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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

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 this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
863,740 1.3 % $12.41 $25,820 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $8.76 $10.00 $11.92 $14.26 $17.07
Annual Wage (2) $18,220 $20,800 $24,800 $29,650 $35,500


Industry profile for this occupation:

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Restaurants and Other Eating Places 439,240 4.06 $11.86 $24,660
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only) 189,980 6.53 $12.72 $26,470
Special Food Services 52,200 7.11 $13.06 $27,160
Elementary and Secondary Schools 25,600 0.30 $14.65 $30,470
Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) 16,950 1.06 $11.74 $24,410

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Special Food Services 52,200 7.11 $13.06 $27,160
Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only) 189,980 6.53 $12.72 $26,470
Restaurants and Other Eating Places 439,240 4.06 $11.86 $24,660
Vending Machine Operators 1,360 3.40 $11.95 $24,850
Rooming and Boarding Houses 320 2.73 $12.78 $26,570

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 2,970 0.10 $16.02 $33,320
Educational Support Services 50 0.03 $15.88 $33,020
Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing 30 0.04 $15.70 $32,650
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 13,250 0.24 $15.04 $31,280
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations 140 0.03 $14.98 $31,160


Geographic profile for this occupation:

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





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 109,410 6.29 1.07 $13.95 $29,010
Florida 65,620 7.46 1.27 $12.07 $25,100
New York 59,850 6.28 1.07 $14.64 $30,460
Texas 59,330 4.77 0.81 $11.86 $24,670
New Jersey 37,100 9.08 1.54 $12.28 $25,550




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Louisiana 36,620 19.06 3.24 $9.18 $19,080
Hawaii 9,290 14.62 2.49 $14.65 $30,470
Maine 8,360 13.68 2.33 $13.30 $27,660
Alaska 3,840 12.11 2.06 $14.88 $30,940
Tennessee 35,940 11.95 2.03 $10.09 $20,990




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 3,780 5.22 0.89 $16.17 $33,620
Washington 15,820 4.77 0.81 $15.47 $32,180
Massachusetts 16,370 4.52 0.77 $15.11 $31,440
Alaska 3,840 12.11 2.06 $14.88 $30,940
Rhode Island 3,450 7.14 1.21 $14.72 $30,610





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

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 72,160 7.47 1.27 $14.13 $29,390
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 42,140 6.75 1.15 $13.37 $27,810
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 26,200 5.60 0.95 $13.09 $27,230
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 21,390 7.80 1.33 $11.03 $22,950
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 20,950 7.93 1.35 $12.26 $25,500
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 16,040 5.05 0.86 $13.43 $27,920
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 15,870 5.20 0.88 $11.94 $24,830
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 14,640 5.92 1.01 $15.30 $31,820
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 13,800 13.81 2.35 $10.70 $22,260
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 12,700 4.41 0.75 $11.96 $24,880




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Monroe, LA 1,830 23.95 4.07 $8.98 $18,680
Lafayette, LA 4,740 23.88 4.06 $8.91 $18,540
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 3,830 21.88 3.72 $9.39 $19,520
Lake Charles, LA 2,360 20.35 3.46 $9.21 $19,160
Alexandria, LA 1,150 18.98 3.23 $8.98 $18,690
Fairbanks, AK 580 17.30 2.94 $14.84 $30,870
New Orleans-Metairie, LA 9,500 17.05 2.90 $9.22 $19,170
Baton Rouge, LA 6,720 17.01 2.89 $9.33 $19,410
Ithaca, NY 850 16.96 2.88 $15.26 $31,750
Ocean City, NJ 660 16.53 2.81 $11.82 $24,590




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI 1,070 14.01 2.38 $17.15 $35,680
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA 220 4.32 0.73 $16.32 $33,940
Redding, CA 360 5.37 0.91 $16.07 $33,430
New Haven, CT 1,990 7.00 1.19 $15.99 $33,260
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 9,950 4.92 0.84 $15.95 $33,180
Napa, CA 330 4.23 0.72 $15.73 $32,720
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 550 5.59 0.95 $15.47 $32,170
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 3,110 5.32 0.90 $15.46 $32,160
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 11,780 4.21 0.72 $15.36 $31,950
Bellingham, WA 380 4.24 0.72 $15.35 $31,920

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area 3,280 16.96 2.88 $13.11 $27,260
East Tennessee nonmetropolitan area 2,340 17.31 2.94 $9.82 $20,420
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 2,310 6.91 1.17 $10.60 $22,050
North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 2,140 7.72 1.31 $10.45 $21,740
West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area 1,950 7.58 1.29 $10.14 $21,090

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 1,710 26.24 4.46 $8.98 $18,690
Central Louisiana nonmetropolitan area 1,740 22.32 3.80 $9.17 $19,070
North Central Tennessee nonmetropolitan area 1,920 17.47 2.97 $9.04 $18,810
East Tennessee nonmetropolitan area 2,340 17.31 2.94 $9.82 $20,420
Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area 3,280 16.96 2.88 $13.11 $27,260

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Lower Savannah South Carolina nonmetropolitan area 130 2.30 0.39 $16.84 $35,030
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 1,090 10.04 1.71 $16.43 $34,170
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 690 5.63 0.96 $16.23 $33,750
Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area 1,700 16.74 2.85 $15.21 $31,640
Western Washington nonmetropolitan area 580 4.68 0.80 $14.67 $30,500


About May 2019 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 OES estimates and related information:

May 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: July 6, 2020