What Fast Food and Counter Workers earn in San Diego County, CA
The median pay for Fast Food and Counter Workers in San Diego County, CA is $42,190 per year, which works out to $20.28 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metropolitan area, the labor market that San Diego County, CA 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 $40,870, which is 3.1% below the median, which suggests many workers sit near the top of the pay scale. The survey counts about 42,550 people working in this occupation across the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. San Diego County, CA has roughly 3,288,774 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $35,510 a year ($17.07 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $47,200 or more ($22.69 an hour). That is a gap of $11,690 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $36,600 at the 25th percentile and $43,720 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: $20.28 an hour or $42,190 a year at the median for San Diego County, CA. Before any deductions, that is $3,516 a month, $1,623 every two weeks and $811 each week. After taxes the same job pays $16.98 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in San Diego County, CA compares
Compared with the California average
Pay for Fast Food and Counter Workers in San Diego County, CA is in line with the statewide figure: $42,190 locally against an employment-weighted California average of $42,322, a difference of only $132 (0.3%). Within California, the highest median we track for this job is $43,870 in Alameda County, CA.
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 $42,190, San Diego County, CA pays $10,759 more, which is 34.2% 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 San Diego County, CA
Among the 590 occupations with published wages in San Diego County, CA, Fast Food and Counter Workers ranks number 537 by median pay, ahead of about 9% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Registered Nurses at $139,520 a year, which is $97,330 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 San Diego County, CA median of $42,190, they add up to $6,861. The result is $35,329 of take-home pay a year ($2,944 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 16.3%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $26,440. 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 $2,934, an effective 7.0% 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 $2,616 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $612. FICA totals $3,228, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in California
California income tax on this salary is $699 a year, or 1.7% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 24% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $58 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 San Diego County, CA
IRS Statistics of Income data for San Diego County, CA show an average adjusted gross income of $109,264 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 15.5% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.3%, compared with the 7.0% 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 San Diego County, CA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in San Diego County, CA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $35,329 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For San Diego County, CA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,335 a month ($28,020 a year), and at $2,823 for two bedrooms. For Fast Food and Counter Workers, a one-bedroom absorbs 79.3% of take-home pay and 66.4% 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 8.1% of gross pay for Fast Food and Counter Workers in San Diego County, CA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using California residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $3,378 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $751, for $4,129 in total. Gasoline in California averages $4.42 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $2,047.
What is left over
The basics cost $37,631 a year in San Diego County, CA, but take-home pay for Fast Food and Counter Workers is $35,329. That is a shortfall of $2,303 a year, or $192 a month, before health care, transportation beyond fuel, debt or savings. Closing the gap would take roughly 136 extra paid hours a year at the take-home hourly rate of $16.98, or a second earner, a cheaper home or a roommate.
Can Fast Food and Counter Workers afford to live in San Diego County, CA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $42,190 that ceiling is $1,055 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,335 is $1,280 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $44.90 an hour; the median for Fast Food and Counter Workers is $20.28, which is 55% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $16.98 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 31.7 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,823 a month means $1,412 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $11,082 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $8,779, which turns the shortfall into a surplus.
How fast you can save
With no monthly margin after the four basics, saving requires a change on one side of the ledger: higher pay than the $42,190 median, lower housing costs than the $2,335 one-bedroom rent, or a second income.
Frequently asked questions about Fast Food and Counter Workers pay in San Diego County, CA
How much do Fast Food and Counter Workers make per hour in San Diego County, CA?
The median is $20.28 per hour, based on $42,190 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $17.07 at the 10th percentile to $22.69 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Fast Food and Counter Workers take home after taxes in San Diego County, CA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $42,190 becomes $35,329 a year. That is $2,944 a month, $1,359 every two weeks or $679 a week.
How much tax do Fast Food and Counter Workers pay in San Diego County, CA?
Total taxes are $6,861 a year, an effective rate of 16.3%: $2,934 federal income tax, $3,228 FICA and $699 California income tax.
Do Fast Food and Counter Workers earn more in San Diego County, CA than elsewhere in California?
It is about the same. The local median of $42,190 is within 0.3% of the California average of $42,322.
Can Fast Food and Counter Workers afford a one-bedroom apartment in San Diego County, CA?
A one-bedroom costs $2,335 a month against take-home pay of $2,944, which is 79.3% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,055 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Fast Food and Counter Workers in San Diego County, CA?
Nothing remains: the basics cost $37,631 a year, which is $2,303 more than take-home pay, a monthly shortfall of $192.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in San Diego County, CA at the 30% guideline?
$44.90 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $28,020 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Fast Food and Counter Workers is $20.28.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA 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 California 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.