Fast Food and Counter Workers in Kansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$23,072
after federal, FICA and Kansas tax
Tax takes
$4,508
16.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$25,645
Kansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kansas — 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
$27,580
Kept after tax
$23,072
Worth in national money
$25,645
State rank
41
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for fast food and counter workers is on the low side in Kansas. The middle earner gets $27,580. That is 41 of 51 states, and about 11.6% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 488 occupations Kansas publishes, fast food and counter workers lands at 482. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $27,580 you keep $23,072 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $25,645 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $27,190.
- For fast food and counter workers, Kansas sits in the lower band at $27,580, ranking 41 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 11.6%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Kansas, this work ranks 482 of 488 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.
- Retained pay in Kansas is $23,072 after the full tax stack, from $27,580. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $25,645 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $27,190 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Fast Food and Counter Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $21,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $27,580 |
| Top tenth earn over | $34,280 |
| This salary | $27,580 |
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 Kansas | $23,072 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $24,322 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$616 |
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 | $26,062 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$727 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $27,580 as a midpoint for Kansas, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $21,620 and the ninetieth is $34,280 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kansas's $23,072, worked from $27,580. 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 482 of 488.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $25,645, the adjusted value of that $27,580 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 482 of 488 in the state.
- The Kansas median of $27,580 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $21,620 to $34,280. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Kansas take-home of $23,072, on $27,580 for work ranking 482 of 488 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 482 of 488 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kansas, so $25,645 — the adjusted value of that $27,580 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 482 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $21,620 at the bottom tenth to $34,280 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Kansas is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $25,645 in national terms.
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; Kansas then takes its own share, leaving $23,072.
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 ($21,620 to $34,280) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Kansas rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Kansas'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 $25,645 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 $23,072 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kansas 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.