Fast Food and Counter Workers in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$26,107
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$4,283
14.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,451
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$30,390
Kept after tax
$26,107
Worth in national money
$28,451
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Missouri sits in the middle of the pack for fast food and counter workers. The median is $30,390, ranking 22 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Missouri, this one sits low: 480 of 488 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Missouri is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $30,390 the take-home is $26,107; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $28,451 would nationally. The average comes to $32,130, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Missouri occupies the middle band for fast food and counter workers: a median of $30,390, ranking 22 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Fast food and counter workers occupies position 480 of 488 in Missouri's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for fast food and counter workers in Missouri, on $30,390, is $26,107 — equivalent to $28,451 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 $32,130 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 | $28,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $30,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $36,830 |
| This salary | $30,390 |
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 Missouri | $26,107 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $26,598 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,080 |
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 | $29,779 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,306 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
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 Missouri earn under $30,390 and half over. The published range runs $28,600 at the tenth percentile to $36,830 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Missouri the take-home figure of $26,107, from $30,390, 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 480 of 488 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Missouri, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $28,451, the adjusted value of that $30,390 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 480 of 488 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for fast food and counter workers in Missouri, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $28,600 to $36,830; 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 Missouri is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $26,107 from $30,390. 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 480 of 488 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Missouri, so $28,451 — the adjusted value of that $30,390 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 480 of 488 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 $32,130, 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?
The range here is narrow. From $28,600 at the bottom tenth to $36,830 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $28,451.
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 Missouri's own levy, $26,107 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 Missouri is $32,130. 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 ($28,600 to $36,830) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Missouri rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Missouri'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 $28,451 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 $26,107 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.