Server pay in Alaska after taxes: what you keep (2026)

The median server in Alaska earned $27,370 a year in May 2024, which is $13 an hour for a full-time year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of the 3,980 servers the BLS counts in Alaska earned more than that and half earned less; the middle half of them sat between $24,440 and $37,550. That is the gross figure, before anyone takes anything. What you keep depends on Alaska's tax, and Alaska has no state income tax on wages.

What the median server keeps in Alaska

For a single filer on the median $27,370, taking the standard deduction and no other adjustments:

Alaska takes nothing from wages, so the only deductions are federal. That is worth $1,369 a year against a state with a flat 5% tax on the same salary. Health insurance, retirement contributions and local taxes are not in it either; they vary by employer and by city.

Where Alaska ranks for server pay

Of the 50 states, Alaska ranks 36 of 50 on the gross median for servers. The highest-paying state is Vermont at $60,910 and the lowest is Louisiana at $16,880. Gross rank is not take-home rank: a state with no income tax climbs several places once the state line is applied, and a high-tax state drops.

Where the server jobs are in Alaska

The BLS count of 3,980 servers is statewide. The metros with the most of that work are Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, which is where the median is set and where the upper quartile ($37,550 and above) is most often paid. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are listed on the Alaska openings page; those filings are the ones already paying to bring people in, and housing or transport is often part of the offer.

Alaska also has a program that pay people to move in: Permanent Fund Dividend (roughly $1,000 to $1,700 a year, for every resident after a full calendar year in the state; not a relocation grant, but paid every year). Each has a residence condition and a funding round; the amount is the program's own "up to" figure.

What people get wrong about server pay in Alaska

• Quoting the mean. The BLS mean for Alaska is $18 an hour, pulled up by the top earners. The median ($13) is what the typical server makes.
• Comparing gross across states. Alaska's zero state tax means its gross understates it against taxed states.
• Forgetting the employer's share of insurance. A job that pays $25,370 with full health coverage can beat one that pays $30,370 without it.
• Treating the statewide median as the metro median. Anchorage pays differently from a rural county; ask for the figure for the place you are actually going.

Everything about Alaska, on one page

The Alaska page has the licence registries and boards, the state tax at three salaries, the programs that pay you to come, and the openings filed in Alaska this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of Alaska employers hiring from out of state.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 state estimates for Server. Tax lines are a single filer with the standard deduction, 2024 federal brackets, and the state rate in lib/us-states.ts; progressive states are approximated. Not tax advice.