Food Preparation Workers · SOC 35-2021
Food Preparation Workers Salary in the Arizona
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Arizona
Figures describe the state of Arizona as a whole.
Food Preparation Workers in the Arizona earned a median of $36,750 per year ($17.67 per hour) as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $31,300 at the 10th percentile to $44,640 at the 90th. BLS estimates 16,590 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Food Preparation Workers in the Arizona earn more than $36,750 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $34,220 and $39,160.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $31,300 | $34,220 | $36,750 | $39,160 | $44,640 |
| Hourly | $15.05 | $16.45 | $17.67 | $18.83 | $21.46 |
A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.
How this area compares
- Arizona$36,750 median for Arizona; middle half earns $34,220 to $39,160
- United Statesnational$35,320 median for United States; middle half earns $29,950 to $38,550
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
The median here is +4% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Metro areas in Arizona
Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for food preparation workers, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.
- Arizonathis page$36,750 median for Arizona; middle half earns $34,220 to $39,160
- $37,710 median for Flagstaff metro area; middle half earns $34,840 to $39,720
- $37,580 median for Phoenix metro area; middle half earns $34,600 to $41,320
- $35,390 median for Yuma metro area; middle half earns $31,650 to $38,160
- $35,260 median for Tucson metro area; middle half earns $31,870 to $36,880
- $35,180 median for Lake Havasu City metro area; middle half earns $33,810 to $35,910
- $35,090 median for Prescott Valley metro area; middle half earns $32,540 to $37,600
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
Keep exploring
Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:
Highest-paying metro areas for food preparation workerss · Highest-paying occupations in Arizona
About this estimate
These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.
Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.
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.