High paying food service jobs in California

Every food service occupation below is ranked by its median annual wage in California. Read the percentile range, not just the median: the gap between the 10th and 90th inside a single food service job is usually wider than the gap between two different ones, so where you land in a field matters more than which field you pick.

Cost of living: prices in California run 10.7% above the national average (2024), so a California salary is worth about 0.90× its face value in national terms. That scales every wage here by the same factor — it changes what the numbers mean, not their order. To see where a job pays a real premium, use jobs that pay more in California.

Wages: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Cost of living: BEA regional price parities, 2024

Find food service jobs in California

OccupationMedian, California · Employed

1Chefs and Head Cooks$64,500
High school diploma or equivalent
$37,380 – $101,87031,670
2First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers$46,980
High school diploma or equivalent
$38,630 – $75,180130,190
3Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria$46,390
No formal educational credential
$37,570 – $59,63031,660
4Cooks, Restaurant$44,880
No formal educational credential
$37,100 – $55,580152,250
5Cooks, Short Order$42,930
No formal educational credential
$35,880 – $47,15030,740
6Fast Food and Counter Workers$42,280
No formal educational credential
$35,530 – $47,950449,840
7Cooks, Fast Food$42,050
No formal educational credential
$35,750 – $48,750124,440
8Food Preparation Workers$39,350
No formal educational credential
$35,190 – $48,470112,750
9Food Servers, Nonrestaurant$39,010
No formal educational credential
$35,120 – $57,55032,430
10Dishwashers$37,870
No formal educational credential
$35,160 – $45,64074,160
11Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other$36,910
No formal educational credential
$34,530 – $53,13030,730
12Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop$36,640
No formal educational credential
$34,360 – $46,06041,100
13Bartenders$36,220
No formal educational credential
$34,320 – $75,13071,470
14Waiters and Waitresses$36,080
No formal educational credential
$34,320 – $68,950229,970
15Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers$36,010
No formal educational credential
$34,320 – $50,63075,460

Bars run from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the middle half is shaded darker, and the tick is the median.

#	Occupation	MedianCalifornia	10th–90th percentilemiddle half shaded darker	Employed
1	Chefs and Head CooksHigh school diploma or equivalent	$64,500	$37,380 – $101,870	31,670
2	First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving WorkersHigh school diploma or equivalent	$46,980	$38,630 – $75,180	130,190
3	Cooks, Institution and CafeteriaNo formal educational credential	$46,390	$37,570 – $59,630	31,660
4	Cooks, RestaurantNo formal educational credential	$44,880	$37,100 – $55,580	152,250
5	Cooks, Short OrderNo formal educational credential	$42,930	$35,880 – $47,150	30,740
6	Fast Food and Counter WorkersNo formal educational credential	$42,280	$35,530 – $47,950	449,840
7	Cooks, Fast FoodNo formal educational credential	$42,050	$35,750 – $48,750	124,440
8	Food Preparation WorkersNo formal educational credential	$39,350	$35,190 – $48,470	112,750
9	Food Servers, NonrestaurantNo formal educational credential	$39,010	$35,120 – $57,550	32,430
10	DishwashersNo formal educational credential	$37,870	$35,160 – $45,640	74,160
11	Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All OtherNo formal educational credential	$36,910	$34,530 – $53,130	30,730
12	Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee ShopNo formal educational credential	$36,640	$34,360 – $46,060	41,100
13	BartendersNo formal educational credential	$36,220	$34,320 – $75,130	71,470
14	Waiters and WaitressesNo formal educational credential	$36,080	$34,320 – $68,950	229,970
15	Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender HelpersNo formal educational credential	$36,010	$34,320 – $50,630	75,460

Ranked among the occupations common enough to employ roughly one in every three thousand workers in California. The rarer ones are real jobs — but a 1,190-person occupation at the top of a list answers a different question than the one most readers are asking.

More for California

Metro areas in California

Pay varies more between metros than between states — the spread inside one state is often wider than the gap between two.

By field in California

Without a degree

The same fields, narrowed to what you can enter without one. Fields missing here have too few such occupations in California to rank honestly.

High paying food service jobs in California

More for California

Metro areas in California

By field in California

Without a degree

High paying food service jobs in each state