What First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers earn in Austin County, TX
The median pay for First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in Austin County, TX is $36,410 per year, which works out to $17.50 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metropolitan area, the labor market that Austin County, TX 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 $41,350, which is 13.6% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 31,290 people working in this occupation across the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Austin County, TX has roughly 31,170 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $23,870 a year ($11.48 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $62,140 or more ($29.88 an hour). That is a gap of $38,270 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $29,810 at the 25th percentile and $48,700 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.6 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: $17.50 an hour or $36,410 a year at the median for Austin County, TX. Before any deductions, that is $3,034 a month, $1,400 every two weeks and $700 each week. After taxes the same job pays $15.09 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Austin County, TX compares
Compared with the Texas average
Pay for First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in Austin County, TX is in line with the statewide figure: $36,410 locally against an employment-weighted Texas average of $36,298, a difference of only $112 (0.3%). Within Texas, the highest median we track for this job is $37,730 in Dallas County, TX.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers is $42,179 across the contiguous United States. At $36,410, Austin County, TX pays $5,769 less, which is 13.7% 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 Austin County, TX
Among the 618 occupations with published wages in Austin County, TX, First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers ranks number 539 by median pay, ahead of about 13% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is General and Operations Managers at $119,600 a year, which is $83,190 more than the median for First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving 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 First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers earning the Austin County, TX median of $36,410, they add up to $5,026. The result is $31,384 of take-home pay a year ($2,615 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 13.8%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $20,660. 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 $2,241, an effective 6.2% 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 $2,257 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $528. FICA totals $2,785, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Texas
Texas does not tax wage income, so the state income tax line for First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in Austin County, TX is $0. That alone leaves more in the paycheck than the same salary would in a state with an income tax. For scale, a hypothetical flat 5% state tax on this salary would cost about $1,821 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $152 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for Austin County, TX
IRS Statistics of Income data for Austin County, TX show an average adjusted gross income of $82,299 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 13.3% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 4.6%, compared with the 6.2% 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 Austin County, TX
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Austin County, TX: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $31,384 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Austin County, TX, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $817 a month ($9,804 a year), and at $1,069 for two bedrooms. For First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers, a one-bedroom absorbs 31.2% of take-home pay and 26.9% 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 9.4% of gross pay for First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in Austin County, TX. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Texas residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,578 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $719, for $2,297 in total. Gasoline in Texas averages $2.88 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,334.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $16,871 a year in Austin County, TX. Subtract that from $31,384 of take-home pay and $14,513 remains, which is $1,209 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 39.9% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers afford to live in Austin County, TX?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $36,410 that ceiling is $910 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $817 is $93 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $15.71 an hour; the median for First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers is $17.50, which is 11% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $15.09 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 12.5 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,069 a month means $535 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $3,390 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $17,903.
How fast you can save
At $1,209 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 9 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 18 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers pay in Austin County, TX
How much do First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers make per hour in Austin County, TX?
The median is $17.50 per hour, based on $36,410 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $11.48 at the 10th percentile to $29.88 at the 90th percentile.
How much do First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers take home after taxes in Austin County, TX?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $36,410 becomes $31,384 a year. That is $2,615 a month, $1,207 every two weeks or $604 a week.
How much tax do First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers pay in Austin County, TX?
Total taxes are $5,026 a year, an effective rate of 13.8%: $2,241 federal income tax, $2,785 FICA and no Texas income tax.
Do First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers earn more in Austin County, TX than elsewhere in Texas?
It is about the same. The local median of $36,410 is within 0.3% of the Texas average of $36,298.
Can First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers afford a one-bedroom apartment in Austin County, TX?
A one-bedroom costs $817 a month against take-home pay of $2,615, which is 31.2% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $910 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in Austin County, TX?
About $1,209 a month ($14,513 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $16,871 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Austin County, TX at the 30% guideline?
$15.71 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $9,804 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers is $17.50.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX 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 Texas 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.