2026 Edition · An annual reference on what work pays
United States
Food Preparation Workers
United States. Estimated employment 893,600, with pages for 80 metro areas below.
Fig. 1 — The wage rule
Where you sit in the distribution
Drag the marker, or type a figure
$25,810 10th
$29,950 25th
$35,320 50th
$38,550 75th
$45,340 90th
Table 1 — By metro area
Where it pays
Every published Food Preparation Workers page, by median pay. Employment is the BLS estimate for the metro.
Metro area Median Employment
San Jose, CA $45,580 5,930 Seattle, WA $43,830 11,060 Napa, CA $42,810 620 Santa Rosa, CA $42,640 1,410 Yakima, WA $41,750 600 San Francisco, CA $41,000 14,470 Walla Walla, WA $40,030 210 Los Angeles, CA $39,770 44,930 Bremerton, WA $39,400 580 Santa Cruz, CA $39,110 830 Merced, CA $38,980 460 Vallejo, CA $38,840 930 Longview, WA $38,460 260 Riverside, CA $38,420 11,190 Kennewick, WA $38,390 810 Bellingham, WA $38,240 630 Naples, FL $38,190 1,610 Olympia, WA $37,950 680 Flagstaff, AZ $37,710 570 Washington, DC $37,630 14,810 Phoenix, AZ $37,580 11,910 North Port, FL $37,320 3,480 Port St. Lucie, FL $37,000 1,590 Jacksonville, FL $36,730 4,630 Crestview, FL $36,680 1,050 Cape Coral, FL $36,560 2,460 Tampa, FL $36,330 10,150 Punta Gorda, FL $36,310 760 Albany, NY $36,260 1,890 Ithaca, NY $36,140 280 Miami, FL $36,090 19,630 Atlanta, GA $36,090 17,060 Wichita Falls, TX $35,700 580 New York, NY $35,670 63,530 Orlando, FL $35,600 10,300 Kiryas Joel, NY $35,550 1,660 Rochester, MN $35,470 790 Chicago, IL $35,410 27,100 Yuma, AZ $35,390 330 Binghamton, NY $35,370 550 Tucson, AZ $35,260 2,350 Lake Havasu City, AZ $35,180 370 Kingston, NY $35,130 370 Minneapolis, MN $35,100 16,810 Prescott Valley, AZ $35,090 360 Houston, TX $35,020 16,240 Rochester, NY $35,020 2,870 Syracuse, NY $35,020 1,520 Gainesville, GA $34,950 520 Austin, TX $34,880 9,350 Philadelphia, PA $34,560 10,780 San Antonio, TX $34,390 7,910 College Station, TX $34,380 1,680 Savannah, GA $34,130 1,060 Duluth, MN $34,010 1,050 Sierra Vista, AZ $33,610 170 St. Cloud, MN $33,540 890 Decatur, IL $33,450 200 Mankato, MN $33,440 390 Allentown, PA $33,430 1,360 Midland, TX $33,200 500 Rockford, IL $32,530 720 Springfield, IL $32,530 510 Peoria, IL $32,140 770 Augusta, GA $32,090 1,120 Bloomington, IL $32,030 580 Champaign, IL $31,850 660 Warner Robins, GA $31,830 420 Lancaster, PA $31,580 940 Reading, PA $31,580 590 Macon, GA $31,550 510 Gettysburg, PA $31,500 120 Harrisburg, PA $31,370 970 State College, PA $31,210 260 Kankakee, IL $31,200 270 Lebanon, PA $31,200 180 Athens, GA $31,190 510 Dallas, TX $30,740 21,700 Albany, GA $30,740 370 Odessa, TX $30,550 470
Sources
How this page was made
Wage data Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. Public domain.
Employment 893,600 employed in this occupation nationally (BLS estimate; excludes the self-employed).
Occupation SOC 35-2021, Food Preparation Workers. Mapped to our taxonomy as food-preparation-workers .
Percentiles are reported exactly as released and are never interpolated between published values. We take no payment from employers, recruiters or anyone else for how any figure is presented.