Fast Food and Counter Workers in Georgia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$23,034
after federal, FICA and Georgia tax
Tax takes
$3,886
14.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$23,820
Georgia costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Georgia — 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
$26,920
Kept after tax
$23,034
Worth in national money
$23,820
State rank
45
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for fast food and counter workers is on the low side in Georgia. The middle earner gets $26,920. That is 45 of 51 states, and about 13.72% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 492 occupations Georgia publishes, fast food and counter workers lands at 485. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Georgia is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $26,920 the take-home is $23,034; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $23,820 would nationally. The average comes to $27,290, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For fast food and counter workers, Georgia sits in the lower band at $26,920, ranking 45 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 13.72%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Georgia, this work ranks 485 of 492 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 Georgia, on $26,920, is $23,034 — equivalent to $23,820 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 $27,290 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 | $20,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $26,920 |
| Top tenth earn over | $36,110 |
| This salary | $26,920 |
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 Georgia | $23,034 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $23,779 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$649 |
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 | $26,016 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$766 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
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 Georgia earn under $26,920 and half over. The published range runs $20,910 at the tenth percentile to $36,110 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Georgia the take-home figure of $23,034, from $26,920, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 485 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Georgia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $23,820, the adjusted value of that $26,920 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 485 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for fast food and counter workers in Georgia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $20,910 to $36,110; 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.
- Take-home for Georgia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $23,034 from $26,920. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 485 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Georgia, so $23,820 — the adjusted value of that $26,920 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 485 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $20,910 at the tenth percentile, $36,110 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Georgia sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $23,820 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Georgia then takes its own share, leaving $23,034.
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 ($20,910 to $36,110) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Georgia rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Georgia'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 $23,820 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 $23,034 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Georgia 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.