Fast Food and Counter Workers in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$23,941
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$4,729
16.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$25,200
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$28,670
Kept after tax
$23,941
Worth in national money
$25,200
State rank
33
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Utah pays fast food and counter workers around $28,670 at the midpoint, 33 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against 487 occupations Utah publishes, fast food and counter workers lands at 483. 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 $28,670 you keep $23,941 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $25,200 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $29,100, since top earners drag the number up.
- For fast food and counter workers the Utah median is $28,670, ranking 33 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Within Utah, this work ranks 483 of 487 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 Utah is $23,941 after the full tax stack, from $28,670. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $25,200 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $29,100 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 | $21,980 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $28,670 |
| Top tenth earn over | $36,670 |
| This salary | $28,670 |
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 Utah | $23,941 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,216 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$749 |
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 | $27,117 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$888 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
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 Utah earn under $28,670 and half over. The published range runs $21,980 at the tenth percentile to $36,670 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Utah the take-home figure of $23,941, from $28,670, 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 483 of 487 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Utah, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $25,200, the adjusted value of that $28,670 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 483 of 487 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for fast food and counter workers in Utah, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $21,980 to $36,670; 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 Utah is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $23,941 from $28,670. 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 483 of 487 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Utah, so $25,200 — the adjusted value of that $28,670 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 483 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $21,980 and the top tenth $36,670, so most people doing this work in Utah sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Utah is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $25,200 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 Utah's own levy, $23,941 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($21,980 to $36,670) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Utah rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah'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 $25,200 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 $23,941 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.