Fast food worker vs food runner

The differences between fast food workers and food runners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food runner has an average salary of $25,536, which is higher than the $24,860 average annual salary of a fast food worker.

The top three skills for a fast food worker include food handling, basic math and drive-thru. The most important skills for a food runner are cleanliness, wine, and culinary.

Fast food worker vs food runner overview

	Fast Food Worker	Food Runner
Yearly salary	$24,860	$25,536
Hourly rate	$11.95	$12.28
Growth rate	14%	14%
Number of jobs	156,271	240,853
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 63%	High School Diploma, 38%
Average age	23	23
Years of experience	-	-

Fast food worker vs food runner salary

Fast food workers and food runners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Fast Food Worker	Food Runner
Average salary	$24,860	$25,536
Salary range	Between $12,000 And $51,000	Between $18,000 And $34,000
Highest paying City	Franklin Square, NY	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	Vermont
Best paying company	UC Merced	University of Massachusetts Boston
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Hospitality

Differences between fast food worker and food runner education

There are a few differences between a fast food worker and a food runner in terms of educational background:

	Fast Food Worker	Food Runner
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 63%	High School Diploma, 38%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Fast food worker vs food runner demographics

Here are the differences between fast food workers' and food runners' demographics:

	Fast Food Worker	Food Runner
Average age	23	23
Gender ratio	Male, 47.0% Female, 53.0%	Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between fast food worker and food runner duties and responsibilities

Fast food worker example responsibilities.

Operate ovens, deep fryers, grills, cash registers, and other appliances.
Operate large-volume cooking equipment such as grills, deep-fat fryers, conventional and microwave ovens.
Experience at POS, always give customer satisfaction and very persuasive with sales.
Landscape public parks utilizing a variety of heavy machinery including weed whackers, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and trimmers.
Cook foods by baking, roasting, broiling, frying, steaming and grilling.
Brew coffee and tea, and fill containers with request beverages.

Food runner example responsibilities.

Manage labor and design of numerous weddings, banquets, buffets, and the restaurant floor.
Manage event reservations and party requests, inform customers about upcoming events and specials.
Provide excellent customer service to guests by describing and suggesting culinary options
Greet customers and prepare drinks (tea, smoothies).
Expedite the kitchen to ensure food leaves fast and accurately.
Demonstrate strong computational skills for tendering receipt of payments from clients.

Fast food worker vs food runner skills

Common fast food worker skills

Food Handling, 28%
Basic Math, 17%
Drive-Thru, 9%
Safety Standards, 4%
Customer Service, 4%
Drink Orders, 4%

Common food runner skills

Cleanliness, 20%
Wine, 9%
Culinary, 7%
Food Orders, 6%
Fine Dining, 5%
Food Handling, 5%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Fast Food Worker
Fast Food Worker vs Food Runner

Updated January 8, 2025

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