Best Cities for Fast Food and Counter Workerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where fast food and counter workerss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	CaliforniaState	1.22	$42,280	$38,193	64%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.19	$44,570	$37,080	85%
3	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.16	$42,110	$36,146	65%
4	VermontState	1.13	$36,030	$35,151	47%
5	WashingtonState	1.13	$37,710	$35,144	60%
6	IllinoisState	1.12	$33,910	$34,815	46%
7	MaineState	1.11	$34,710	$34,780	45%
8	ColoradoState	1.10	$36,270	$34,412	61%
9	MissouriState	1.10	$30,390	$34,300	41%
10	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.10	$39,150	$34,252	67%
11	ArizonaState	1.09	$34,230	$33,925	53%
12	OregonState	1.09	$35,050	$34,029	55%
13	MassachusettsState	1.06	$35,850	$33,041	75%
14	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.06	$33,040	$33,206	54%
15	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.06	$35,620	$33,043	60%
16	ConnecticutState	1.05	$35,380	$32,881	53%
17	District of ColumbiaState	1.05	$37,430	$32,747	67%
18	North DakotaState	1.04	$30,080	$32,484	39%
19	South DakotaState	1.04	$29,490	$32,478	39%
20	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.04	$29,590	$32,445	49%
21	HawaiiState	1.03	$35,250	$32,045	81%
22	MinnesotaState	1.03	$31,370	$32,010	49%
23	AlaskaState	1.02	$33,280	$31,908	49%
24	IndianaState	1.02	$28,790	$31,812	44%
25	IowaState	1.02	$28,390	$31,827	40%
26	NebraskaState	1.02	$29,000	$31,694	43%
27	NevadaState	1.02	$31,950	$31,886	55%
28	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.02	$36,290	$31,974	84%
29	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.02	$29,560	$31,853	52%
30	New JerseyState	1.01	$34,150	$31,388	63%
31	OhioState	1.01	$28,430	$31,449	44%
32	MichiganState	1.00	$28,930	$31,343	46%
33	New MexicoState	1.00	$28,700	$31,196	44%
34	New YorkState	1.00	$35,250	$31,333	63%
35	Rhode IslandState	1.00	$31,490	$31,333	57%
36	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.00	$33,090	$31,276	61%
37	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$32,220	$31,130	59%
38	DelawareState	0.99	$31,300	$30,990	52%
39	MarylandState	0.99	$33,660	$30,824	60%
40	West VirginiaState	0.99	$26,070	$30,962	39%
41	WisconsinState	0.99	$28,600	$30,986	46%
42	KansasState	0.98	$27,580	$30,644	45%
43	KentuckyState	0.98	$27,130	$30,655	42%
44	Columbus, OHMetro	0.98	$28,670	$30,663	54%
45	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.98	$28,250	$30,541	50%
46	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	0.98	$34,600	$30,674	69%
47	ArkansasState	0.97	$26,250	$30,417	40%
48	MontanaState	0.97	$29,090	$30,176	47%
49	North CarolinaState	0.97	$28,570	$30,265	55%
50	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.97	$28,880	$30,146	62%
51	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.97	$29,150	$30,301	64%
52	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.97	$27,810	$30,228	56%
53	IdahoState	0.96	$28,940	$29,990	50%
54	New HampshireState	0.96	$31,590	$29,802	60%
55	South CarolinaState	0.96	$27,520	$29,913	55%
56	TennesseeState	0.96	$27,470	$30,022	55%
57	WyomingState	0.96	$27,860	$29,957	42%
58	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.95	$29,260	$29,706	71%
59	PennsylvaniaState	0.94	$28,570	$29,454	54%
60	TexasState	0.93	$27,740	$29,017	60%
61	VirginiaState	0.93	$30,110	$29,092	63%
62	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.93	$28,070	$28,879	68%
63	FloridaState	0.92	$29,080	$28,650	71%
64	GeorgiaState	0.92	$26,920	$28,822	63%
65	UtahState	0.92	$28,670	$28,613	62%
66	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.92	$27,780	$28,698	70%
67	AlabamaState	0.87	$23,700	$27,210	49%
68	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.87	$29,600	$27,281	83%
69	MississippiState	0.85	$22,610	$26,663	48%
70	OklahomaState	0.85	$23,430	$26,475	50%
71	LouisianaState	0.81	$22,800	$25,305	55%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).