Start with the answer
Fast Food and Counter Workers pay in Corpus Christi, TX and Napa, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Fast Food and Counter Workers is $25,630 per year in Corpus Christi, TX. It is $45,410 per year in Napa, CA. Corpus Christi, TX is 43.6% below Napa, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 35-3023 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 7,870 wage and salary jobs in Corpus Christi, TX and 1,440 in Napa, CA. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings