The 10 Lowest Paying Jobs In California For 2019

By Chris Kolmar
May. 17, 2019

Find a Job You Really Want In

Back in high school I had the best job you could have in high school, I worked at the local movie theater for minimum wage plus free popcorn and movies. I was happy to make minimum wage back then, but now I couldn’t imagine living on the $5.86/hr I was making.

All of this reminiscing got me wondering, who gets paid the least in California?

So to piggy-backing on our research into the highest paying jobs in California, we decided to use data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify the lowest paying jobs.

After combing through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we discovered that Forest And Conservation Workers are the lowest paid people in California.

Here’s a quick look at the 10 lowest paying jobs in California:

  1. Forest and Conservation Workers
  2. Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products
  3. Cooks, Fast Food
  4. Shampooers
  5. Gaming Dealers
  6. Dishwashers
  7. Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food
  8. Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse
  9. Manicurists and Pedicurists
  10. Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other

For more information on how much the lowest paying jobs pay, read on, or check out this other reading on California:

If you’re interested, you can read more about the California job scene here:

How we determined the lowest paid jobs in California

We looked at the BLS’s data set for all 766 job classifications in California in order to identify those that get paid the least.

We will update the data annually as it becomes available from the BLS. The most recent data is as of May 2018.

For more reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Lowest Paying Jobs In California

