Fast Food and Counter Workers in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$20,170
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$3,530
14.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$22,419
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$23,700
Kept after tax
$20,170
Worth in national money
$22,419
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for fast food and counter workers is on the low side in Alabama. The middle earner gets $23,700. That is 48 of 51 states, and about 24.04% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 482 occupations Alabama publishes, fast food and counter workers lands at 474. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $23,700 the take-home is $20,170; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $22,419 would nationally. The average comes to $25,600, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For fast food and counter workers, Alabama sits in the lower band at $23,700, ranking 48 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 24.04%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Alabama, this work ranks 474 of 482 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Post-tax income for fast food and counter workers in Alabama, on $23,700, is $20,170 — equivalent to $22,419 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $25,600 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Fast Food and Counter Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $21,080 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $23,700 |
| Top tenth earn over | $32,740 |
| This salary | $23,700 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $20,170 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $21,127 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$677 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $22,538 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$799 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Alabama earn less than $23,700. The published range is $21,080 up to $32,740, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $20,170 take-home in Alabama comes from $23,700. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 474 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $22,419 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 474.
- Reported values are medians; for fast food and counter workers in Alabama the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $21,080 to $32,740. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $20,170, from $23,700, assumes a single Alabama filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 474 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 48 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $22,419, worked from $23,700, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Alabama address, on work sitting at 474 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $25,600, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $21,080 and the top tenth $32,740, so most people doing this work in Alabama sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Alabama sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $22,419 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Alabama's own levy, $20,170 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Alabama is $25,600. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($21,080 to $32,740) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $22,419 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $20,170 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.