Fast Food and Counter Workers in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,435
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$5,835
16.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,021
Colorado costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Colorado — 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
$36,270
Kept after tax
$30,435
Worth in national money
$30,021
State rank
4
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Colorado pays fast food and counter workers a middle wage of $36,270, ranking 4 of 51 states and sitting about 16.25% above the national middle.
- Against 491 occupations Colorado publishes, fast food and counter workers lands at 486. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- No great distortion either way. Colorado costs about what the country costs, so from $36,270, take-home of $30,435 is worth roughly $30,021 in national money. The average comes to $36,890, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Colorado's median for fast food and counter workers is $36,270, about 16.25% above the national figure and 4 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Within Colorado, this work ranks 486 of 491 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.
- Price parity in Colorado is near the national base, so for fast food and counter workers, whose median is $36,270, the adjusted figure of $30,021 differs little from $30,435 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $36,890 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Fast Food and Counter Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,040 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,270 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,100 |
| This salary | $36,270 |
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 Colorado | $30,435 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,323 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,213 |
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 | $35,165 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,676 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of fast food and counter workers in Colorado earn under $36,270 and half over. The published range runs $31,040 at the tenth percentile to $44,100 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Colorado's $30,435, worked from $36,270. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 486 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,021 uses one figure for the whole of Colorado. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 486.
- Figures are distribution medians for fast food and counter workers in Colorado, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,040 to $44,100; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Colorado take-home of $30,435, on $36,270 for work ranking 486 of 491 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 486 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,021, worked from $36,270, 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 Colorado address, on work sitting at 486 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $31,040 at the tenth percentile, $44,100 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $30,021 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Colorado then takes its own share, leaving $30,435.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,040 to $44,100) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Colorado rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Colorado's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $30,021 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $30,435 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Colorado 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.