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Fast Food and Counter Workers: Career Overview
Perform duties such as taking orders and serving food and beverages. Serve customers at counter or from a steam table. May take payment. May prepare food and beverages.
What Do Fast Food and Counter Workers Do?
Typical responsibilities of fast food and counter workers include:
- Accept payment from customers, and make change as necessary.
- Serve customers in eating places that specialize in fast service and inexpensive carry-out food.
- Request and record customer orders, and compute bills, using cash registers, multi-counting machines, or pencil and paper.
- Balance receipts and payments in cash registers.
- Communicate with customers regarding orders, comments, and complaints.
- Serve food, beverages, or desserts to customers in such settings as take-out counters of restaurants or lunchrooms, business or industrial establishments, hotel rooms, and cars.
- Monitor and order supplies or food items, and restock as necessary to maintain inventory.
- Perform cleaning duties, such as sweeping, mopping, and washing dishes, to keep equipment and facilities sanitary.
What Fast Food and Counter Workers Need to Know
Successful fast food and counter workers combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Most Important Skills
The competencies that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Related Job Titles
Common job titles for this role include:
- Back of House Team Member (BOH Team Member)
- Bakery Associate
- Barista
- Bistro Team Member
- Cafe Server
- Cafe Worker
- Cafeteria Food Server
- Cafeteria Lunchroom Counter Attendant
Employment and Demand
There are roughly 1,568,792 fast food and counter workers working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to grow by +8.5% over the projection horizon.
How Much Do Fast Food and Counter Workers Make?
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $38,162 |
| Hourly median | $18.35 |
| 10th percentile | $25,735 |
| 25th percentile | $31,948 |
| 75th percentile | $44,375 |
| 90th percentile | $50,588 |
Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.
Fast Food and Counter Workers Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $38,240 |
| California | $37,010 |
| Washington | $36,820 |
| Colorado | $35,440 |
| New York | $35,270 |
| Massachusetts | $35,060 |
| Vermont | $34,540 |
| Alaska | $34,430 |
| Oregon | $34,430 |
| Maine | $34,360 |
| Connecticut | $33,980 |
| New Jersey | $33,290 |
| Arizona | $33,060 |
| Minnesota | $31,950 |
| Illinois | $31,900 |
| Maryland | $31,200 |
| Hawaii | $30,860 |
| Rhode Island | $30,460 |
| New Hampshire | $30,320 |
| Delaware | $30,210 |
| North Dakota | $30,010 |
| South Dakota | $29,480 |
| Nebraska | $29,420 |
| Missouri | $29,310 |
| Montana | $29,280 |
| Nevada | $29,180 |
| Virginia | $29,060 |
| Michigan | $28,870 |
| North Carolina | $28,760 |
| Utah | $28,670 |
| New Mexico | $28,650 |
| Wisconsin | $28,500 |
| Pennsylvania | $28,490 |
| Idaho | $28,450 |
| Iowa | $28,400 |
| Indiana | $28,290 |
| Wyoming | $28,200 |
| Ohio | $28,100 |
| Florida | $27,990 |
| Tennessee | $27,840 |
| Kentucky | $27,170 |
| Texas | $27,000 |
| Kansas | $27,000 |
| South Carolina | $26,830 |
| Arkansas | $26,740 |
| Georgia | $26,310 |
| West Virginia | $24,960 |
| Virgin Islands | $23,680 |
| Oklahoma | $23,590 |
| Alabama | $23,490 |
| Louisiana | $23,110 |
| Mississippi | $22,280 |
| Puerto Rico | $20,850 |
| Guam | $20,580 |
Where Fast Food and Counter Workers Earn the Most
Earnings for fast food and counter workers vary by region. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $35,982 | 17.5% | 1.06 |
| New England | $34,025 | 4.2% | 0.90 |
| Middle Atlantic | $32,495 | 12.4% | 0.82 |
| Rocky Mountains | $31,688 | 4.7% | 1.16 |
| Plains States | $29,447 | 6.0% | 0.97 |
| Great Lakes | $29,231 | 15.3% | 1.10 |
| Southwest | $27,665 | 15.1% | 1.20 |
| Southeast | $27,137 | 24.1% | 1.01 |
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Fast Food and Counter Workers
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $42,660 | 21,320 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $40,470 | 47,330 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $38,310 | 51,590 |
| Napa, CA | CA | $38,270 | 1,540 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | CA | $38,090 | 5,160 |
| Vallejo, CA | CA | $37,680 | 4,550 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | CA | $37,650 | 25,790 |
| Salinas, CA | CA | $37,440 | 4,400 |
Which Industries Hire Fast Food and Counter Workers
The largest employers of fast food and counter workers are found across these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and Food Services | 3,313,790 | $30,140 |
| Retail Trade | 212,930 | $34,340 |
| Educational Services | 107,730 | $33,400 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 44,670 | $31,740 |
| Manufacturing | 24,930 | $33,820 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 17,550 | $35,750 |
| Information | 15,740 | $27,480 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 9,640 | $30,640 |
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
Software Fast Food and Counter Workers Use
- Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Microsoft Windows (hot technology)
The Day-to-Day Environment
Daily working conditions for fast food and counter workers reflects the following characteristics:
- Contact With Others
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
- Deal With External Customers or the Public in General
- Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People
- Freedom to Make Decisions
Getting Started in This Career
Most fast food and counter workers positions require less than a high school diploma as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.
Related Careers
Similar Occupations
- Food Service Managers (Supplemental)
- Chefs and Head Cooks (Supplemental)
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers (Supplemental)
- Cooks, Fast Food (Primary-Long)
- Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria (Supplemental)
- Cooks, Private Household (Supplemental)
- Cooks, Restaurant (Primary-Long)
- Cooks, Short Order (Primary-Long)
Sources
Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 35-3023.00 (Fast Food and Counter Workers).
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