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Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations in Alabama, May 2024

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024 state estimates. BLS sorts every occupation into one of 22 major groups; this is the Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations group in Alabama. These are estimates of jobs and wages, not job openings.

The group’s own figures in Alabama

MeasureValue
Occupation group code35-0000
Employment178,360
Jobs per 1,00085.278
Location quotient0.97
Mean annual wage$28,170
Median annual wage$26,950
Mean hourly wage$13.54
Median hourly wage$12.96
10th percentile annual wage$18,340
25th percentile annual wage$21,970
75th percentile annual wage$31,070
90th percentile annual wage$37,740

Detailed occupations in this group in Alabama

Every detailed occupation BLS publishes for this group in Alabama, sorted by employment. Rows where BLS publishes no employment estimate (**) come last. Click a column heading to sort. A cell that reads “not published annually” or “not published hourly” means BLS publishes that row on the other basis only. A cell showing * or # is BLS’s own footnote symbol, explained below the table. Each row is that occupation’s own BLS record for Alabama.

OccupationEmploymentMedian annual wageMean annual wage10th percentile annual wage90th percentile annual wageMedian hourly wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers37,500$23,490$25,450$19,230$34,710$11.3
Waiters and Waitresses28,540$21,920$24,420$15,950$35,560$10.54
Cooks, Fast Food25,580$26,690$26,340$21,830$32,670$12.83
First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers21,260$35,940$38,590$27,050$57,310$17.28
Cooks, Restaurant18,370$30,100$31,510$22,290$38,200$14.47
Food Preparation Workers14,540$25,510$26,660$19,600$36,670$12.26
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria8,970$26,780$26,910$18,480$36,250$12.87
Bartenders5,850$22,670$27,860$16,480$46,530$10.9
Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop4,290$24,960$24,740$18,000$29,630$12
Dishwashers3,800$27,230$26,820$21,130$33,070$13.09
Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers3,700$22,290$23,810$16,050$34,150$10.72
Food Servers, Nonrestaurant3,260$27,810$27,540$22,090$34,210$13.37
Chefs and Head Cooks1,280$62,670$63,800$36,570$84,860$30.13
Cooks, Short Order1,280$25,340$28,600$22,250$40,840$12.18
Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other**$22,730$25,040$17,040$36,700$10.93

Symbols (BLS wording, workbook sheet Field Descriptions sheet): ** indicates that an employment estimate is not available · * indicates that a wage estimate is not available · # indicates a wage equal to or greater than $115.00 per hour or $239,200 per year. A wage shown as a symbol is not zero and not a blank: BLS publishes no number there.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024 state estimates. Record: state_M2024_dl.xlsx!AREA=01&OCC_CODE=35-0000. the group row is AREA 01 / OCC_CODE 35-0000, and each table row is its own detailed record for this area, AREA 01 / OCC_CODE 35-xxxx. Reference period: May 2024. Fetched October 2026 from https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24st.zip.

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