Fast Food and Counter Workers in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,446
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$4,484
15.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$25,956
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$28,930
Kept after tax
$24,446
Worth in national money
$25,956
State rank
30
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Michigan is 30 of 51 states for fast food and counter workers, with a middle wage of $28,930. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Michigan this is lower-paid work. Of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, fast food and counter workers ranks 492. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Michigan is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $28,930 the take-home is $24,446; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $25,956 would nationally. The average comes to $30,260, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Michigan ranks 30 of 51 for fast food and counter workers at $28,930. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Michigan reports, fast food and counter workers ranks 492 of 493, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Post-tax income for fast food and counter workers in Michigan, on $28,930, is $24,446 — equivalent to $25,956 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 $30,260 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 | $25,960 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $28,930 |
| Top tenth earn over | $35,970 |
| This salary | $28,930 |
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 Michigan | $24,446 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,425 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$208 |
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 | $27,731 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$252 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
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 Michigan earn under $28,930 and half over. The published range runs $25,960 at the tenth percentile to $35,970 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 Michigan's $24,446, worked from $28,930. 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 492 of 493.
- Two cautions on $25,956, the adjusted value of that $28,930 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Michigan. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 492 of 493 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for fast food and counter workers in Michigan, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $25,960 to $35,970; 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 Michigan take-home of $24,446, on $28,930 for work ranking 492 of 493 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 492 of 493 in the state.
- This $25,956 adjusted figure, worked from $28,930, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 492 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 492 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $30,260 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $25,960 at the bottom tenth to $35,970 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. Michigan is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $25,956 in national terms.
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 Michigan's own levy, $24,446 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 Michigan is $30,260. 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 ($25,960 to $35,970) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $25,956 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 $24,446 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.