What Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers earn in Nassau County, NY
According to the latest federal wage data for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area, the median pay for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers in Nassau County, NY is $36,980 a year, or $17.78 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $30,413 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Nassau County, NY.
The mean wage is $42,750, which is 15.6% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 37,600 people working in this occupation across the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Nassau County, NY has roughly 1,389,591 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $32,900 a year ($15.82 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $59,430 or more ($28.57 an hour). That is a gap of $26,530 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $33,990 at the 25th percentile and $46,350 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.8 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $17.78 an hour or $36,980 a year at the median for Nassau County, NY. Before any deductions, that is $3,082 a month, $1,422 every two weeks and $711 each week. After taxes the same job pays $14.62 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Nassau County, NY compares
Compared with the New York average
A worker in this occupation in Nassau County, NY earns $452 more than the New York average of $36,528, a premium of 1.2%. Over a year that premium is worth $452 before tax and roughly $372 after tax. Within New York, Nassau County, NY already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers is $31,469 across the contiguous United States. At $36,980, Nassau County, NY pays $5,511 more, which is 17.5% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Nassau County, NY
Among the 671 occupations with published wages in Nassau County, NY, Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers ranks number 654 by median pay, ahead of about 3% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Financial Managers at $221,010 a year, which is $184,030 more than the median for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers earning the Nassau County, NY median of $36,980, they add up to $6,567. The result is $30,413 of take-home pay a year ($2,534 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $18 goes to taxes and $82 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 17.8%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $21,230. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $2,309, an effective 6.2% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,293 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $536. FICA totals $2,829, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in New York
New York income tax on this salary is $1,429 a year, or 3.9% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 62% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $119 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Nassau County, NY
IRS Statistics of Income data for Nassau County, NY show an average adjusted gross income of $143,292 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 18.5% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.2%, compared with the 6.2% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Nassau County, NY
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Nassau County, NY: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $30,413 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Nassau County, NY, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,285 a month ($27,420 a year), and at $2,689 for two bedrooms. For Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers, a one-bedroom absorbs 90.2% of take-home pay and 74.2% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 9.3% of gross pay for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers in Nassau County, NY. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using New York residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $2,581 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $653, for $3,235 in total. Gasoline in New York averages $3.17 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,467.
What is left over
The basics cost $35,557 a year in Nassau County, NY, but take-home pay for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers is $30,413. That is a shortfall of $5,144 a year, or $429 a month, before health care, transportation beyond fuel, debt or savings. Closing the gap would take roughly 352 extra paid hours a year at the take-home hourly rate of $14.62, or a second earner, a cheaper home or a roommate.
Can Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers afford to live in Nassau County, NY?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $36,980 that ceiling is $924 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,285 is $1,361 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $43.94 an hour; the median for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers is $17.78, which is 60% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $14.62 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 36.1 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,689 a month means $1,345 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $11,286 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $6,142, which turns the shortfall into a surplus.
How fast you can save
With no monthly margin after the four basics, saving requires a change on one side of the ledger: higher pay than the $36,980 median, lower housing costs than the $2,285 one-bedroom rent, or a second income.
Frequently asked questions about Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers pay in Nassau County, NY
How much do Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers make per hour in Nassau County, NY?
The median is $17.78 per hour, based on $36,980 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $15.82 at the 10th percentile to $28.57 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers take home after taxes in Nassau County, NY?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $36,980 becomes $30,413 a year. That is $2,534 a month, $1,170 every two weeks or $585 a week.
How much tax do Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers pay in Nassau County, NY?
Total taxes are $6,567 a year, an effective rate of 17.8%: $2,309 federal income tax, $2,829 FICA and $1,429 New York income tax.
Do Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers earn more in Nassau County, NY than elsewhere in New York?
Yes. The local median of $36,980 is +1.2% versus the New York average of $36,528, a difference of $452 a year.
Can Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Nassau County, NY?
A one-bedroom costs $2,285 a month against take-home pay of $2,534, which is 90.2% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $924 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers in Nassau County, NY?
Nothing remains: the basics cost $35,557 a year, which is $5,144 more than take-home pay, a monthly shortfall of $429.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Nassau County, NY at the 30% guideline?
$43.94 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $27,420 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers is $17.78.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the New York rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.