Pay by state · 54 areas

Fast Food and Counter Worker Salary by State (2026)

Name: Fast Food and Counter Worker annual wages by US state, May 2025
Creator: NueCareer
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Fast Food and Counter Workers earn the most in California at $42,280 a year and the least in Mississippi at $22,610 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $31,200. The table below covers all 50 states, DC, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median: $42,280California
National median: $31,200BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median: $22,610Mississippi
Areas reporting: 54of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for fast food and counter workers

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

1California$42,280
2Washington$37,710
3District of Columbia$37,430
4Colorado$36,270
5Vermont$36,030

Lowest median pay

1Mississippi$22,610
2Louisiana$22,800
3Oklahoma$23,430
4Alabama$23,700
5West Virginia$26,070

All states

Fast Food and Counter Worker salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of fast food and counter workers OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1	CACalifornia	$42,280	$36,790	$44,970	449,840	$38,186
2	WAWashington	$37,710	$35,880	$44,240	94,710	$35,239
3	DCDistrict of Columbia	$37,430	$37,340	$39,050	5,500	$34,058
4	COColorado	$36,270	$33,900	$37,710	82,010	$35,196
5	VTVermont	$36,030	$34,330	$38,640	6,830	$36,781
6	MAMassachusetts	$35,850	$33,770	$36,980	85,810	$33,898
7	CTConnecticut	$35,380	$34,480	$36,450	35,720	$34,147
8	HIHawaii	$35,250	$30,460	$37,510	24,130	$32,060
9	NYNew York	$35,250	$34,350	$37,140	168,620	$32,663
10	OROregon	$35,050	$33,560	$36,880	59,920	$33,910
11	MEMaine	$34,710	$31,990	$36,500	17,250	$35,765
12	AZArizona	$34,230	$31,360	$35,830	77,210	$34,000
13	NJNew Jersey	$34,150	$32,220	$36,150	93,730	$31,386
14	ILIllinois	$33,910	$31,200	$35,990	127,590	$33,924
15	MDMaryland	$33,660	$31,280	$35,600	49,380	$32,070
16	AKAlaska	$33,280	$28,690	$39,120	5,900	$32,513
17	NVNevada	$31,950	$28,040	$35,890	45,850	$31,957
18	NHNew Hampshire	$31,590	$28,970	$36,130	14,540	$30,327
19	RIRhode Island	$31,490	$31,200	$35,260	13,310	$30,788
20	MNMinnesota	$31,370	$29,230	$35,650	58,970	$31,809
21	DEDelaware	$31,300	$31,200	$35,630	13,310	$31,360
22	MOMissouri	$30,390	$28,900	$34,230	29,360	$33,463
23	VAVirginia	$30,110	$28,230	$34,650	104,460	$29,781
24	NDNorth Dakota	$30,080	$28,700	$35,250	11,470	$33,813
25	SDSouth Dakota	$29,490	$28,670	$31,480	15,150	$33,290
26	MTMontana	$29,090	$26,420	$34,640	14,960	$30,736
27	FLFlorida	$29,080	$28,020	$33,220	235,400	$28,120
28	NENebraska	$29,000	$28,210	$34,410	30,060	$32,185
29	IDIdaho	$28,940	$22,760	$33,210	25,810	$30,306
30	MIMichigan	$28,930	$27,580	$32,760	103,130	$30,067
31	INIndiana	$28,790	$24,630	$33,210	97,290	$30,848
32	NMNew Mexico	$28,700	$28,070	$30,140	28,250	$31,124
33	UTUtah	$28,670	$26,340	$33,360	52,340	$28,999
34	WIWisconsin	$28,600	$25,710	$33,390	67,750	$30,395
35	NCNorth Carolina	$28,570	$23,370	$34,370	92,230	$30,289
36	PAPennsylvania	$28,570	$24,440	$32,310	142,220	$29,281
37	OHOhio	$28,430	$26,800	$29,930	163,560	$30,644
38	IAIowa	$28,390	$26,150	$33,440	40,290	$32,349
39	WYWyoming	$27,860	$21,910	$29,640	7,060	$30,057
40	TXTexas	$27,740	$22,980	$29,730	460,530	$28,581
41	KSKansas	$27,580	$22,980	$29,260	47,140	$30,621
42	SCSouth Carolina	$27,520	$23,320	$29,660	65,070	$29,355
43	TNTennessee	$27,470	$23,490	$29,530	90,690	$29,901
44	KYKentucky	$27,130	$22,800	$29,680	41,860	$30,091
45	GAGeorgia	$26,920	$22,480	$29,640	145,030	$27,956
46	ARArkansas	$26,250	$23,570	$27,850	35,660	$30,194
47	WVWest Virginia	$26,070	$22,160	$29,610	6,240	$29,129
48	VIU.S. Virgin Islands	$24,410	$23,670	$26,410	840	N/A
49	ALAlabama	$23,700	$22,050	$27,840	41,460	$26,682
50	OKOklahoma	$23,430	$21,920	$27,520	52,520	$26,673
51	LALouisiana	$22,800	$21,770	$26,680	45,720	$25,848
52	MSMississippi	$22,610	$21,340	$26,680	31,220	$26,003
53	PRPuerto Rico	$22,030	$21,840	$22,390	26,440	N/A
54	GUGuam	$20,770	$20,640	$20,980	1,130	N/A

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For fast food and counter workers, the adjustment does not change the leader: California is first on raw pay and still first once prices are taken into account, at $38,186.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Fast Food and Counter Worker pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays fast food and counter workers the most?

California reports the highest median wage for fast food and counter workers at $42,280 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Washington ($37,710) and District of Columbia ($37,430).

Which state pays fast food and counter workers the least?

Among the 50 states and DC, Mississippi reports the lowest median for fast food and counter workers at $22,610 a year, $19,670 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, U.S. Virgin Islands reports $24,410, Puerto Rico reports $22,030 and Guam reports $20,770.

Is the highest-paying state the best for fast food and counter workers after cost of living?

Yes. California stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $38,186 in national-average dollars from a raw $42,280. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

Back to the full Fast Food and Counter Worker career profile