Fast Food and Counter Workers in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin Metro

BLS metro-level wage data places Fast Food and Counter Workers pay in Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL at a median of $29,220 per year ($14.05/hr), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared with the national median of $31,200, the metro estimate is 6% below. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 4,350 fast food and counter workers are employed across the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin MSA in SOC 35-3023.

The Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin pay distribution spans from $27,780 at the 10th percentile to $37,060 at the 90th, a 1.3× observed spread. Differences in specialization, employer, sector, location, credentials, schedule, and experience may all contribute, but OEWS does not isolate their effects. The 25th percentile sits at $28,310 and the 75th at $34,660, so half of Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin-based fast food and counter workers earn within that middle band.

Metro figures use establishment work location, not worker residence. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL covers the central city plus outlying counties tied to the metro economically. OEWS includes straight-time pay, tips, commissions, incentive pay, and production bonuses. It excludes employer health and retirement benefits, overtime premiums, stock compensation, signing bonuses, and other nonproduction bonuses. The same occupation's national profile, statewide FL estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.