Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations

Minor Occupation Group

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2023 Workforce
8.24M
Average Age
33
Average Salary
$22,935
Average Male Salary
$25,868
Average Female Salary
$20,506

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 $22,935 in 2023.

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 2023 was 8,239,876 people, of which 54.7% were women and 45.3% 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 NYC-Queens Community District 4--Elmhurst & Corona PUMA, NY.

Employment Over Time

Metric
Grouping
3,732,621
Male Workforce
± 46.9k
4,507,255
Female Workforce
± 51.4k

The Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations workforce in 2023 was 8,239,876 people (54.7% women and 45.3% men). This implies an average annual growth of −0.163% between 2014 (8,253,355) and 2023 (8,239,876).

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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 2023, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were Nevada ($31,827), Hawaii ($31,034), and District of Columbia ($31,028).

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Yearly Wage Ranking

$22,935
AVERAGE WAGE
#17 in the ranking (2023)
$67,727
NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE
For all occupations across the US

In 2023, Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations earned an average of $22,935, $44,792 less than the average national salary of $67,727

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
0.44
WAGE GINI

In 2023, Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.44, which is lower than the national average of 0.476. 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 ($106,026).

Occupations by Industries

Metric
Value
8.24M
2023 Workforce
± 68,556
−1.58%
1 YEAR GROWTH
± 1.19%

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 3.38%.

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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 2023 was 8,239,876 people, with 54.7% woman, and 45.3% men. The average age of male Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations in the workforce is 32.1 and of female Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations is 33.7, 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 2023 was 8,239,876 people, with 54.7% woman, and 45.3% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 20 to 24 years (1,694,950 people), 16 to 19 years (1,661,505  people), and 25 to 29 years (989,852 people). Among them they concentrated 52.8% of the total workforce.

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Ethnicity

Gender

In 2023, 27.1% of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations workers were Hispanic and 72.9% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (61.3%), Puerto Rican (9.35)%, and Salvadoran (5.3)%

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Races

In 2023, 56.7% of the Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations workforce were White, of which 58% were women and 42% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Two or More Races (13.1%) and Black (12.5%).

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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 2023 were Personal & Culinary Services.

Among the necessary skills for Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations, Active Listening stands, but the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations need more than the average amount of Quality Control Analysis.

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 2023 (counting all academic degrees) were Business (157,229 people), Visual & Performing Arts (67,442 people), and Social Sciences (52,214 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 (2,883,077 people), Some college (2,106,619 people), and Secondary Education (1,543,303 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 Active Listening, Time Management, Speaking.

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