SOC 35-3023 · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations · May 2025

How much do Fast Food and Counter Workers make in Chico, CA?

In the May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Chico, CA is $38,210. The 10th percentile is $34,320 and the 90th percentile is $45,070. Employment is 2,630.

Median annual wage

$38,210

10th percentile
$34,320
25th percentile
$35,720
Median
$38,210
75th percentile
$42,820
90th percentile
$45,070
Mean
$39,470

Annual wage from the May 2025 OEWS estimates.

Two cooks working in a commercial kitchen in 1930
Cooks in a Washington state kitchen, 1930. Seattle Municipal Archives. Photograph by Seattle Municipal Archives. Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

Percentile spread

For Fast Food and Counter Workers, the published 10th percentile is $34,320 and the 90th percentile is $45,070. The difference is $10,750, which is 28.1% of the median. Ten percent of measured wages fall below the 10th percentile and ten percent fall above the 90th. How to read a percentile.

The middle half of the distribution, from the 25th percentile at $35,720 to the 75th at $42,820, covers $7,100.

The mean annual wage is $39,470, which sits above the median of $38,210. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Chico, CA median is 22.5% higher than the national median of $31,200 for Fast Food and Counter Workers. In 2024 national prices the local median is $37,758, which is 21% higher than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 9.6% lower than the California median of $42,280.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Chico, CA is 101.197, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $38,210 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Fast Food and Counter Workers at $37,758 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

15 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Fast Food and Counter Workers. Chico, CA ranks 12th of 16 on that median, counting itself. Distance is the great-circle mileage between Census Bureau internal points (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files, Core Based Statistical Areas, internal points (INTPTLAT, INTPTLONG).).

  • Yuba City, CA is 35 miles away, with a median of $42,040 and employment of 1,630. That median is 10% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $40,333, against $37,758 here.
  • Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA is 68 miles away, with a median of $42,860 and employment of 24,910. That median is 12.2% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $40,180, against $37,758 here.
  • Redding, CA is 79 miles away, with a median of $39,160 and employment of 1,930. That median is 2.5% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $38,894, against $37,758 here.

Employment share

Fast Food and Counter Workers accounts for 3.4% of wage-and-salary employment in Chico, CA (2,630 of 78,220). Nationally the occupation is 2.5% of employment (3,854,050 of 155,495,730). The local share is 1.36 times the national share. That ratio is the location quotient computed from these May 2025 employment counts. It is not copied from the location-quotient column in the BLS bulk file.

Highest-paying jobs in Chico, CA · Fast Food and Counter Workers by metro · How to read these percentiles · Median and mean · When a wage is not published · How the figures are made · Compare this wage after prices

Questions this page answers

How much do Fast Food and Counter Workers make in Chico, CA?

In the May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026, the median annual wage for Fast Food and Counter Workers in Chico, CA is $38,210. The 10th percentile is $34,320 and the 90th percentile is $45,070. Employment is 2,630.

How does that compare with the national median for Fast Food and Counter Workers?

The local median is 22.5% higher than the national median of $31,200.

What is Fast Food and Counter Workers pay in Chico, CA after local prices?

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Chico, CA is 101.197, with the United States at 100. In those national prices, the May 2025 median of $38,210 is $37,758. The wage is May 2025 and the parity is 2024.

How does Chico, CA compare with nearby metros for Fast Food and Counter Workers?

Yuba City, CA is the closest metropolitan area within 200 miles with a published annual median, 35 miles away, at $42,040. Chico, CA ranks 12th of 16 metros within 200 miles on that median. Distances use Census Bureau internal points.