What Fast Food and Counter Workers earn in Jefferson County, AL
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $27,020: the median annual pay for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Jefferson County, AL. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $12.99 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Birmingham, AL metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $26,610, which is 1.5% below the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 10,080 people working in this occupation across the Birmingham, AL metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Jefferson County, AL has roughly 667,755 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Fast Food and Counter Workers in the Birmingham, AL metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $22,010 a year ($10.58 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $33,990 or more ($16.34 an hour). That is a gap of $11,980 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $22,340 at the 25th percentile and $27,980 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.5 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $12.99 an hour or $27,020 a year at the median for Jefferson County, AL. Before any deductions, that is $2,252 a month, $1,039 every two weeks and $520 each week. After taxes the same job pays $10.96 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Jefferson County, AL compares
Compared with the Alabama average
A worker in this occupation in Jefferson County, AL earns $2,450 more than the Alabama average of $24,570, a premium of 10.0%. Over a year that premium is worth $2,450 before tax and roughly $2,067 after tax.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Fast Food and Counter Workers is $31,431 across the contiguous United States. At $27,020, Jefferson County, AL pays $4,411 less, which is 14.0% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Jefferson County, AL
Among the 451 occupations with published wages in Jefferson County, AL, Fast Food and Counter Workers ranks number 444 by median pay, ahead of about 2% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Registered Nurses at $78,680 a year, which is $51,660 more than the median for Fast Food and Counter Workers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Fast Food and Counter Workers earning the Jefferson County, AL median of $27,020, they add up to $4,224. The result is $22,796 of take-home pay a year ($1,900 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $16 goes to taxes and $84 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 15.6%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $11,270. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 10% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $1,127, an effective 4.2% of gross pay, well below the 10% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $1,675 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $392. FICA totals $2,067, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Alabama
Alabama income tax on this salary is $1,030 a year, or 3.8% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 91% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $86 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Jefferson County, AL
IRS Statistics of Income data for Jefferson County, AL show an average adjusted gross income of $98,054 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 15.3% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 4.5%, compared with the 4.2% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Jefferson County, AL
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Jefferson County, AL: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $22,796 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Jefferson County, AL, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,263 a month ($15,156 a year), and at $1,375 for two bedrooms. For Fast Food and Counter Workers, a one-bedroom absorbs 66.5% of take-home pay and 56.1% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 12.7% of gross pay for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Jefferson County, AL. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Alabama residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,604 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $737, for $2,341 in total. Gasoline in Alabama averages $2.89 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,338.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $22,270 a year in Jefferson County, AL. Subtract that from $22,796 of take-home pay and $526 remains, which is $44 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 1.9% of gross pay, a thin cushion that one unexpected expense could erase.
Can Fast Food and Counter Workers afford to live in Jefferson County, AL?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $27,020 that ceiling is $675 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,263 is $588 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $24.29 an hour; the median for Fast Food and Counter Workers is $12.99, which is 47% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $10.96 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 26.6 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,375 a month means $688 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $6,906 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $7,432.
How fast you can save
At $44 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 229 months (19.1 years). Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 458 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Fast Food and Counter Workers pay in Jefferson County, AL
How much do Fast Food and Counter Workers make per hour in Jefferson County, AL?
The median is $12.99 per hour, based on $27,020 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $10.58 at the 10th percentile to $16.34 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Fast Food and Counter Workers take home after taxes in Jefferson County, AL?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $27,020 becomes $22,796 a year. That is $1,900 a month, $877 every two weeks or $438 a week.
How much tax do Fast Food and Counter Workers pay in Jefferson County, AL?
Total taxes are $4,224 a year, an effective rate of 15.6%: $1,127 federal income tax, $2,067 FICA and $1,030 Alabama income tax.
Do Fast Food and Counter Workers earn more in Jefferson County, AL than elsewhere in Alabama?
Yes. The local median of $27,020 is +10.0% versus the Alabama average of $24,570, a difference of $2,450 a year.
Can Fast Food and Counter Workers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Jefferson County, AL?
A one-bedroom costs $1,263 a month against take-home pay of $1,900, which is 66.5% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $675 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Jefferson County, AL?
About $44 a month ($526 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $22,270 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Jefferson County, AL at the 30% guideline?
$24.29 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $15,156 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Fast Food and Counter Workers is $12.99.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Birmingham, AL metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Alabama rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.