How much do Fast Food and Counter Workers make in Helena, MT?

Percentile spread

For Fast Food and Counter Workers, the published 10th percentile is $22,680 and the 90th percentile is $36,560. The difference is $13,880, which is 49.0% 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 $24,020 to the 75th at $34,140, covers $10,120.

The mean annual wage is $29,200, which sits above the median of $28,330. Median and mean measure different points in the same distribution.

National and state comparison

The Helena, MT median is 9.2% lower than the national median of $31,200 for Fast Food and Counter Workers. In 2024 national prices the local median is $29,611, which is 5.1% lower than that same national median. The national figure is already in national prices because the United States parity is 100.

It is 2.6% lower than the Montana median of $29,090.

Price-adjusted pay

The 2024 all-items regional price parity for Helena, MT is 95.675, with the United States at 100. The Bureau of Economic Analysis released those parities on February 19, 2026. Dividing the May 2025 median of $28,330 by that parity and multiplying by 100 puts Fast Food and Counter Workers at $29,611 in national prices. The wage year and the price year are different. Compare this wage after prices.

Nearby metros

4 other metropolitan areas within 200 miles publish a annual median for Fast Food and Counter Workers. Helena, MT ranks 4th of 5 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).).

• Great Falls, MT is 56 miles away, with a median of $28,200 and employment of 1,340. That median is 0.5% lower than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $29,119, against $29,611 here.
• Bozeman, MT is 95 miles away, with a median of $31,840 and employment of 1,870. That median is 12.4% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $31,060, against $29,611 here.
• Missoula, MT is 103 miles away, with a median of $30,510 and employment of 2,160. That median is 7.7% higher than the median here. In 2024 national prices it is $31,635, against $29,611 here.

Employment share

Fast Food and Counter Workers accounts for 2.4% of wage-and-salary employment in Helena, MT (1,060 of 44,420). Nationally the occupation is 2.5% of employment (3,854,050 of 155,495,730). The local share is 0.96 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.