Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between food service workers and food clerks can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food clerk has an average salary of $29,967, which is higher than the $28,753 average annual salary of a food service worker.
The top three skills for a food service worker include food handling, safety standards and customer service. The most important skills for a food clerk are wine, basic math, and customer service.
| Food Service Worker | Food Clerk | |
| Yearly salary | $28,753 | $29,967 |
| Hourly rate | $13.82 | $14.41 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 169,323 | 113,838 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 44% | High School Diploma, 40% |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Foodservice workers are employees at restaurants, food trucks, or any outlet that provides food to customers. They may be assigned to welcome customers, take food orders, prepare food orders in the kitchen, serve food, handle customer payments, clean up the tables once the guests leave, or maintain the whole store's cleanliness. They may also be assigned to manage inventories, handle stocks and deliveries, and other activities related to the restaurant's successful operations. Foodservice workers must always be hygienic and maintain the sanitation of the area to ensure food safety.
Food clerks are skilled employees who work either in grocery stores or supermarkets to assist customers with their food needs. In grocery stores, food clerks are required to scan food items for their customers and process their purchases as well as ensure that they have found everything they needed. They must assist in the store's inventory management by organizing and storing food merchandise in the backroom. Food clerks must also use their product knowledge to assist customers with questions and maintain customer satisfaction.
Food service workers and food clerks have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Food Service Worker | Food Clerk | |
| Average salary | $28,753 | $29,967 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $36,000 | Between $14,000 And $63,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | ShopRite |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Retail |
There are a few differences between a food service worker and a food clerk in terms of educational background:
| Food Service Worker | Food Clerk | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 44% | High School Diploma, 40% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between food service workers' and food clerks' demographics:
| Food Service Worker | Food Clerk | |
| Average age | 37 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.6% Female, 63.4% | Male, 52.6% Female, 47.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.3% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 7.1% White, 58.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 7.7% White, 54.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |