Fast Food and Counter Workers in Ohio
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,957
after federal, FICA and Ohio tax
Tax takes
$3,473
12.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,182
Ohio costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Ohio — 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
$28,430
Kept after tax
$24,957
Worth in national money
$27,182
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for fast food and counter workers is on the low side in Ohio. The middle earner gets $28,430. That is 37 of 51 states, and about 8.88% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 494 occupations Ohio publishes, fast food and counter workers lands at 488. 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 $28,430 you keep $24,957 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $27,182 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $28,900, since top earners drag the number up.
- For fast food and counter workers, Ohio sits in the lower band at $28,430, ranking 37 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 8.88%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Ohio, this work ranks 488 of 494 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 Ohio is $24,957 after the full tax stack, from $28,430. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $27,182 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $28,900 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Fast Food and Counter Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $28,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $34,920 |
| This salary | $28,430 |
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 Ohio | $24,957 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,022 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,433 |
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 | $28,351 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,731 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $28,430 as a midpoint for Ohio, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $23,200 and the ninetieth is $34,920 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Ohio the take-home figure of $24,957, from $28,430, 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 488 of 494 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $27,182 uses one figure for the whole of Ohio. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 494 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 488.
- The Ohio median of $28,430 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $23,200 to $34,920. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Ohio is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $24,957 from $28,430. 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 488 of 494 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $27,182, worked from $28,430, 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 Ohio address, on work sitting at 488 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $23,200 at the bottom tenth to $34,920 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Ohio sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $27,182 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Ohio adds its own income tax on top — which is why $24,957 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($23,200 to $34,920) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Ohio rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Ohio'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 $27,182 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 $24,957 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Ohio 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.