What Fast Food and Counter Workers earn in Sedgwick County, KS
The median pay for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Sedgwick County, KS is $27,420 per year, which works out to $13.18 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Wichita, KS metropolitan area, the labor market that Sedgwick County, KS belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $26,340, which is 3.9% below the median, which suggests many workers sit near the top of the pay scale. The survey counts about 11,580 people working in this occupation across the Wichita, KS metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Sedgwick County, KS has roughly 528,226 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 Wichita, KS metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $21,530 a year ($10.35 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $30,010 or more ($14.43 an hour). That is a gap of $8,480 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $22,340 at the 25th percentile and $28,010 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.4 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: $13.18 an hour or $27,420 a year at the median for Sedgwick County, KS. Before any deductions, that is $2,285 a month, $1,055 every two weeks and $527 each week. After taxes the same job pays $11.25 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Sedgwick County, KS compares
Compared with the Kansas average
Pay in Sedgwick County, KS runs $633 below the Kansas average of $28,053, a gap of 2.3%. A worker who moved to a better-paying part of Kansas would, on paper, gain that difference before taxes. Within Kansas, the highest median we track for this job is $29,560 in Johnson County, KS.
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 $27,420, Sedgwick County, KS pays $4,011 less, which is 12.8% 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 Sedgwick County, KS
Among the 437 occupations with published wages in Sedgwick County, KS, Fast Food and Counter Workers ranks number 434 by median pay, ahead of about 1% of them.
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 Sedgwick County, KS median of $27,420, they add up to $4,027. The result is $23,393 of take-home pay a year ($1,949 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $15 goes to taxes and $85 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 14.7%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $11,670. 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 $1,167, an effective 4.3% 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 $1,700 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $398. FICA totals $2,098, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Kansas
Kansas income tax on this salary is $762 a year, or 2.8% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 65% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $64 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 Sedgwick County, KS
IRS Statistics of Income data for Sedgwick County, KS show an average adjusted gross income of $81,325 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 12.9% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 4.9%, compared with the 4.3% 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 Sedgwick County, KS
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Sedgwick County, KS: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $23,393 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Sedgwick County, KS, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $823 a month ($9,876 a year), and at $1,043 for two bedrooms. For Fast Food and Counter Workers, a one-bedroom absorbs 42.2% of take-home pay and 36.0% 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 12.5% of gross pay for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Sedgwick County, KS. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Kansas residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,495 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $515, for $2,011 in total. Gasoline in Kansas averages $3.10 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,436.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $16,758 a year in Sedgwick County, KS. Subtract that from $23,393 of take-home pay and $6,635 remains, which is $553 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 24.2% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Fast Food and Counter Workers afford to live in Sedgwick County, KS?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $27,420 that ceiling is $686 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $823 is $138 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $15.83 an hour; the median for Fast Food and Counter Workers is $13.18, which is 17% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $11.25 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 16.9 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,043 a month means $522 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $3,618 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $10,253.
How fast you can save
At $553 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 19 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 38 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Fast Food and Counter Workers pay in Sedgwick County, KS
How much do Fast Food and Counter Workers make per hour in Sedgwick County, KS?
The median is $13.18 per hour, based on $27,420 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $10.35 at the 10th percentile to $14.43 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Fast Food and Counter Workers take home after taxes in Sedgwick County, KS?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $27,420 becomes $23,393 a year. That is $1,949 a month, $900 every two weeks or $450 a week.
How much tax do Fast Food and Counter Workers pay in Sedgwick County, KS?
Total taxes are $4,027 a year, an effective rate of 14.7%: $1,167 federal income tax, $2,098 FICA and $762 Kansas income tax.
Do Fast Food and Counter Workers earn more in Sedgwick County, KS than elsewhere in Kansas?
No. The local median of $27,420 is -2.3% versus the Kansas average of $28,053, a difference of $633 a year.
Can Fast Food and Counter Workers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Sedgwick County, KS?
A one-bedroom costs $823 a month against take-home pay of $1,949, which is 42.2% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $686 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Sedgwick County, KS?
About $553 a month ($6,635 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $16,758 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Sedgwick County, KS at the 30% guideline?
$15.83 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $9,876 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Fast Food and Counter Workers is $13.18.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Wichita, KS 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 Kansas 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.