Fast Food and Counter Workers Salary in Houston, TX (2024)
Fast Food and Counter Workers in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area earn a median of $26,960 per year ($12.96 per hour) based on 89,540 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is -11.5% against the national median of $30,480 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where fast food and counter workers actually sit across the pay range in Houston, TX, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $8.93 | $18,570 | |
| 25th percentile | $10.81 | $22,490 | |
| Median | $12.96 | $26,960 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $14.02 | $29,170 | |
| 90th percentile | $16.85 | $35,050 | |
| Average (mean) | $12.78 | $26,580 |
How Houston, TX compares
The local median of $26,960 runs -11.5% below the US median of $30,480 for this occupation; it pays 44.4% less than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($48,490); within the metro it ranks 670th of 677 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Houston, TX — this occupation | $26,960 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $30,480 | -11.5% |
| Houston, TX — all occupations | $48,490 | -44.4% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $40,470 | -33.4% |
The location quotient of 1.12 is close to 1.0: the occupation's share of local employment tracks the national average.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 1.8%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 670th of 677 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Houston, TX
To put $26,960 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 670th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse Anesthetists | $235,490 | 900 |
| Dentists, All Other Specialists | $220,420 | — |
| Podiatrists | $213,840 | 70 |
| Physicists | $212,050 | 130 |
| Anesthesiologists | $202,830 | 1,190 |
| Pediatricians, General | $187,590 | 1,280 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $172,810 | 5,510 |
| Dentists, General | $170,170 | 1,410 |
| Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers | $168,280 | 1,760 |
| Law Teachers, Postsecondary | $167,680 | 50 |
Where fast food and counter workers earn the most
Across the 25 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $26,960 to $40,470. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $40,470 | 47,330 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $38,310 | 51,590 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $36,480 | 153,840 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $36,310 | 42,620 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $36,250 | 51,500 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $35,860 | 40,240 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $35,430 | 57,320 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $35,420 | 175,790 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $34,850 | 33,490 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $34,620 | 37,380 |
See the full national picture on the Fast Food and Counter Workers salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for fast food and counter workers in Houston, TX?
The median annual wage is $26,960, or $13 per hour. That means half of the fast food and counter workers working in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $26,580.
What do the highest and lowest paid fast food and counter workers in Houston, TX earn?
The bottom 10% earn $18,570 or less, while the top 10% earn $35,050 or more — a spread of $16,480 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $22,490 and $29,170.
Is fast food and counter workers pay in Houston, TX above the local average?
Yes, it is 44.4% below the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $48,490. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does Houston, TX pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $26,960 the metro median is 11.5% lower than the US median of $30,480 for fast food and counter workers. Across the 25 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $26,960 to $40,470.
How many fast food and counter workers work in Houston, TX?
BLS counts about 89,540 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 27.58 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. The location quotient of 1.12 is close to 1.0: the occupation's share of local employment tracks the national average.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 4.8%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.