080
MeasureAnnual
25th percentile$27,830
Median (50th percentile)$30,840
75th percentile$36,080
Mean$31,880

The middle half of workers earned from $27,830 to $36,080 a year. Hourly pay matters if your hours vary. An annual figure can look strong while the hourly rate tells a different story, especially in jobs with seasonal hours or overtime. Check both before you compare two offers.

What stays in your pocket on the median salary

ESTIMATED TAKE-HOME PAY

$26,013 a year
$2,168 a month
Federal tax $1,521 · FICA $2,359 · State tax $947

Caveat: the $0 deduction point for Pennsylvania was corroborated from a secondary host of the 2025 booklet, not from a pa.gov page.

Pennsylvania local earned income tax and the Philadelphia wage tax are separate and are not in this figure.

Read this before you use the take-home figure. It is a single-filer estimate using the 2026 standard deduction. It leaves out credits, other deductions, local taxes, and retirement or health deductions. Your actual paycheck can differ, and for states without a verified 2026 table in this build, state tax is still to be added once its table is verified.

Same job, other states

Other jobs in Pennsylvania

Try your own salary in the paycheck calculator