What Fast Food and Counter Workers earn in Arapahoe County, CO
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $37,070: the median annual pay for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Arapahoe County, CO. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $17.82 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $38,240, which is 3.2% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 42,810 people working in this occupation across the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Arapahoe County, CO has roughly 659,844 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 Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $33,230 a year ($15.98 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $44,420 or more ($21.36 an hour). That is a gap of $11,190 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $35,980 at the 25th percentile and $37,940 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.3 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: $17.82 an hour or $37,070 a year at the median for Arapahoe County, CO. Before any deductions, that is $3,089 a month, $1,426 every two weeks and $713 each week. After taxes the same job pays $14.88 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Arapahoe County, CO compares
Compared with the Colorado average
A worker in this occupation in Arapahoe County, CO earns $1,396 more than the Colorado average of $35,674, a premium of 3.9%. Over a year that premium is worth $1,396 before tax and roughly $1,165 after tax. Within Colorado, Arapahoe County, CO already has the highest median we track for this job.
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 $37,070, Arapahoe County, CO pays $5,639 more, which is 17.9% above 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 Arapahoe County, CO
Among the 554 occupations with published wages in Arapahoe County, CO, Fast Food and Counter Workers ranks number 545 by median pay, ahead of about 2% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Lawyers at $177,380 a year, which is $140,310 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 Arapahoe County, CO median of $37,070, they add up to $6,127. The result is $30,943 of take-home pay a year ($2,579 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $17 goes to taxes and $83 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 16.5%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $21,320. 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 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $2,320, an effective 6.3% of gross pay, well below the 12% 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 $2,298 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $538. FICA totals $2,836, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Colorado
Colorado income tax on this salary is $971 a year, or 2.6% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 42% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $81 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 Arapahoe County, CO
IRS Statistics of Income data for Arapahoe County, CO show an average adjusted gross income of $106,337 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 15.8% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.8%, compared with the 6.3% 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 Arapahoe County, CO
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Arapahoe County, CO: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $30,943 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Arapahoe County, CO, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,831 a month ($21,972 a year), and at $2,169 for two bedrooms. For Fast Food and Counter Workers, a one-bedroom absorbs 71.0% of take-home pay and 59.3% 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 9.3% of gross pay for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Arapahoe County, CO. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Colorado residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,576 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $411, for $1,987 in total. Gasoline in Colorado averages $3.14 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,451.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $28,846 a year in Arapahoe County, CO. Subtract that from $30,943 of take-home pay and $2,097 remains, which is $175 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 5.7% of gross pay, a thin cushion that one unexpected expense could erase.
Can Fast Food and Counter Workers afford to live in Arapahoe County, CO?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $37,070 that ceiling is $927 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,831 is $904 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $35.21 an hour; the median for Fast Food and Counter Workers is $17.82, which is 49% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $14.88 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 28.4 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,169 a month means $1,085 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $8,958 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $11,055.
How fast you can save
At $175 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 58 months (4.8 years). Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 116 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Fast Food and Counter Workers pay in Arapahoe County, CO
How much do Fast Food and Counter Workers make per hour in Arapahoe County, CO?
The median is $17.82 per hour, based on $37,070 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $15.98 at the 10th percentile to $21.36 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Fast Food and Counter Workers take home after taxes in Arapahoe County, CO?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $37,070 becomes $30,943 a year. That is $2,579 a month, $1,190 every two weeks or $595 a week.
How much tax do Fast Food and Counter Workers pay in Arapahoe County, CO?
Total taxes are $6,127 a year, an effective rate of 16.5%: $2,320 federal income tax, $2,836 FICA and $971 Colorado income tax.
Do Fast Food and Counter Workers earn more in Arapahoe County, CO than elsewhere in Colorado?
Yes. The local median of $37,070 is +3.9% versus the Colorado average of $35,674, a difference of $1,396 a year.
Can Fast Food and Counter Workers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Arapahoe County, CO?
A one-bedroom costs $1,831 a month against take-home pay of $2,579, which is 71.0% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $927 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Arapahoe County, CO?
About $175 a month ($2,097 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $28,846 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Arapahoe County, CO at the 30% guideline?
$35.21 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $21,972 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Fast Food and Counter Workers is $17.82.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO 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 Colorado 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.