Fast Food and Counter Workers salary in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
Official BLS OEWS May 2025 pay for Fast Food and Counter Workers in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area — and the estimated take-home pay on the median wage under 2026 Texas tax rules.
The figures
The median Fast Food and Counter Workers in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area earns $27,570 a year ($13.25 an hour), according to the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates (full citation in Sources). The middle half of Fast Food and Counter Workers in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX earn between $22,720 and $30,370 a year. At the ends of the distribution, the lowest-paid 10 percent earn $21,630 or less and the top 10 percent earn $35,210 or more. BLS estimates 105,810 Fast Food and Counter Workers jobs in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX area — 32.165 of every 1,000 jobs in the area, a location quotient of 1.3 (well above the national concentration). That is 2.7% of all Fast Food and Counter Workers employment in the United States (3,854,050 jobs nationally). By employment, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX is the #4 largest of the 25 covered metro areas for Fast Food and Counter Workers. In aggregate, Fast Food and Counter Workers in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX earn about $2.92 billion a year (BLS employment multiplied by the mean wage). At the mean wage, the engine's take-home is $24,363.10 a year, so the aggregate take-home of Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Fast Food and Counter Workers is about $2.58 billion. BLS reports a relative standard error of 3.7% for this employment estimate. Ranked by median pay, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX stands #25 of the 25 metro areas covered on this site for Fast Food and Counter Workers. By employment, Fast Food and Counter Workers is the #1 largest of the 30 covered occupations in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX. Placed against the national distribution for Fast Food and Counter Workers, the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX median of $27,570 falls below the national 25th percentile of $27,700. Across all occupations, the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX median is $49,410 a year — Fast Food and Counter Workers pay is 44.2% below the area's overall median.
Wages in detail
| Wage level | Hourly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mean | $13.29 | $27,630 |
| 10th percentile | $10.40 | $21,630 |
| 25th percentile | $10.92 | $22,720 |
| Median (50th percentile) | $13.25 | $27,570 |
| 75th percentile | $14.60 | $30,370 |
| 90th percentile | $16.93 | $35,210 |
What the wage distribution says
The top 10 percent of Fast Food and Counter Workers in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX earn 1.6 times what the bottom 10 percent earn ($35,210 against $21,630). The middle half spans $7,650 — from $22,720 to $30,370. Hourly, the 90th percentile ($16.93) is 1.63 times the 10th ($10.40). In the upper half of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX distribution, the 75th percentile wage of $30,370 takes home $26,582.32 and the 90th percentile wage of $35,210 takes home $30,471.24 — $3,888.92 more net for $4,840 more gross. Against the median take-home of $24,313.76, the top decile keeps 1.25 times as much. The mean wage of $27,630 sits 0.2% above the median: higher-paid Fast Food and Counter Workers pull the average up in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX. Among the 30 covered occupations in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX, Fast Food and Counter Workers ranks #28 by median pay. In the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX wage ladder of covered occupations, Fast Food and Counter Workers sits between Cashiers at $29,350 and Home Health and Personal Care Aides at $23,440. Fast Food and Counter Workers accounts for 3.2% of all employment in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area. The average covered metro employs 62,486 Fast Food and Counter Workers; Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX employs 1.7 times that.
Take-home pay on the median wage in Texas
Single filer, no dependents, no pre-tax contributions, paid biweekly, a full year of W-2 wages in Texas; city and local taxes are not included:
| Gross pay (annual) | $27,570.00 |
|---|---|
| Federal income tax | $1,147.00 |
| Social Security (FICA) | $1,709.34 |
| Medicare (FICA) | $399.77 |
| Texas income tax | $0.00 |
| Total deductions | $3,256.24 |
| Net pay (annual) | $24,313.76 |
| Net pay per biweekly paycheck | $935.14 |
| Total deduction rate | 11.81% of gross |
At the median, $24,313.76 of the $27,570 gross is kept ($935.14 per paycheck) — a deduction rate of 11.81%. The deduction rate moves with pay: 10.21% at the 10th percentile, 10.56% at the 25th percentile, 12.47% at the 75th percentile, 13.46% at the 90th percentile. Between the 25th and 75th percentile wages, annual take-home rises by $6,262.38 on a gross rise of $7,650.
