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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2022

35-2021 Food Preparation Workers

Perform a variety of food preparation duties other than cooking, such as preparing cold foods and shellfish, slicing meat, and brewing coffee or tea.


National estimates for Food Preparation Workers
Industry profile for Food Preparation Workers
Geographic profile for Food Preparation Workers

National estimates for Food Preparation Workers:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Food Preparation Workers:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
904,330 1.4 % $ 14.77 $ 30,720 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for Food Preparation Workers:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 10.47 $ 12.44 $ 14.32 $ 16.81 $ 18.65
Annual Wage (2) $ 21,770 $ 25,880 $ 29,790 $ 34,970 $ 38,780


Industry profile for Food Preparation Workers:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Food Preparation Workers are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Food Preparation Workers, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Food Preparation Workers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Restaurants and Other Eating Places 493,690 4.74 $ 14.20 $ 29,530
Food and Beverage Retailers (4451 and 4452 only) 174,920 5.86 $ 15.21 $ 31,630
Special Food Services 47,400 7.44 $ 15.35 $ 31,930
Elementary and Secondary Schools 23,990 0.29 $ 15.86 $ 32,990
General Merchandise Retailers 22,650 0.70 $ 19.03 $ 39,580

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Food Preparation Workers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Special Food Services 47,400 7.44 $ 15.35 $ 31,930
Food and Beverage Retailers (4451 and 4452 only) 174,920 5.86 $ 15.21 $ 31,630
Restaurants and Other Eating Places 493,690 4.74 $ 14.20 $ 29,530
Rooming and Boarding Houses 270 2.75 $ 15.27 $ 31,760
Other Food Manufacturing 5,170 2.07 $ 16.13 $ 33,550

Top paying industries for Food Preparation Workers:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Grantmaking and Giving Services 80 0.05 $ 21.43 $ 44,570
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations 270 0.06 $ 20.54 $ 42,730
Dairy Product Manufacturing 220 0.14 $ 20.04 $ 41,690
Animal Slaughtering and Processing 530 0.10 $ 19.74 $ 41,060
Warehousing and Storage 590 0.03 $ 19.13 $ 39,790


Geographic profile for Food Preparation Workers:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Food Preparation Workers are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Food Preparation Workers, see the Create Customized Tables function.



Map of employment of food preparation workers by state, May 2022


States with the highest employment level in Food Preparation Workers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Texas 130,320 10.03 1.64 $ 13.21 $ 27,480
California 112,720 6.39 1.05 $ 17.19 $ 35,750
Florida 72,080 7.83 1.28 $ 14.77 $ 30,720
New York 50,380 5.53 0.90 $ 17.74 $ 36,900
Illinois 35,230 5.99 0.98 $ 14.96 $ 31,120


Map of location quotient of food preparation workers by state, May 2022


States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Food Preparation Workers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Louisiana 29,620 16.03 2.62 $ 10.63 $ 22,100
Alaska 3,480 11.38 1.86 $ 16.28 $ 33,860
Texas 130,320 10.03 1.64 $ 13.21 $ 27,480
Maine 5,820 9.54 1.56 $ 15.84 $ 32,940
Rhode Island 4,160 8.68 1.42 $ 14.86 $ 30,920


Map of annual mean wages of food preparation workers by state, May 2022


Top paying states for Food Preparation Workers:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 4,240 6.14 1.00 $ 18.59 $ 38,670
Washington 17,030 5.00 0.82 $ 18.47 $ 38,420
Colorado 12,940 4.68 0.76 $ 18.28 $ 38,030
Hawaii 4,120 6.92 1.13 $ 18.07 $ 37,580
Massachusetts 19,690 5.52 0.90 $ 17.81 $ 37,050



Map of employment of food preparation workers by area, May 2022


Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Food Preparation Workers:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 50,100 5.45 0.89 $ 18.15 $ 37,760
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 40,360 6.62 1.08 $ 17.08 $ 35,520
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 33,610 8.84 1.44 $ 13.81 $ 28,710
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 30,610 10.02 1.64 $ 13.35 $ 27,770
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 26,640 6.03 0.99 $ 15.50 $ 32,240
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 18,530 7.06 1.15 $ 15.21 $ 31,630
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 18,380 6.74 1.10 $ 14.14 $ 29,400
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 16,140 5.33 0.87 $ 16.18 $ 33,650
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 13,820 5.78 0.94 $ 18.70 $ 38,900
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 13,420 4.96 0.81 $ 17.87 $ 37,170


Map of location quotient of food preparation workers by area, May 2022


Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Food Preparation Workers:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Hammond, LA 910 20.05 3.28 $ 10.32 $ 21,470
Monroe, LA 1,440 19.29 3.16 $ 9.90 $ 20,600
Lafayette, LA 3,540 18.46 3.02 $ 10.52 $ 21,890
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 3,050 18.30 2.99 $ 10.34 $ 21,520
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 2,500 16.71 2.73 $ 11.36 $ 23,620
Houma-Thibodaux, LA 1,260 16.20 2.65 $ 10.35 $ 21,530
Alexandria, LA 960 16.09 2.63 $ 10.11 $ 21,020
New Orleans-Metairie, LA 8,310 16.02 2.62 $ 11.21 $ 23,310
Corpus Christi, TX 2,780 15.27 2.50 $ 12.68 $ 26,370
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 4,120 14.97 2.45 $ 11.72 $ 24,380


Map of annual mean wages of food preparation workers by area, May 2022


Top paying metropolitan areas for Food Preparation Workers:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Boulder, CO 670 3.47 0.57 $ 20.47 $ 42,580
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 5,800 5.17 0.84 $ 19.29 $ 40,130
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 9,830 4.82 0.79 $ 19.27 $ 40,080
Napa, CA 590 8.03 1.31 $ 18.97 $ 39,450
Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI 530 7.30 1.19 $ 18.84 $ 39,190
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 270 5.38 0.88 $ 18.79 $ 39,080
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 13,820 5.78 0.94 $ 18.70 $ 38,900
Santa Rosa, CA 1,360 6.69 1.09 $ 18.36 $ 38,180
Fort Collins, CO 860 5.10 0.83 $ 18.25 $ 37,950
Olympia-Tumwater, WA 570 4.70 0.77 $ 18.16 $ 37,770

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Food Preparation Workers:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 2,740 10.03 1.64 $ 11.75 $ 24,440
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 2,370 6.18 1.01 $ 11.80 $ 24,550
Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area 2,050 10.96 1.79 $ 15.86 $ 32,980
Hill Country Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 1,910 9.79 1.60 $ 12.34 $ 25,670
Coastal Plains Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 1,830 12.52 2.05 $ 12.03 $ 25,020

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Food Preparation Workers:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 1,140 18.22 2.98 $ 9.67 $ 20,120
Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 1,040 15.62 2.55 $ 9.98 $ 20,750
Central Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 1,160 15.51 2.54 $ 9.86 $ 20,510
Border Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 740 12.71 2.08 $ 12.45 $ 25,890
Coastal Plains Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 1,830 12.52 2.05 $ 12.03 $ 25,020

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Food Preparation Workers:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 950 7.67 1.25 $ 20.92 $ 43,510
Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 570 5.63 0.92 $ 18.58 $ 38,650
Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area 580 9.42 1.54 $ 18.42 $ 38,320
Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 750 7.71 1.26 $ 18.23 $ 37,910
Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area 450 4.49 0.74 $ 17.13 $ 35,640


About May 2022 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2022 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2022 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 25, 2023