Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations

Minor Occupation Group

Add Comparison

2020 Workforce

8.62M

Average Age

Average Salary

$19,637

Average Male Salary

$22,207

Average Female Salary

$17,461

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 $19,637 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations by wage are Personal Care & Service Occupations, Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance Occupations, and Healthcare Support Occupations.

Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations are part of the Service Occupations, along with Healthcare Support Occupations, Protective service occupations, Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations, Building & Grounds Cleaning & Maintenance Occupations, and Personal Care & Service Occupations.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations are Spring Valley & Summerlin South PUMA, NV, Maui, Kalawao & Kauai Counties PUMA, HI, and Paradise (Northwest) & Winchester PUMA, NV. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations are Paradise (Northwest) & Winchester PUMA, NV, Elmhurst & South Corona PUMA, NY, and LA City (Central/Koreatown) PUMA, CA.

Photo by Marjon Melissen

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations and on wages and locations 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. Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations are paid most in Chelsea, Clinton & Midtown Business District PUMA, NY but are relatively concentrated in Paradise (Northwest) & Winchester PUMA, NV.

Yearly Wage

$19,637

AVERAGE SALARY

± $187

In 2020, Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations earned an average of $19,637, $36,316 less than than the average national salary of $55,954.

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.

Wage Distribution

0.413

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.413, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. 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).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations, by number of employees, are Restaurants & Food Services, Elementary & secondary schools, Traveler accommodation, Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores, Amusement & Recreation, Drinking places, alcoholic beverages , General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, Nursing Care Facilities, Residential care facilities, except skilled nursing facilities, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and General merchandise stores, including warehouse clubs and supercenters.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations, by average wage, are Alcoholic beverages merchant wholesalers, Nondepository credit & related activities, and Natural gas distribution.

Industries by Share

8.62M

2020 Workforce

± 69,940

−2.43%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 1.17%

The number of people employed as Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations has been declining at a rate of −2.43%, from 8,830,539 people in 2019 to 8,616,074 people in 2020.

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 75.5%, followed by Elementary & secondary schools with 3.61% and Traveler accommodation with 2.88%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations in the US. The average age of male Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations in the workforce is 31.9 and of female Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations is 33.9, and the most common race/ethnicity for Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

3.95M

MALE WORKFORCE

± 48,148

4.66M

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 52,185

54.1% of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations are Female, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations

White (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)

51.7% of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 13.8% of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations, White (Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations.

Age by Sex

31.9

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.166

33.9

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.171

The median age of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations is 33, and Male employees are generally 2 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

Education

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 a relatively high number of Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations hold a major in Personal & Culinary Services.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

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 Monitoring, Coordination, and Speaking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Food Preparation & Serving Related Occupations need more than the average amount of Quality Control Analysis, Troubleshooting, and Technology Design.