Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

35-3023 Fast Food and Counter Workers

Perform duties such as taking orders and serving food and beverages. Serve customers at counter or from a steam table. May take payment. May prepare food and beverages. Counter attendants who also wait tables are included in "Waiters and Waitresses" (35-3031),

National estimates for Fast Food and Counter Workers
Industry profile for Fast Food and Counter Workers
Geographic profile for Fast Food and Counter Workers

National estimates for Fast Food and Counter Workers:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Fast Food and Counter Workers:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
3,450,120	0.7 %	$ 11.80	$ 24,540	0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for Fast Food and Counter Workers:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 8.63	$ 9.52	$ 11.47	$ 13.42	$ 15.37
Annual Wage (2)	$ 17,940	$ 19,800	$ 23,860	$ 27,920	$ 31,960

Industry profile for Fast Food and Counter Workers:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Fast Food and Counter Workers are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Fast Food and Counter Workers, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Fast Food and Counter Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Restaurants and Other Eating Places	2,763,680	30.63	$ 11.52	$ 23,960
Special Food Services	146,450	26.24	$ 12.50	$ 25,990
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only)	130,760	4.50	$ 13.26	$ 27,580
Elementary and Secondary Schools	126,670	1.54	$ 12.82	$ 26,670
Gasoline Stations	39,140	4.26	$ 11.47	$ 23,850

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Fast Food and Counter Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Restaurants and Other Eating Places	2,763,680	30.63	$ 11.52	$ 23,960
Special Food Services	146,450	26.24	$ 12.50	$ 25,990
Amusement Parks and Arcades	11,980	9.57	$ 12.53	$ 26,060
Book Stores and News Dealers	3,560	6.38	$ 12.08	$ 25,120
Motion Picture and Video Industries	17,300	5.25	$ 11.99	$ 24,950

Top paying industries for Fast Food and Counter Workers:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Water Transportation	(8)	(8)	$ 21.73	$ 45,200
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	7,530	0.36	$ 17.50	$ 36,410
Warehousing and Storage	30	(7)	$ 16.80	$ 34,940
Rail Transportation	1,140	0.53	$ 16.11	$ 33,520
Individual and Family Services	3,560	0.14	$ 15.26	$ 31,740

Geographic profile for Fast Food and Counter Workers:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Fast Food and Counter Workers are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Fast Food and Counter Workers, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in Fast Food and Counter Workers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	384,890	23.43	0.94	$ 14.73	$ 30,640
Texas	380,090	31.41	1.27	$ 10.53	$ 21,900
Florida	206,520	24.46	0.99	$ 10.78	$ 22,420
New York	173,030	19.91	0.80	$ 14.16	$ 29,450
Ohio	151,650	29.52	1.19	$ 10.65	$ 22,160

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Fast Food and Counter Workers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
West Virginia	20,830	32.05	1.29	$ 10.29	$ 21,400
Oregon	56,820	31.44	1.27	$ 13.43	$ 27,940
Texas	380,090	31.41	1.27	$ 10.53	$ 21,900
South Carolina	63,260	31.39	1.27	$ 9.76	$ 20,290
Arkansas	36,650	31.11	1.25	$ 10.68	$ 22,210

Top paying states for Fast Food and Counter Workers:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	6,980	10.16	0.41	$ 16.56	$ 34,450
Washington	94,080	29.45	1.19	$ 15.35	$ 31,940
California	384,890	23.43	0.94	$ 14.73	$ 30,640
Massachusetts	73,400	21.91	0.88	$ 14.27	$ 29,680
New York	173,030	19.91	0.80	$ 14.16	$ 29,450

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Fast Food and Counter Workers:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	145,240	16.44	0.66	$ 14.03	$ 29,190
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	135,180	23.22	0.94	$ 14.39	$ 29,920
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	100,660	23.08	0.93	$ 11.94	$ 24,840
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	100,170	27.92	1.13	$ 10.98	$ 22,840
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	84,410	28.43	1.15	$ 10.42	$ 21,680
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	61,870	22.94	0.93	$ 11.82	$ 24,580
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	60,600	23.02	0.93	$ 9.99	$ 20,780
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	57,100	18.89	0.76	$ 13.58	$ 28,250
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	54,190	21.61	0.87	$ 10.90	$ 22,670
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH	53,300	20.49	0.83	$ 14.13	$ 29,400

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Fast Food and Counter Workers:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Hinesville, GA	980	55.79	2.25	$ 9.32	$ 19,390
Jacksonville, NC	2,410	52.84	2.13	$ 9.81	$ 20,410
Sherman-Denison, TX	2,200	48.29	1.95	$ 10.00	$ 20,810
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX	6,380	47.32	1.91	$ 9.47	$ 19,700
Muskegon, MI	2,570	47.15	1.90	$ 11.75	$ 24,450
Grants Pass, OR	1,210	46.34	1.87	$ 12.11	$ 25,180
Lubbock, TX	6,450	45.89	1.85	$ 9.76	$ 20,310
Bellingham, WA	3,620	44.84	1.81	$ 14.57	$ 30,300
Muncie, IN	1,930	44.26	1.78	$ 10.45	$ 21,740
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA	8,500	44.00	1.77	$ 9.88	$ 20,550

Top paying metropolitan areas for Fast Food and Counter Workers:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	19,380	17.57	0.71	$ 16.36	$ 34,020
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	42,560	18.26	0.74	$ 16.35	$ 34,000
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	48,770	24.93	1.01	$ 16.04	$ 33,370
Hanford-Corcoran, CA	1,320	30.97	1.25	$ 15.17	$ 31,560
Napa, CA	1,370	19.80	0.80	$ 15.06	$ 31,320
Walla Walla, WA	660	26.39	1.06	$ 15.00	$ 31,200
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	1,720	37.31	1.50	$ 14.95	$ 31,100
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	5,260	28.82	1.16	$ 14.94	$ 31,080
Burlington-South Burlington, VT	1,550	13.63	0.55	$ 14.90	$ 30,990
Barnstable Town, MA	2,170	23.42	0.94	$ 14.86	$ 30,920

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Fast Food and Counter Workers:

Nonmetropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area	10,350	38.47	1.55	$ 9.39	$ 19,530
Kansas nonmetropolitan area	9,910	26.20	1.06	$ 9.32	$ 19,390
North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous)	9,350	29.99	1.21	$ 10.44	$ 21,720
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area	7,040	28.62	1.15	$ 11.70	$ 24,340
West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area	6,840	28.65	1.16	$ 10.02	$ 20,850

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Fast Food and Counter Workers:

Nonmetropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Southern Ohio nonmetropolitan area	6,410	42.80	1.73	$ 10.30	$ 21,420
Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area	4,490	42.51	1.71	$ 13.44	$ 27,950
Coastal Plains Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area	6,140	42.48	1.71	$ 9.37	$ 19,500
Eastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area	5,150	40.56	1.64	$ 10.02	$ 20,840
Western Washington nonmetropolitan area	4,770	40.52	1.63	$ 14.86	$ 30,910

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Fast Food and Counter Workers:

Nonmetropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area	2,040	21.08	0.85	$ 15.68	$ 32,610
Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area	1,550	28.18	1.14	$ 15.34	$ 31,900
Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area	2,320	30.76	1.24	$ 15.28	$ 31,790
Western Washington nonmetropolitan area	4,770	40.52	1.63	$ 14.86	$ 30,910
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area	2,480	21.64	0.87	$ 14.53	$ 30,220

About May 2020 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.

(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.

Other OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021