Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations in California, 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 California. These are estimates of jobs and wages, not job openings.
The group’s own figures in California
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Occupation group code | 35-0000 |
| Employment | 1,619,960 |
| Jobs per 1,000 | 89.709 |
| Location quotient | 1.02 |
| Mean annual wage | $42,530 |
| Median annual wage | $37,540 |
| Mean hourly wage | $20.45 |
| Median hourly wage | $18.05 |
| 10th percentile annual wage | $34,110 |
| 25th percentile annual wage | $35,360 |
| 75th percentile annual wage | $44,920 |
| 90th percentile annual wage | $54,820 |
Detailed occupations in this group in California
Every detailed occupation BLS publishes for this group in California, 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 California.
| Occupation | Employment | Median annual wage | Mean annual wage | 10th percentile annual wage | 90th percentile annual wage | Median hourly wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fast Food and Counter Workers | 438,950 | $37,010 | $39,450 | $34,530 | $46,890 | $17.79 |
| Waiters and Waitresses | 243,300 | $35,290 | $44,250 | $33,310 | $70,450 | $16.97 |
| Cooks, Restaurant | 160,270 | $44,290 | $44,240 | $36,430 | $54,690 | $21.3 |
| Cooks, Fast Food | 136,550 | $36,410 | $38,420 | $34,390 | $45,270 | $17.5 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | 124,240 | $46,140 | $50,160 | $36,840 | $71,590 | $22.18 |
| Food Preparation Workers | 98,950 | $38,150 | $40,510 | $34,840 | $47,910 | $18.34 |
| Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers | 78,320 | $35,790 | $40,480 | $33,390 | $50,850 | $17.21 |
| Dishwashers | 73,050 | $37,440 | $39,230 | $34,430 | $46,870 | $18 |
| Bartenders | 69,790 | $35,900 | $45,750 | $33,340 | $79,780 | $17.26 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | 42,450 | $35,910 | $39,390 | $33,630 | $45,990 | $17.26 |
| Cooks, Short Order | 34,490 | $39,010 | $41,040 | $35,020 | $47,310 | $18.75 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other | 31,750 | $36,220 | $40,970 | $33,390 | $55,580 | $17.41 |
| Food Servers, Nonrestaurant | 29,570 | $37,690 | $42,730 | $34,580 | $57,700 | $18.12 |
| Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria | 27,320 | $45,680 | $47,060 | $36,710 | $59,960 | $21.96 |
| Chefs and Head Cooks | 26,500 | $66,780 | $71,350 | $45,500 | $100,580 | $32.11 |
| Cooks, All Other | 4,420 | $39,430 | $41,770 | $34,080 | $50,480 | $18.96 |
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=06&OCC_CODE=35-0000. the group row is AREA 06 / OCC_CODE 35-0000, and each table row is its own detailed record for this area, AREA 06 / 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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