Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other · SOC 35-9099
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Others
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas
Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for food preparation and serving related workers, all other. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.
Top 25 of 171 metro areas
| # | Metro area | Median annual | Employment | Per 1,000 jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salem, OR | $49,900 | 40 | 0.2 |
| 2 | Kahului-Wailuku, HI | $49,400 | 40 | 0.5 |
| 3 | Omaha, NE-IA | $48,070 | Not published | Not published |
| 4 | Bend, OR | $45,810 | 30 | 0.3 |
| 5 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $44,720 | 1,430 | 1.3 |
| 6 | Trenton-Princeton, NJ | $43,350 | 360 | 1.5 |
| 7 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | $43,330 | 110 | 0.6 |
| 8 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $41,970 | 2,740 | 1.2 |
| 9 | Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ | $41,180 | 400 | 2.4 |
| 10 | Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN | $40,370 | 550 | 0.5 |
| 11 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $39,930 | 2,300 | 0.5 |
| 12 | Flagstaff, AZ | $39,670 | 50 | 0.7 |
| 13 | Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | $39,570 | 110 | 0.1 |
| 14 | Boulder, CO | $39,270 | Not published | Not published |
| 15 | Napa, CA | $39,080 | 320 | 4.0 |
| 16 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $38,910 | 390 | 1.9 |
| 17 | Redding, CA | $38,770 | 100 | 1.5 |
| 18 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $38,590 | 1,680 | 0.5 |
| 19 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | $38,530 | 460 | 0.7 |
| 20 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $38,430 | Not published | Not published |
| 21 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $38,210 | 430 | 0.2 |
| 22 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | $38,200 | 690 | 0.3 |
| 23 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | $38,160 | Not published | Not published |
| 24 | Waterbury-Shelton, CT | $38,140 | 80 | 0.5 |
| 25 | Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | $37,980 | 320 | 0.2 |
Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other overview.
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.