Rank Job Title Average Salary Entry Level Salary # Of People
1 Forest And Conservation Workers $24,720 $22,150 2,140
2 Graders And Sorters, Agricultural Products $25,140 $22,380 9,680
3 Cooks, Fast Food $25,330 $22,310 111,360
4 Shampooers $25,510 $22,260 920
5 Gaming Dealers $25,650 $22,250 15,020
6 Dishwashers $25,650 $22,270 81,580
7 Combined Food Preparation And Serving Workers, Including Fast Food $26,080 $22,410 406,630
8 Farmworkers And Laborers, Crop, Nursery, And Greenhouse $26,240 $22,200 194,850
9 Manicurists And Pedicurists $26,260 $22,450 23,940
10 Food Preparation And Serving Related Workers, All Other $26,500 $22,320 13,120
11 Pressers, Textile, Garment, And Related Materials $26,530 $22,310 6,390
12 Amusement And Recreation Attendants $26,660 $22,450 50,470
13 Sewing Machine Operators $26,670 $22,330 25,330
14 Ushers, Lobby Attendants, And Ticket Takers $26,710 $22,270 15,560
15 Hosts And Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, And Coffee Shop $26,850 $22,310 50,090
16 Dining Room And Cafeteria Attendants And Bartender Helpers $27,020 $22,280 79,710
17 Textile Knitting And Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders $27,150 $22,290 1,330
18 Personal Care Aides $27,210 $22,450 558,350
19 Cashiers $27,450 $22,270 420,430
20 Packers And Packagers, Hand $27,880 $22,510 101,340
21 Food Preparation Workers $27,910 $22,460 102,680
22 Slaughterers And Meat Packers $27,980 $22,380 5,350
23 Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, And Coffee Shop $28,120 $22,420 42,580
24 Parking Lot Attendants $28,250 $22,680 23,900
25 Meat, Poultry, And Fish Cutters And Trimmers $28,360 $22,630 6,460
26 Food Processing Workers, All Other $28,430 $22,680 5,430
27 Gaming Change Persons And Booth Cashiers $28,520 $22,250 2,900
28 Cooks, Short Order $28,530 $22,870 16,590
29 Laundry And Dry-Cleaning Workers $28,600 $22,470 17,370
30 Childcare Workers $28,630 $22,630 60,460
31 Textile Bleaching And Dyeing Machine Operators And Tenders $28,680 $22,660 1,520
32 Textile, Apparel, And Furnishings Workers, All Other $28,730 $22,520 1,760
33 Cleaners Of Vehicles And Equipment $28,840 $22,600 57,770
34 Sewers, Hand $29,700 $23,860 1,370
35 Helpers–Production Workers $29,770 $22,810 29,530
36 Nonfarm Animal Caretakers $29,830 $22,740 21,430
37 Hotel, Motel, And Resort Desk Clerks $29,880 $23,030 26,840
38 Gaming Cage Workers $29,940 $22,340 3,780
39 Personal Care And Service Workers, All Other $29,990 $23,090 4,420
40 Fabric Menders, Except Garment $30,060 $23,430 70
41 Food Cooking Machine Operators And Tenders $30,120 $22,720 5,230
42 Baggage Porters And Bellhops $30,130 $22,760 5,880
43 Waiters And Waitresses $30,250 $22,370 286,930
44 Maids And Housekeeping Cleaners $30,340 $22,920 99,080
45 Food Servers, Nonrestaurant $30,350 $22,660 23,340
46 Material Moving Workers, All Other $30,390 $22,640 12,400
47 Automotive And Watercraft Service Attendants $30,450 $22,780 7,980
48 Machine Feeders And Offbearers $30,580 $22,590 7,980
49 Shoe Machine Operators And Tenders $30,580 $24,960 90
50 Cooks, Restaurant $30,620 $23,270 166,420
51 Tire Builders $30,630 $23,200 270
52 Bakers $30,710 $22,840 24,630
53 Bartenders $30,850 $22,560 66,320
54 Stock Clerks And Order Fillers $30,900 $22,510 241,400
55 Food Batchmakers $31,090 $23,110 17,900
56 Physical Therapist Aides $31,090 $22,870 6,420
57 Recreation Workers $31,180 $22,880 47,680
58 Hairdressers, Hairstylists, And Cosmetologists $31,400 $22,470 33,570
59 Retail Salespersons $31,460 $22,550 436,300
60 Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, And Aquacultural Animals $31,500 $22,740 2,510
61 Gaming And Sports Book Writers And Runners $31,720 $22,310 1,980
62 Motion Picture Projectionists $31,730 $21,850 160
63 Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders $31,870 $23,320 1,130
64 Telemarketers $31,880 $22,780 11,100
65 Cutters And Trimmers, Hand $31,940 $23,280 1,420
66 Tellers $32,120 $24,650 43,070
67 Agricultural Equipment Operators $32,180 $23,360 5,740
68 Shoe And Leather Workers And Repairers $32,210 $23,410 1,100
69 Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Wood $32,350 $23,410 2,860
70 Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders, Except Sawing $32,360 $23,410 4,340
71 Laborers And Freight, Stock, And Material Movers, Hand $32,380 $23,000 382,280
72 Coil Winders, Tapers, And Finishers $32,440 $22,610 840
73 Veterinary Assistants And Laboratory Animal Caretakers $32,480 $23,980 12,410
74 Packaging And Filling Machine Operators And Tenders $32,480 $22,940 48,570
75 Psychiatric Aides $32,660 $24,960 1,910
76 Umpires, Referees, And Other Sports Officials $32,780 $22,200 2,320
77 Taxi Drivers And Chauffeurs $32,990 $23,240 27,790
78 Security Guards $33,070 $23,410 155,540
79 Receptionists And Information Clerks $33,190 $23,610 102,590
80 Tour And Travel Guides $33,220 $23,130 6,070
81 Grinding And Polishing Workers, Hand $33,260 $23,960 3,800
82 Gaming Service Workers, All Other $33,410 $22,560 1,710
83 Automotive Glass Installers And Repairers $33,420 $22,730 1,660
84 Tire Repairers And Changers $33,490 $23,790 10,700
85 Janitors And Cleaners, Except Maids And Housekeeping Cleaners $33,570 $23,150 230,750
86 Home Health Aides $33,680 $23,180 24,560
87 Crushing, Grinding, And Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, And Tenders $33,680 $23,600 3,000
88 Helpers–Installation, Maintenance, And Repair Workers $33,720 $23,460 11,160
89 Merchandise Displayers And Window Trimmers $33,720 $23,080 16,780
90 Pharmacy Aides $33,730 $23,370 9,480
91 Helpers, Construction Trades, All Other $33,840 $23,370 2,420
92 Cooks, All Other $33,910 $24,850 4,600
93 Food And Tobacco Roasting, Baking, And Drying Machine Operators And Tenders $33,920 $23,510 1,720
94 Floral Designers $34,020 $24,080 4,510
95 Mail Clerks And Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service $34,030 $23,360 6,650
96 Bicycle Repairers $34,070 $23,040 2,530
97 Production Workers, All Other $34,400 $22,950 28,120
98 Counter And Rental Clerks $34,410 $22,850 85,960
99 Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, And Samplers, Recordkeeping $34,420 $23,270 12,490
100 Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, And Other Recreational Protective Service Workers $34,430 $23,450 15,390

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Author

Chris Kolmar

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.

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Topics: Former Jobs, Rankings