Restaurant/Food Services Management Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Restaurant/Food Services Management maps to BLS occupations averaging about $154,579, with roughly 1,269,070 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $5,496; common paths include Database Administrators and Sales Managers.
Key Statistics
Restaurant/Food Services Management: what the data shows
Common questions about restaurant/food services management degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a restaurant/food services management degree?
A Restaurant/Food Services Management program is classified under NCES CIP 52.0905 in the Hospitality Administration/Management field family (52.09).
A program that prepares individuals to plan, manage, and market restaurants, food services in hospitality establishments, food service chains and franchise networks, and restaurant supply operations. Includes instruction in hospitality administration, food services management, wholesale logistics and distribution, franchise operations, business networking, personnel management, culinary arts, business planning and capitalization, food industry operations, marketing and retailing, business law and regulations, finance, and professional standards and ethics
IPEDS counted 316 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of restaurant/food services management degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 52.09 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Brewery/Brewpub Operations/Management (CIP 52.0910)
- Casino Management (CIP 52.0908)
- Hospitality Administration/Management, General (CIP 52.0901)
- Hotel, Motel, and Restaurant Management (CIP 52.0909)
- Hotel/Motel Administration/Management (CIP 52.0904)
- Meeting and Event Planning (CIP 52.0907)
- Resort Management (CIP 52.0906)
- Tourism and Travel Services Management (CIP 52.0903)
How long does it take to get a restaurant/food services management degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 52.0905 in our file:
- 67 Associate (15.4% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 316 Bachelor's (72.8% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 51 Master's (11.8% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Database Administrators (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 52.0905, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a restaurant/food services management degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Restaurant/Food Services Management to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Database Administrators | 73,180 | $104,620 |
| Sales Managers | 603,710 | $138,060 |
| Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary | 319,630 | $104,070 |
| Education Administrators, Postsecondary | 176,420 | $103,960 |
| Public Relations Managers | 76,060 | $138,520 |
| Compensation and Benefits Managers | 20,070 | $140,360 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a restaurant/food services management degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Hospitality Administration/Management bachelor's program family: median debt $29,589, median earnings $56,726 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.85.
About 3.1% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $5,496 and median net price is $11,762.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Restaurant/Food Services Management and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$5,496 Median In-State Public
$29,499 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Restaurant/Food Services Management majors are, on average, $5,496 for in-state public colleges, and $29,499 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Restaurant/Food Services Management programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Restaurant/Food Services Management from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Restaurant/Food Services Management.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 2 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 85,991 |
| 3 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 85,991 |
| 4 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
| 5 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Restaurant/Food Services Management programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tohono O'odham Community College | AZ | $932 |
| 2 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
| 3 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
| 4 | San Diego City College | CA | $1,146 |
| 5 | San Diego Mesa College | CA | $1,146 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Restaurant/Food Services Management programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | GA | $614 |
| 2 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | GA | $614 |
| 3 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
| 4 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
| 5 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Restaurant/Food Services Management programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Restaurant/Food Services Management programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Restaurant/Food Services Management is in NY (208 completions). That state represents about 65.8% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is NY (0.07% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| NY | 208 | 65.8% | 0.07% |
| CO | 44 | 13.9% | 0.06% |
| FL | 33 | 10.4% | 0.01% |
| VA | 14 | 4.4% | 0.01% |
| AL | 7 | 2.2% | 0.01% |
| RI | 5 | 1.6% | 0.02% |
| PR | 3 | 0.9% | 0.01% |
| NC | 1 | 0.3% | 0.00% |
| PA | 1 | 0.3% | 0.00% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 52.09 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Brewery/Brewpub Operations/Management CIP 52.0910
- Casino Management CIP 52.0908
- Hospitality Administration/Management, General CIP 52.0901
- Hotel, Motel, and Restaurant Management CIP 52.0909
- Hotel/Motel Administration/Management CIP 52.0904
- Meeting and Event Planning CIP 52.0907
- Resort Management CIP 52.0906
- Tourism and Travel Services Management CIP 52.0903
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 52.0905 in the survey year used in our extract (434 total across levels below).
- 67 Associate (15.4% of IPEDS total)
- 316 Bachelor's (72.8% of IPEDS total)
- 51 Master's (11.8% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $154,579. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Restaurant/Food Services Management graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Database Administrators | $122,296 | 73,180 |
| Sales Managers | $160,084 | 603,710 |
| Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary | $150,347 | 319,630 |
| Education Administrators, Postsecondary | $141,801 | 176,420 |
| Public Relations Managers | $182,777 | 76,060 |
| Compensation and Benefits Managers | $179,559 | 20,070 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Hospitality Administration/Management CIP family (47 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Restaurant/Food Services Management graduate.
- $29,589 median federal loan debt among completers
- $56,726 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.85 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 3.1% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$154,579 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Restaurant/Food Services Management majors is $154,579.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Restaurant/Food Services Management majors.
Occupations by Share
1,269,070 2023 Workforce
The number of Restaurant/Food Services Management graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Restaurant/Food Services Management by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Restaurant/Food Services Management in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Restaurant/Food Services Management.
Age distribution for Restaurant/Food Services Management degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
316 Total Degrees Awarded
149 Male (47.15%)
167 Female (52.85%)
Gender distribution of Restaurant/Food Services Management degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
143 White (45.25%)
65 Hispanic or Latino (20.57%)
38 Black or African American (12.03%)
23 Asian (7.28%)
14 Two or More Races (4.43%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Restaurant/Food Services Management degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Restaurant/Food Services Management are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Restaurant/Food Services Management.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Restaurant/Food Services Management field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Restaurant/Food Services Management majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Restaurant/Food Services Management majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Restaurant/Food Services Management majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to plan, manage, and market restaurants, food services in hospitality establishments, food service chains and franchise networks, and restaurant supply operations. Includes instruction in hospitality administration, food services management, wholesale logistics and distribution, franchise operations, business networking, personnel management, culinary arts, business planning and capitalization, food industry operations, marketing and retailing, business law and regulations, finance, and professional standards and ethics
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Restaurant/Food Services Management.
CIP Code
52.0905 - Restaurant/Food Services Management
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $29,589 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $56,726, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.85. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Restaurant/Food Services Management graduate.
Women earned 61.2% of 730 Restaurant/Food Services Management completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $154,579. The largest mapped role by headcount is Database Administrators (73,180 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $5,496 in-state at public colleges and $29,499 at private institutions for programs in this field.
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 U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.