Fast Food and Counter Workers in the Watertown-Fort Drum Metro

BLS metro-level wage data places Fast Food and Counter Workers pay in Watertown-Fort Drum, NY at a median of $32,580 per year ($15.66/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 +4% above. OEWS reports the difference but does not identify its cause. Approximately 1,150 fast food and counter workers are employed across the Watertown-Fort Drum MSA in SOC 35-3023.

The Watertown-Fort Drum pay distribution spans from $32,240 at the 10th percentile to $36,620 at the 90th, a 1.1× 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 $32,240 and the 75th at $34,320, so half of Watertown-Fort Drum-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 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY 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 NY estimate, and peer-metro rows provide distinct geographic comparisons. A published median is a benchmark, not a prediction or ceiling for one worker.