The same engine at the other published points of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX wage distribution:
| Wage point | Net per year | Net per paycheck | Deduction rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile ($21,630) | $19,422.34 | $747.01 | 10.21% |
| 25th percentile ($22,720) | $20,319.94 | $781.54 | 10.56% |
| Median ($27,570) | $24,313.76 | $935.14 | 11.81% |
| 75th percentile ($30,370) | $26,582.32 | $1,022.40 | 12.47% |
| 90th percentile ($35,210) | $30,471.24 | $1,171.97 | 13.46% |
Across the published distribution, take-home pay runs from $19,422.34 a year at the 10th percentile to $30,471.24 at the 90th — a spread of $11,048.90 of net pay inside one occupation and one metro area.
For scale: across all occupations, the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX median wage of $49,410 takes home $41,880.92 a year ($1,610.80 per paycheck, deduction rate 15.24%). The Fast Food and Counter Workers median take-home of $24,313.76 sits $17,567.16 (below that area-wide figure.
Run your own numbers
Your own withholding depends on your Form W-4, your benefits and your other income — run your exact figures through the calculator:
Against the national median
Nationally, the median Fast Food and Counter Workers earns $31,200 a year ($15.00 an hour). The Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX median of $27,570 is $3,630 (11.6%) below the national median.
The means rank the area the same way: $27,630 a year in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX against $32,150 nationally, a gap of $4,520 (14.1%).
Set against the whole local market, the Fast Food and Counter Workers 90th percentile of $35,210 is 27% of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX all-occupations 90th percentile ($128,040), and its 10th percentile of $21,630 is 79% of the area-wide 10th ($27,380).
| Median annual | Median hourly | Mean annual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $27,570 | $13.25 | $27,630 |
| United States | $31,200 | $15.00 | $32,150 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
$27,570 a year ($13.25 an hour), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates. The mean is $27,630 a year. Ranked by median pay, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX stands #25 of the 25 covered metro areas for this occupation.
What is the take-home pay on $27,570 in Texas?
About $24,313.76 a year ($935.14 per biweekly paycheck) for a single filer with no dependents and no pre-tax contributions, under 2026 rules — a total deduction rate of 11.81% of gross. At the 75th percentile wage of $30,370, take-home is $26,582.32.
How does pay in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX compare with the national median for Fast Food and Counter Workers?
The Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX median of $27,570 is $3,630 (11.6%) below the national median of $31,200 a year. At the top of the distribution, the local 90th percentile is $35,210, against a national 90th percentile of $42,650.
How much do the top 10% of Fast Food and Counter Workers earn in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
$35,210 a year or more ($16.93 an hour or more), per the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates.
What is the take-home pay at the 90th percentile for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
On $35,210 a year, the engine gives a take-home of $30,471.24 a year ($1,171.97 per biweekly paycheck) in Texas under the same assumptions — a deduction rate of 13.46%.
How many Fast Food and Counter Workers jobs are there in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
BLS estimates 105,810 Fast Food and Counter Workers jobs in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area — 32.165 of every 1,000 jobs in the area.
How concentrated are Fast Food and Counter Workers jobs in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
The location quotient is 1.3 — well above the national concentration. A quotient of 1.0 means the occupation's share of local employment equals its national share.
How much does take-home pay vary for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
From $19,422.34 a year at the 10th percentile wage ($21,630) to $30,471.24 at the 90th ($35,210), under the same single-filer assumptions in Texas.
What is the total wage bill for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX?
About $2.92 billion a year — the BLS employment estimate of 105,810 multiplied by the mean wage of $27,630.
Sources and method
Wage data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (released May 15, 2026), retrieved October 27, 2026 — bls.gov/oes. OEWS figures are survey estimates for May 2025, not job offers. Take-home pay is computed by this site's paycheck engine with 2026 federal and state rules; the method, and what the engine does not model, is documented in the paycheck methodology guide. Estimates only — not tax advice.