Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018
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: Top
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 814,600 |
1.2 % |
$11.94 |
$24,830 |
0.4 % |
Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$8.68 |
$9.69 |
$11.41 |
$13.59 |
$16.19 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$18,040 |
$20,160 |
$23,730 |
$28,270 |
$33,670 |
Industry profile for this occupation: Top
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 |
406,350 |
3.80 |
$11.47 |
$23,860 |
| Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only) |
183,410 |
6.27 |
$12.11 |
$25,200 |
| Special Food Services |
47,350 |
6.60 |
$12.57 |
$26,150 |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools |
23,600 |
0.28 |
$14.38 |
$29,910 |
| Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities) |
17,240 |
1.07 |
$11.47 |
$23,850 |
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 |
47,350 |
6.60 |
$12.57 |
$26,150 |
| Food and Beverage Stores (4451 and 4452 only) |
183,410 |
6.27 |
$12.11 |
$25,200 |
| Restaurants and Other Eating Places |
406,350 |
3.80 |
$11.47 |
$23,860 |
| Other Food Manufacturing |
6,660 |
2.97 |
$12.06 |
$25,070 |
| Vending Machine Operators |
1,030 |
2.67 |
$11.42 |
$23,750 |
Top paying industries for this occupation:
Geographic profile for this occupation: Top
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 |
102,680 |
6.04 |
1.07 |
$13.42 |
$27,910 |
| Florida |
62,010 |
7.20 |
1.28 |
$11.63 |
$24,190 |
| New York |
61,600 |
6.56 |
1.17 |
$13.71 |
$28,520 |
| Texas |
55,060 |
4.55 |
0.81 |
$11.32 |
$23,540 |
| Louisiana |
35,890 |
18.75 |
3.33 |
$9.05 |
$18,820 |
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 |
35,890 |
18.75 |
3.33 |
$9.05 |
$18,820 |
| Alaska |
4,640 |
14.73 |
2.62 |
$14.21 |
$29,550 |
| Maine |
7,890 |
13.03 |
2.32 |
$12.35 |
$25,690 |
| Hawaii |
7,700 |
11.99 |
2.13 |
$13.78 |
$28,660 |
| New Jersey |
32,960 |
8.14 |
1.45 |
$11.75 |
$24,450 |
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 |
4,330 |
6.08 |
1.08 |
$15.15 |
$31,510 |
| Washington |
17,380 |
5.33 |
0.95 |
$14.59 |
$30,340 |
| Massachusetts |
15,080 |
4.22 |
0.75 |
$14.41 |
$29,980 |
| Rhode Island |
2,800 |
5.81 |
1.03 |
$14.30 |
$29,730 |
| Alaska |
4,640 |
14.73 |
2.62 |
$14.21 |
$29,550 |
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 |
69,480 |
7.32 |
1.30 |
$13.35 |
$27,770 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
36,330 |
5.94 |
1.05 |
$12.78 |
$26,590 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
26,010 |
5.60 |
1.00 |
$12.31 |
$25,600 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
21,140 |
7.88 |
1.40 |
$10.58 |
$22,000 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
19,130 |
7.39 |
1.31 |
$11.89 |
$24,740 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
17,930 |
5.72 |
1.02 |
$12.38 |
$25,750 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
16,410 |
6.78 |
1.21 |
$15.20 |
$31,610 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
14,130 |
4.74 |
0.84 |
$11.54 |
$24,010 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
13,080 |
4.59 |
0.82 |
$11.56 |
$24,050 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
12,910 |
3.62 |
0.64 |
$11.10 |
$23,090 |
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) |
| Shreveport-Bossier City, LA |
4,040 |
23.14 |
4.11 |
$8.99 |
$18,710 |
| Fairbanks, AK |
700 |
19.66 |
3.49 |
$14.10 |
$29,330 |
| Lafayette, LA |
3,810 |
19.43 |
3.45 |
$9.02 |
$18,750 |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA |
10,650 |
19.27 |
3.42 |
$9.13 |
$18,990 |
| Ocean City, NJ |
730 |
18.73 |
3.33 |
$12.06 |
$25,080 |
| Lake Charles, LA |
2,140 |
18.43 |
3.27 |
$9.01 |
$18,750 |
| Hammond, LA |
790 |
18.34 |
3.26 |
$8.63 |
$17,960 |
| Alexandria, LA |
1,020 |
16.86 |
3.00 |
$9.00 |
$18,720 |
| Baton Rouge, LA |
6,570 |
16.60 |
2.95 |
$9.11 |
$18,960 |
| Monroe, LA |
1,180 |
15.22 |
2.70 |
$8.65 |
$17,980 |
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 |
780 |
10.40 |
1.85 |
$15.95 |
$33,180 |
| New Haven, CT |
2,100 |
7.39 |
1.31 |
$15.84 |
$32,950 |
| Ithaca, NY |
590 |
11.93 |
2.12 |
$15.61 |
$32,470 |
| Stockton-Lodi, CA |
1,010 |
4.11 |
0.73 |
$15.47 |
$32,180 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
16,410 |
6.78 |
1.21 |
$15.20 |
$31,610 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale, WA |
540 |
6.14 |
1.09 |
$15.10 |
$31,400 |
| Redding, CA |
420 |
6.33 |
1.13 |
$15.05 |
$31,310 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA |
10,430 |
5.26 |
0.93 |
$15.02 |
$31,230 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA |
250 |
5.21 |
0.92 |
$14.68 |
$30,540 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
10,550 |
3.83 |
0.68 |
$14.59 |
$30,340 |
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 |
2,920 |
15.29 |
2.72 |
$12.22 |
$25,430 |
| West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area |
2,150 |
8.36 |
1.49 |
$10.14 |
$21,090 |
| North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) |
2,130 |
6.35 |
1.13 |
$10.48 |
$21,790 |
| Central Louisiana nonmetropolitan area |
2,060 |
26.44 |
4.70 |
$8.66 |
$18,020 |
| North Georgia nonmetropolitan area |
1,900 |
11.33 |
2.01 |
$9.76 |
$20,310 |
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) |
| Central Louisiana nonmetropolitan area |
2,060 |
26.44 |
4.70 |
$8.66 |
$18,020 |
| Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area |
1,570 |
24.01 |
4.27 |
$9.14 |
$19,020 |
| Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area |
1,180 |
16.90 |
3.00 |
$8.91 |
$18,540 |
| Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area |
2,920 |
15.29 |
2.72 |
$12.22 |
$25,430 |
| Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area |
1,440 |
14.37 |
2.55 |
$14.34 |
$29,830 |
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:
About May 2018 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 2018 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2018 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2018 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2018 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2018 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 29, 2019
United States Department of Labor
