Want the lowest paid job in Georgia? Here’s where to start.

Food Preparation …………………….. $18,100 ……. 102,380

Dishwashers ………………………….….$18,210 ………. 13,800

Cooks, Fast Food ………………….…. $18,320 .………. 22,780

Counter Attendants ………………….. $18,470 ………..11,810

Other food servers ………………….… $18,490 …………1,290

Ushers, Ticket Takers ………….…… $18,860 .…………3,650

Waiters and Waitresses ……….……. $18,890 ……….80,220

Shampooers ……………………….……… $18,920 …………..470

Lifeguards, recreational workers … $18,950 ………..3,070

Source: Zippia, Bureau of Labor Statistics

We spend a lot of time writing about jobs and job growth, sometimes perhaps emphasizing the number of jobs being added to the economy without a lot of attention to the size of the paychecks.

And sometimes we note the share of jobs that pay well or pay badly – since the income of consumers has a lot to with how much they can spend at their neighborhood restaurant or retail store or, for that matter, on their monthly mortgage payment.

We occasionally do bemoan the mix, even as we recognize that Georgia sometimes does relatively well.

A lot of the jobs added to the Georgia economy are, for certain, in sectors that do not typically reimburse generously.

But just what are those jobs, anyhow?

Zippia, a San Francisco-based firm that specializes in career information, has (ahem) zipped through the federal data and come up with a list of the top – or maybe it's the bottom? – 100 lowest-paying jobs in the state.

The dubious honor of lowest average salary is held by the position of hostess at a restaurant, lounge or coffee shop: $17,980.

But that's not all so common a job – there are just 12,700 of these people in the state, Zippia says. The second-lowest average pay is for food preparation and serving workers, including those in fast good: There are eight times as many of them and they average $18,100 a year.

As context, the Census Bureau's most recent estimate puts the median household income for Georgia at $49,321.

Among the metro area’s five core counties, Cobb has the highest median income, $65,522 and Clayton the lowest, $43,311.