Food Preparation Workers Salary in the United States

The median annual wage for food preparation workers in the U.S. is $35,320 ($16.98 per hour), according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 estimates.

Median annual wage: $35,320
Mean annual wage: $35,290
Median hourly wage: $16.98
Employment: 893,600

Wage percentiles

U.S. wage distribution for food preparation workers (OEWS May 2025).
Percentile	Annual wage	Hourly wage
10th percentile	$25,810	$12.41
25th percentile	$29,950	$14.40
Median (50th)	$35,320	$16.98
75th percentile	$38,550	$18.53
90th percentile	$45,340	$21.80

Highest-paying states for food preparation workers

State	Median annual wage	Employment
Washington	$40,910	19,510
District of Columbia	$39,600	3,970
California	$39,350	112,750
Colorado	$38,960	12,080
Massachusetts	$38,900	13,620
Hawaii	$38,160	5,950
Oregon	$37,450	11,860
North Dakota	$36,800	980
New Hampshire	$36,780	3,420
Arizona	$36,750	16,590

Lowest-paying states

Louisiana: $23,620 median annual wage
Mississippi: $26,240 median annual wage
Kentucky: $26,850 median annual wage
Arkansas: $27,660 median annual wage
Alabama: $27,930 median annual wage

Related occupations

Fast Food and Counter Workers$31,200
Waiters and Waitresses$35,230
Cooks, Restaurant$37,390
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$44,080
Bartenders$34,340
Cooks, Fast Food$30,890
Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers$33,980
Dishwashers$34,810

About this data

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — data period May 2025, retrieved August 13, 2026.
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — data period May 2025, retrieved August 13, 2026.

Figures are shown exactly as published by the source or derived by the documented formulas on our methodology page. Where a source suppresses an estimate, we show “—” rather than a substitute value.