Food Service Managers Salaries by State

Mean and median pay, wage percentiles, employment, and top-paying metro areas for food service managerss across the U.S. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 (data.bls.gov OEWS tool /OESServices/combo/table, all-occupation crawl by area).

National mean salary $74,880 ≈ $36/hr
National median salary $69,390
Total employment 238,430 nationwide

Job Outlook, 2024–2034

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034.

Projected growth +6.4% Faster than average
Annual openings 42,000 per year (avg)
Employment 2024→2034 352,800 → 375,300 (+22,600)
Typical entry education High school diploma or equivalent

Salary Map

Brighter tiles = higher average pay; dashed tiles have no data. Click a state for details.

💰 Top 5 Highest-Paying States

  1. Washington$101,600
  2. District of Columbia$95,280
  3. New York$94,250
  4. Massachusetts$91,810
  5. Hawaii$90,860

📉 5 Lowest-Paying States

  1. West Virginia$56,320
  2. Arkansas$57,860
  3. South Dakota$63,920
  4. Mississippi$64,440
  5. Wyoming$65,300
#StateMeanMedian Hourlyvs. U.S.Employment
1 Washington $101,600 $95,190 $49 +35.7% 1,180
2 District of Columbia $95,280 $81,680 $46 +27.2% 1,000
3 New York $94,250 $84,200 $45 +25.9% 8,000
4 Massachusetts $91,810 $92,240 $44 +22.6% 4,310
5 Hawaii $90,860 $87,800 $44 +21.3% 1,230
6 Colorado $89,350 $79,870 $43 +19.3% 2,440
7 Alaska $86,640 $82,030 $42 +15.7% 380
8 New Jersey $85,050 $78,020 $41 +13.6% 6,360
9 Rhode Island $84,340 $82,850 $41 +12.6% 760
10 California $84,300 $78,260 $41 +12.6% 33,180
11 Vermont $83,710 $77,910 $40 +11.8% 500
12 New Hampshire $83,520 $77,360 $40 +11.5% 590
13 Minnesota $82,300 $79,820 $40 +9.9% 730
14 Connecticut $80,660 $77,990 $39 +7.7% 1,520
15 Delaware $78,440 $74,430 $38 +4.8% 770

Top-Paying Metro Areas

Highest median pay among 499 metro areas.

#Metro areaMedianMeanEmployment
1 Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area $104,010 $105,830 260
2 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA $98,800 $104,480 760
3 Alaska nonmetropolitan area $97,210 $93,850 70
4 Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area $97,090 $93,540 60
5 Kennewick-Richland, WA $94,890 $104,110 30
6 Bellingham, WA $93,610 $96,170 30
7 Kahului-Wailuku, HI $93,550 $95,480 280
8 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH $92,650 $93,230 3,280
9 Salt Lake City-Murray, UT $92,420 $80,070 1,020
10 Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area $91,630 $94,920 270

Pay by Industry

Highest-paying industries employing food service managerss (BLS OEWS, by median).

#IndustryMedianMeanEmployment
1 Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) $109,790 $111,860 180
2 Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) $109,790 $111,860 180
3 Hospitals, Local Government Owned $105,960 $109,290 170
4 General Medical and Surgical Hospitals, Local Government Owned $105,960 $109,330 170
5 Ambulatory Health Care Services $105,520 $108,570 70
6 General Medical and Surgical Hospitals $101,910 $108,140 1,820
7 General Medical and Surgical Hospitals, Privately Owned $101,720 $108,350 1,520
8 General Medical and Surgical Hospitals, State Government Owned $100,980 $104,300 130
9 Hospitals, Privately Owned $100,610 $106,540 1,700
10 Hospitals $100,310 $105,650 2,090
11 Furniture, Home Furnishings, Electronics, and Appliance Retailers $100,250 $97,440 70
12 Furniture and Home Furnishings Retailers $100,250 $97,440 70

Workforce Deep-Dive

Distribution and demographics from Census ACS (2023, self-reported). Wage figures here are ACS averages and run lower than the authoritative BLS wages above; use them for shape, not exact pay.

Annual wage distribution

< $10K
254,585
$10-20k
94,801
$20-30k
146,277
$30-40k
149,314
$40-50k
125,078
$50-60k
109,731
$60-70k
86,612
$70-80k
55,950
$80-90k
33,324
$90-100k
23,870
$100-110k
18,630
$110-120k
9,351
$120-130k
11,316
$130-140k
5,750
$140-150k
5,045
$150-160k
8,574
$160-170k
1,581
$170-180k
3,841
$180-190k
2,364
$190-200k
1,688
$200k+
21,118

Pay by age band

16-24
$25,554
25-34
$40,450
35-44
$52,834
45-54
$54,526
55-64
$54,119
65+
$36,446

Education level

Regular high school diploma
$38,350
1 or more years of college credit, no degree
$44,370
Bachelors Degree
$59,616
Associates Degree
$45,345
Some college, but less than 1 year
$41,769
GED or alternative credential
$42,266
Masters Degree
$68,914
12th grade - no diploma
$34,939
Grade 11
$30,047
No schooling completed
$41,517
Grade 10
$27,767
Grade 9
$26,708
Grade 6
$28,460
Professional degree
$45,867
Grade 8
$37,375
Doctorate degree
$58,405
Grade 7
$31,230
Grade 5
$58,579
Grade 2
$18,298
Grade 4
$21,277
Kindergarten
$85,253
Grade 3
$19,831
Nursery school, preschool
$14,956
Grade 1
$14,308

Full-time vs part-time

Full-time
778,505 · $59,882
Part-time
140,531 · $31,135

Race / ethnicity

White
$47,491
Two or More Races
$41,893
Black
$39,869
Other
$39,727
Asian
$43,702
American Indian
$41,199
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
$13,575
American Indian and Alaska Native tribes specified; or American Indian or Alaska Native, not specified and no other races
$31,610
Alaska Native
$173

Top fields of study

Business Management And Administration
$71,139
General Business
$70,495
Hospitality Management
$58,572
Accounting
$60,710
Psychology
$57,653
Marketing And Marketing Research
$65,271
Communications
$83,821
Economics
$74,115

Top Skills

Most important skills for this role (O*NET importance, 1–5 scale).

Speaking
3.9
Monitoring
3.9
Coordination
3.9
Management of Personnel Resources
3.9
Active Listening
3.9
Reading Comprehension
3.8
Service Orientation
3.8
Social Perceptiveness
3.6
Critical Thinking
3.6
Time Management
3.5
Active Learning
3.1
Negotiation
3.1

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do food service managers make in the U.S.?

The median food service managers salary in the United States is $69,390 per year (mean $74,880), and about 80% earn between $45,960 and $107,640.

How much do food service managers make per hour?

Roughly $36 per hour, based on a mean annual wage of $74,880 and 2,080 work hours per year.

Which state pays food service managers the most?

Washington has the highest average pay for food service managers at $101,600 per year (median $95,190).

What is the job outlook for food service managers?

Employment is projected to change +6.4% from 2024 to 2034 (Faster than average), with about 42,000 openings per year.

What People Search

Common U.S. search queries related to this occupation.

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