SalariesFood Preparation and Serving Related: pay for 17 occupations, May 2025
The field Food Preparation and Serving Related had 13,680,750 jobs in the United States in May 2025, with a median pay of $35,050 a year ($16.85 an hour) across all its occupations.
No occupation in this field matches.
| Occupation | Median a year | Median an hour | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chefs and Head Cooks | $62,470 | $30.03 | 200,040 |
| Cooks, Private Household | $47,940 | $23.05 | 1,100 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | $44,080 | $21.19 | 1,223,240 |
| Cooks, All Other | $37,690 | $18.12 | 19,350 |
| Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria | $37,450 | $18.01 | 441,050 |
| Cooks, Restaurant | $37,390 | $17.98 | 1,409,890 |
| Cooks, Short Order | $35,880 | $17.25 | 138,650 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other | $35,840 | $17.23 | 84,630 |
| Food Servers, Nonrestaurant | $35,360 | $17.00 | 293,900 |
| Food Preparation Workers | $35,320 | $16.98 | 893,600 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | $35,230 | $16.94 | 2,270,910 |
| Dishwashers | $34,810 | $16.73 | 477,450 |
| Bartenders | $34,340 | $16.51 | 756,390 |
| Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers | $33,980 | $16.34 | 542,750 |
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | $31,200 | $15.00 | 3,854,050 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $31,200 | $15.00 | 432,690 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | $30,890 | $14.85 | 641,070 |
In short
- Highest median pay in this field: Chefs and Head Cooks, $62,470 a year.
- Lowest: Cooks, Fast Food, $30,890 a year.
- Most jobs: Fast Food and Counter Workers (3,854,050), Waiters and Waitresses (2,270,910) and Cooks, Restaurant (1,409,890).
- For comparison, the median for all occupations in the country was $50,980 a year.
Sorted by median pay, highest first. "Not published" in the yearly or hourly column means BLS releases only the other one for that occupation.
The field as a whole
Food Preparation and Serving Related holds 13,680,750 of the 155,495,730 jobs in the national figures, about 9 in every 100. Its median pay of $35,050 a year is 31% below the median for all occupations ($50,980), which places it number 22 of the 22 fields. Across the whole field, the lowest-paid tenth earned less than $23,120 and the highest-paid tenth more than $51,340; the middle half earned between $28,760 and $41,860. The average was $37,150, 6% above the median.
Inside the field
Inside the field, the best-paid occupation with a published yearly median earns 2.0 times the lowest ($62,470 against $30,890). 1 of the 17 occupations with a yearly median are above the national median of $50,980, and 16 are below it. The occupation in the middle of the field's list is Food Servers, Nonrestaurant, at $35,360. Jobs are unevenly spread: the three largest occupations hold 55% of the field's jobs, while the smallest, Cooks, Private Household, has 1,100. Pay stretches furthest within Bartenders, where the highest-paid tenth earn over $73,770 and the lowest-paid tenth under $20,110.
Reading the field
Pay also moves with place. For the field's largest occupation, Fast Food and Counter Workers, the state medians run from $20,770 in Guam to $42,280 in California; its own page has every state. The Bureau of Labor Statistics sorts every occupation into one field by the work done, not by the industry of the employer, so an accountant at a hospital is counted under business and financial operations, not health care.
Questions about this field
What is the highest-paying job in food preparation and serving related?
By published median pay in May 2025: Chefs and Head Cooks, at $62,470 a year.
Which food preparation and serving related occupation has the most jobs?
Fast Food and Counter Workers, with 3,854,050 jobs in the United States.
What is the median pay for food preparation and serving related occupations?
$35,050 a year across the whole field, against $50,980 for all occupations.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Checked in November 2026. Figures are for employees, before tax, and leave out overtime pay and benefits. They are official statistics, not advice or a pay offer; see bls.gov/oes for the original tables.