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What does a Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers salary really buy you in Arizona?
Arizona is near the US average cost of livingData: BLS OEWS 2025 + BEA Regional Price Parities 2022 • Updated 2026-05-19
Arizona's Regional Price Parity (RPP) is 99.9, meaning prices are 0.1% lower the national average. A Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers earning $36,500 in Arizona has the equivalent purchasing power of $36,536 in an average-cost US state.
Every dollar goes further in low-cost states. Here is how each salary percentile compares after adjusting for Arizona's cost of living.
| Percentile | Nominal Salary | COL-Adjusted | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th Percentile (P10) | $30,950 | $30,980 | +$30 |
| 25th Percentile (P25) | $32,050 | $32,082 | +$32 |
| Median (P50) | $36,500 | $36,536 | +$36 |
| 75th Percentile (P75) | $41,880 | $41,921 | +$41 |
| 90th Percentile (P90) | $55,580 | $55,635 | +$55 |
Arizona's cost of living is close to the national average, so $36,500 keeps most of its value at $36,536 in real terms. Location choice here is more about career opportunities than cost arbitrage.
With an RPP of 99.9, Arizona is within a few percent of the national cost-of-living baseline. Salary adjustment for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers is therefore minor — what you earn is close to what you'd keep in real purchasing power.
After adjusting for Arizona's cost of living, $36,500 nominal nets out to $36,537 in real purchasing power — a small 0.1% gain. The state's cost profile is close enough to average that COL alone shouldn't drive location decisions for this Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers.
Ranked on COL-adjusted median pay for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers, Arizona places #4 of 51 states — top quartile. Either nominal wages run high, cost of living runs low, or both.
Where does Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers salary stretch the furthest? Top 10 states ranked by COL-adjusted median salary.
Arizona ranks #4 out of 51 states for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers after cost-of-living adjustment.
How much do you actually take home? See Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers take-home pay in Arizona after taxes →
A Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers in Arizona earns a median salary of $36,500 per year. After adjusting for Arizona's cost of living (RPP=99.9), the real purchasing power is $36,536 — a +0.1% difference.
Arizona's cost of living is 0.1% lower than the national average according to the BEA Regional Price Parities (2022). The RPP index for Arizona is 99.9 (US average = 100).
Regional Price Parities (RPPs) are price indexes published by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) that measure differences in price levels across states. They are expressed as a percentage of the national average (US = 100). Higher RPP means higher cost of living.
The adjusted salary is calculated as: Nominal Salary x (100 / RPP). For a Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers in Arizona: $36,500 x (100 / 99.9) = $36,536. This represents what the salary would be worth in a state with average living costs.
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