What Fast Food and Counter Workers earn in Salt Lake County, UT
The median pay for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Salt Lake County, UT is $29,070 per year, which works out to $13.98 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT metropolitan area, the labor market that Salt Lake County, UT 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 $29,420, which is 1.2% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 19,590 people working in this occupation across the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Salt Lake County, UT has roughly 1,196,523 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 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $22,560 a year ($10.85 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $37,050 or more ($17.81 an hour). That is a gap of $14,490 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $27,150 at the 25th percentile and $33,500 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.6 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: $13.98 an hour or $29,070 a year at the median for Salt Lake County, UT. Before any deductions, that is $2,423 a month, $1,118 every two weeks and $559 each week. After taxes the same job pays $11.99 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Salt Lake County, UT compares
Compared with the Utah average
A worker in this occupation in Salt Lake County, UT earns $478 more than the Utah average of $28,592, a premium of 1.7%. Over a year that premium is worth $478 before tax and roughly $410 after tax. Within Utah, Salt Lake County, UT 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 $29,070, Salt Lake County, UT pays $2,361 less, which is 7.5% 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 Salt Lake County, UT
Among the 505 occupations with published wages in Salt Lake County, UT, Fast Food and Counter Workers ranks number 500 by median pay, ahead of about 1% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Software Developers at $129,600 a year, which is $100,530 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 Salt Lake County, UT median of $29,070, they add up to $4,136. The result is $24,934 of take-home pay a year ($2,078 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $14 goes to taxes and $86 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 14.2%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $13,320. 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 $1,360, an effective 4.7% 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 $1,802 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $422. FICA totals $2,224, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in Utah
Utah income tax on this salary is $552 a year, or 1.9% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 41% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $46 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 Salt Lake County, UT
IRS Statistics of Income data for Salt Lake County, UT show an average adjusted gross income of $94,243 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 13.8% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.4%, compared with the 4.7% 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 Salt Lake County, UT
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Salt Lake County, UT: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $24,934 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Salt Lake County, UT, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,349 a month ($16,188 a year), and at $1,615 for two bedrooms. For Fast Food and Counter Workers, a one-bedroom absorbs 64.9% of take-home pay and 55.7% 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 11.8% of gross pay for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Salt Lake County, UT. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Utah residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,291 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $511, for $1,802 in total. Gasoline in Utah averages $3.33 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,542.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $22,967 a year in Salt Lake County, UT. Subtract that from $24,934 of take-home pay and $1,967 remains, which is $164 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 6.8% of gross pay, a thin cushion that one unexpected expense could erase.
Can Fast Food and Counter Workers afford to live in Salt Lake County, UT?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $29,070 that ceiling is $727 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,349 is $622 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $25.94 an hour; the median for Fast Food and Counter Workers is $13.98, which is 46% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $11.99 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 26.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,615 a month means $808 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $6,498 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $8,465.
How fast you can save
At $164 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 62 months (5.2 years). Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 124 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Fast Food and Counter Workers pay in Salt Lake County, UT
How much do Fast Food and Counter Workers make per hour in Salt Lake County, UT?
The median is $13.98 per hour, based on $29,070 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $10.85 at the 10th percentile to $17.81 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Fast Food and Counter Workers take home after taxes in Salt Lake County, UT?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $29,070 becomes $24,934 a year. That is $2,078 a month, $959 every two weeks or $480 a week.
How much tax do Fast Food and Counter Workers pay in Salt Lake County, UT?
Total taxes are $4,136 a year, an effective rate of 14.2%: $1,360 federal income tax, $2,224 FICA and $552 Utah income tax.
Do Fast Food and Counter Workers earn more in Salt Lake County, UT than elsewhere in Utah?
Yes. The local median of $29,070 is +1.7% versus the Utah average of $28,592, a difference of $478 a year.
Can Fast Food and Counter Workers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Salt Lake County, UT?
A one-bedroom costs $1,349 a month against take-home pay of $2,078, which is 64.9% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $727 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Salt Lake County, UT?
About $164 a month ($1,967 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $22,967 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Salt Lake County, UT at the 30% guideline?
$25.94 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $16,188 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Fast Food and Counter Workers is $13.98.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Salt Lake City-Murray, UT 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 Utah 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.