Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of food service worker salary by state for the United States:
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Hawaii has the highest food service worker salary of $43,462
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Alabama has the lowest food service worker salary of $18,998
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The national average salary for food service workers is $28,753
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The national hourly pay for food service workers is $13.82
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do food service workers get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for food service worker by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for food service workers after this adjustment? That would be Hawaii.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for food service worker salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Food Service Workers By State
| Rank | State | Average Food Service Worker Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | $43,462 | $32,000 | $57,000 |
| 2 | California | $34,255 | $26,000 | $44,000 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $33,678 | $27,000 | $41,000 |
| 4 | New York | $33,450 | $26,000 | $42,000 |
| 5 | Washington | $33,400 | $26,000 | $41,000 |
| 6 | Minnesota | $32,244 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 7 | Oregon | $31,932 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 8 | Maine | $31,009 | $25,000 | $37,000 |
| 9 | Colorado | $30,636 | $23,000 | $39,000 |
| 10 | Vermont | $30,612 | $25,000 | $37,000 |
| 11 | Rhode Island | $30,547 | $24,000 | $38,000 |
| 12 | Alaska | $30,061 | $26,000 | $34,000 |
| 13 | Connecticut | $30,057 | $23,000 | $38,000 |
| 14 | New Hampshire | $29,392 | $23,000 | $36,000 |
| 15 | Delaware | $29,269 | $22,000 | $37,000 |
| 16 | Arizona | $28,966 | $22,000 | $38,000 |
| 17 | Michigan | $28,916 | $22,000 | $36,000 |
| 18 | Nevada | $28,664 | $22,000 | $36,000 |
| 19 | Maryland | $28,016 | $21,000 | $36,000 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | $27,906 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 21 | Pennsylvania | $27,795 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 22 | Utah | $27,668 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 23 | Illinois | $27,561 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 24 | North Dakota | $26,954 | $21,000 | $33,000 |
| 25 | Nebraska | $26,890 | $21,000 | $34,000 |
| 26 | Wyoming | $26,470 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 27 | New Jersey | $26,287 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 28 | Iowa | $25,976 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 29 | Indiana | $25,711 | $19,000 | $33,000 |
| 30 | Ohio | $24,802 | $19,000 | $31,000 |
| 31 | South Dakota | $24,778 | $19,000 | $31,000 |
| 32 | North Carolina | $24,734 | $18,000 | $32,000 |
| 33 | Virginia | $24,510 | $18,000 | $32,000 |
| 34 | Kentucky | $24,358 | $18,000 | $31,000 |
| 35 | New Mexico | $24,292 | $18,000 | $31,000 |
| 36 | Florida | $23,864 | $16,000 | $33,000 |
| 37 | West Virginia | $23,862 | $18,000 | $30,000 |
| 38 | Montana | $23,861 | $19,000 | $29,000 |
| 39 | Kansas | $23,765 | $18,000 | $30,000 |
| 40 | South Carolina | $23,648 | $17,000 | $31,000 |
| 41 | Arkansas | $23,546 | $18,000 | $30,000 |
| 42 | Georgia | $23,395 | $17,000 | $30,000 |
| 43 | Idaho | $23,229 | $18,000 | $29,000 |
| 44 | Missouri | $23,170 | $17,000 | $29,000 |
| 45 | Texas | $22,014 | $16,000 | $29,000 |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $21,756 | $16,000 | $28,000 |
| 47 | Mississippi | $21,515 | $16,000 | $28,000 |
| 48 | Tennessee | $21,070 | $16,000 | $27,000 |
| 49 | Louisiana | $19,328 | $14,000 | $25,000 |
| 50 | Alabama | $18,998 | $14,000 | $25,000 |
Methodology: Food Service Worker Salary By State
To better understand food service worker pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for food service workers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for food service workers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for food service workers.
Food Service Worker Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for food service workers?
The highest-paid state for food service workers is Hawaii with an average salary of $43,462 per year.
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What city pays food service workers the most?
Urban Honolulu, HI pays food service workers the most with an average salary of $43,553 per year.
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What is the worst state for food service workers?
The worst state for food service workers is Alabama with an average salary of $18,998 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
