Food Preparation Workers Salary: $41,662 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 888,770 food preparation workers nationally earn a mean of $41,662. Employment in the series shown fell about 8% from the first to the last year; CA accounts for about 93,700 jobs in our geographic extract.
Key Statistics
Food Preparation Workers: what the data shows
Common questions about food preparation workers careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a food preparation workers?
Food Preparation Workers is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 35-2021.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 888,770 workers.
What does a food preparation workers do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Handling and Moving Objects, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a food preparation workers make?
BLS national median annual wage: $34,220 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $41,662 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $35,831 |
| 25th percentile | $36,838 |
| Median (50th) | $39,235 |
| 75th percentile | $45,282 |
| 90th percentile | $49,272 |
What education do you need?
For Food Preparation Workers, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Time Management, Coordination, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Active Listening, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, Public Safety and Security, Food Production. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is food preparation workers in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 0.3% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -1.4%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -2.9%.
Current U.S. headcount: 888,770.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do food preparation workerss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 888,770 | 18.5% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 848,940 | 17.7% |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 515,940 | 10.7% |
| Food Services and Drinking Places | 499,130 | 10.4% |
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places | 442,900 | 9.2% |
| Retail Trade | 233,660 | 4.9% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Food Preparation Workers in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products | 26,870 | $35,430 |
| Food Batchmakers | 171,660 | $40,790 |
| Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders | 19,500 | $42,730 |
| Food Scientists and Technologists | 14,370 | $85,310 |
| Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders | 27,660 | $40,550 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | 1,187,460 | $42,010 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other | 89,580 | $34,830 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Food Preparation Workers workforce.
Employment Over Time
888,770 Workforce in 2023
The Food Preparation Workers workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Food Preparation Workers.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$41,662 Average Wage
In 2023, Food Preparation Workers earned an average of $41,662.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Food Preparation Workers.
Salary distribution for Food Preparation Workers.
Employment Growth Projections
-0.3% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
389,236 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -1.4%
383,614 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -2.9%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Food Preparation Workers.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Food Preparation Workers and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Food Preparation Workers employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Food Preparation Workers.
Wage Trends by Industry
1.9% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Food Preparation Workers.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Food Preparation Workers.
Metropolitan employment on this page is from the California OEWS extract. Area names omit state codes; all listed metros are in California, so the state chart shows California totals (not a multi-state ranking).
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 93,700 employees, $41,728 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Food Preparation Workers.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 28,790 employees, $41,502 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 10,230 employees, $41,235 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 8,900 employees, $40,757 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: 8,010 employees, $41,456 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 6,240 employees, $45,323 avg wage
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD: 5,980 employees, $42,671 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 5,770 employees, $43,903 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA: 5,230 employees, $41,137 avg wage
- Fresno MSA: 1,980 employees, $39,985 avg wage
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA: 1,800 employees, $40,500 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Food Preparation Workers.
Diversity
Demographic information on Food Preparation Workers in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Food Preparation Workers in 2023 was 888,770 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Food Preparation Workers.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Food Preparation Workers.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Food Preparation Workers.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Food Preparation Workers in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Food Preparation Workers.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Food Preparation Workers workers.
Education level distribution for Food Preparation Workers.
Skills
Food Preparation Workers need many skills, but most especially Time Management, Coordination, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation.
Required skills for Food Preparation Workers.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Food Preparation Workers.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Food Preparation Workers include Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, Public Safety and Security, Food Production, English Language.
Knowledge areas required for Food Preparation Workers.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Food Preparation Workers include Near Vision, Oral Expression, Manual Dexterity, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Speech Recognition.
Required abilities for Food Preparation Workers.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Food Preparation Workers.
Daily Activities
Food Preparation Workers spend their time on activities such as Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Handling and Moving Objects, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials.
Most important work activities for Food Preparation Workers.
About
Food Preparation Workers
The average yearly wage for Food Preparation Workers was $41,662 in 2023.
SOC Code
35-2021 - Food Preparation Workers
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Food Preparation Workers reports an average salary of $41,662.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 888,770 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -0.3%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.