Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations

Minor Occupation Group

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    2024 Workforce
    8.2M
    Average Age
    32.9
    Average Salary
    $23,677
    Average Male Salary
    $26,699
    Average Female Salary
    $21,183

    About

    Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations are most often employed by the Restaurants & Food Services industry. The average yearly wage for Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations was $23,677 in 2024.

    Photo by Marjon Melissen
    Service Occupations

    Employment

    Employment and salary information for the Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations workforce. Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations workforce in 2024 was 8,202,580 people, of which 54.8% were women and 45.2% were men.

    Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations are paid most in NYC-Manhattan Community District 4--Chelsea & Hell's Kitchen PUMA, NY but are relatively concentrated in Los Angeles County (Central)--LA City (Central/Koreatown) PUMA, CA.

    Employment Over Time

    Metric
    Grouping
    3,709,285
    Male Workforce
    ± 46.7k
    4,493,295
    Female Workforce
    ± 51.3k

    The Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations workforce in 2024 was 8,202,580 people (54.8% women and 45.2% men). This implies an average annual growth of −0.615% between 2014 (8,253,355) and 2024 (8,202,580).

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    Employment by Location

    Level
    Metric

    This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations.

    During 2024, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were Nevada ($32,875), District of Columbia ($32,104), and Hawaii ($31,933).

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    Yearly Wage Ranking

    $23,677
    AVERAGE WAGE
    #17 in the ranking (2014)
    $69,878
    NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE
    For all occupations across the US

    In 2024, Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations earned an average of $23,677, $46,200 less than the average national salary of $69,878

    Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations are the lowest paid occupation in the US followed by Personal Care & Service Occupations. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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    Wage Distribution

    Gender
    0.443
    WAGE GINI

    In 2024, Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.443, which is lower than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

    The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations compared to the entire workforce in the country.

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    Industry

    Information on the industries that employ Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations and on wages for those in the field. Restaurants & Food Services is the industry that employs the most Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations, by average wage, is Alcoholic beverages merchant wholesalers ($146,465).

    Occupations by Industries

    Metric
    Value
    8.2M
    2024 Workforce
    ± 68,430
    −0.453%
    1 YEAR GROWTH
    ± 1.18%

    This graphic shows the share of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations employed by various industries. Restaurants & Food Services employs the largest share of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations at 89.5%, followed by Elementary & secondary schools with 4.32% and Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores with 3.39%.

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    Diversity

    Demographic information on Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations in the US. The workforce of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations in 2024 was 8,202,580 people, with 54.8% woman, and 45.2% men. The average age of male Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations in the workforce is 32.2 and of female Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations is 33.5, and the most common race/ethnicity for Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations is White.

    Gender and Age

    Metric

    The workforce of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations in 2024 was 8,202,580 people, with 54.8% woman, and 45.2% men.

    The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 20 to 24 years (1,706,206 people), 16 to 19 years (1,698,831  people), and 25 to 29 years (945,108 people). Among them they concentrated 53% of the total workforce.

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    Ethnicity

    Gender

    In 2024, 27.6% of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations workers were Hispanic and 72.4% non-Hispanic.

    The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (60%), Puerto Rican (9.29)%, and Salvadoran (5.29)%

    You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

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    Races

    In 2024, 53.3% of the Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations workforce were White, of which 58.4% were women and 41.6% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Two or More Races (15.8%) and Black (12.1%).

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    Education & Skills

    Data on higher education choices for Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations is Business but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2024 were Personal & Culinary Services.

    Among the necessary skills for Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations, Coordination stands, but the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations need more than the average amount of Service Orientation.

    Majors

    ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.
    Type of Majors
    Degree

    The most common majors achieved by Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations in 2024 (counting all academic degrees) were Business (160,766 people), Visual & Performing Arts (68,037 people), and Social Sciences (53,319 people).

    You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

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    Education Levels

    Metric

    The main educational levels achieved by the Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations workers were High School or Equivalent (2,897,609 people), Some college (2,044,760 people), and Secondary Education (1,531,199 people).

    The graphic shows the Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations workforce by gender and educational level.

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    Skills

    Chart
    Value

    Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations need many skills, but most especially Coordination, Speaking, Monitoring.

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