Jack in the Box pay depends more on your state than on your job title. About 70% of the chain’s restaurants are in California and Texas, and those two states sit at opposite ends of the wage scale. A cashier in Los Angeles and a cashier in Houston can do the exact same work for very different hourly rates.
Jack in the Box pay, quick facts
- California floor: $20 an hour (AB 1228, since April 1, 2024)
- Texas floor: the federal $7.25 minimum
- Share of restaurants in CA and TX: about 70%
- Franchised restaurants: 93%, so pay is set store by store above the legal minimum
Jack in the Box pay in California
California’s AB 1228 set a $20 minimum wage for workers at fast food chains with at least 60 locations nationwide, starting April 1, 2024. Jack in the Box has more than 2,000 restaurants, so every California location is covered, whether the company runs it or a franchisee does. NBC Los Angeles covered the law when it was signed in September 2023.
The company felt it. When it announced its “JACK on Track” plan in April 2025, its financial guidance specifically assumed a full year of AB 1228 wage increases at its company-run restaurants.
The law lets a state Fast Food Council raise the rate each year through 2029, by up to 3.5%. So far it hasn’t. CalMatters reported in May 2026 that the council had no chairperson and hadn’t held a full meeting in more than a year, which leaves $20 as the floor.
Did hours get cut in California?
That was the worry. Harvard’s Shift Project surveyed 3,420 California fast food workers after the raise and found wages went up while weekly hours stayed about the same, with no sign of benefit cuts. The study covered only the first months, so it is an early read, not the final word.
Jack in the Box pay in Texas
Texas has no state minimum above the federal one, so the legal floor is still $7.25 an hour. In practice, restaurants in big Texas metros have to pay well above that to keep crews staffed, and each franchise group sets its own rates. That makes asking about pay in the interview more important in Dallas or Houston than in California, where the law does part of the work for you.
The other 30% of restaurants are spread across 20 more states, each with its own rules. Arizona, Nevada and Washington, for example, all set their own minimum wage above the federal $7.25, so check your state labor department’s current rate before you compare two offers from different cities.
What to ask before you accept
Pay can vary a lot between two stores in the same city, because 93% of locations are franchised. Before you say yes, ask:
- What is the starting hourly rate for this position?
- Do overnight shifts pay more?
- When is the first raise, and what is it based on?
- How often are paychecks issued?
For pay by position, see our Jack in the Box salary and benefits page. If you are job hunting in Texas, our guides to Houston and Dallas jobs are a good next stop.
Jack in the Box Careers is an independent informational website and is not affiliated with Jack in the Box Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. For official openings and applications, please visit the official Jack in the Box website.