Fast Food and Counter Workers Salary in Baltimore, MD (2024)
Fast Food and Counter Workers in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area earn a median of $31,200 per year ($15.00 per hour) based on 19,600 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is +2.4% against the national median of $30,480 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where fast food and counter workers actually sit across the pay range in Baltimore, MD, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $15.00 | $31,200 | |
| 25th percentile | $15.00 | $31,200 | |
| Median | $15.00 | $31,200 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $16.54 | $34,410 | |
| 90th percentile | $17.50 | $36,400 | |
| Average (mean) | $15.89 | $33,050 |
How Baltimore, MD compares
The local median of $31,200 runs +2.4% above the US median of $30,480 for this occupation; it pays 45.6% less than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($57,340); within the metro it ranks 644th of 652 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore, MD — this occupation | $31,200 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $30,480 | +2.4% |
| Baltimore, MD — all occupations | $57,340 | -45.6% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $40,470 | -22.9% |
The location quotient of 0.60 is well below 1.0, so this is a comparatively thin occupation in the metro — pay figures here rest on fewer workers and can move sharply year to year.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 0.9%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 644th of 652 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Baltimore, MD
To put $31,200 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 644th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Physicians, All Other | $226,570 | 3,420 |
| Podiatrists | $218,390 | 130 |
| Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $213,490 | — |
| Nurse Anesthetists | $209,340 | 420 |
| Pediatricians, General | $187,190 | 280 |
| Dentists, General | $186,530 | 1,090 |
| Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates | $181,320 | 200 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $173,130 | 7,380 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $163,970 | 2,390 |
| Physicists | $162,490 | 480 |
Where fast food and counter workers earn the most
Across the 25 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $26,960 to $40,470. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $40,470 | 47,330 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $38,310 | 51,590 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $36,480 | 153,840 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $36,310 | 42,620 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $36,250 | 51,500 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $35,860 | 40,240 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $35,430 | 57,320 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $35,420 | 175,790 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $34,850 | 33,490 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $34,620 | 37,380 |
See the full national picture on the Fast Food and Counter Workers salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for fast food and counter workers in Baltimore, MD?
The median annual wage is $31,200, or $15 per hour. That means half of the fast food and counter workers working in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $33,050.
What do the highest and lowest paid fast food and counter workers in Baltimore, MD earn?
The bottom 10% earn $31,200 or less, while the top 10% earn $36,400 or more — a spread of $5,200 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $31,200 and $34,410.
Is fast food and counter workers pay in Baltimore, MD above the local average?
Yes, it is 45.6% below the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $57,340. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does Baltimore, MD pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $31,200 the metro median is 2.4% higher than the US median of $30,480 for fast food and counter workers. Across the 25 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $26,960 to $40,470.
How many fast food and counter workers work in Baltimore, MD?
BLS counts about 19,600 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 14.62 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. The location quotient of 0.60 is well below 1.0, so this is a comparatively thin occupation in the metro — pay figures here rest on fewer workers and can move sharply year to year.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 9.8%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.