Highest-paying Cities for Food Preparation Workers

The top 100 highest paying cities for food preparation workers (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of food preparation workers in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $38,250, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington is the highest paying city for food preparation workers. It is followed by Northcentral Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado (average annual salary $38,130). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of food preparation workers in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Food Preparation Workers

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$38,250	$33,880	9,830
2	Northcentral Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado	$38,130	$30,420	950
3	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$38,000	$31,480	13,820
4	Boulder, Colorado	$38,000	$31,110	670
5	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington	$37,930	$31,970	270
6	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$37,740	$35,150	5,800
7	Napa, California	$36,910	$33,350	590
8	Olympia, Washington	$36,710	$31,250	570
9	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$35,920	$32,530	1,360
10	Bellingham, Washington	$35,870	$30,570	530
11	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$35,870	$28,870	7,450
12	Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii	$35,750	$27,200	530
13	Fort Collins-Loveland, Colorado	$35,560	$29,040	860
14	Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, Washington	$35,530	$30,370	280
15	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$35,410	$30,040	50,100
16	Nantucket Island and Marthas Vineyard nonmetropolitan area, Massachusetts	$35,370	$25,010	110
17	Bremerton-Silverdale, Washington	$35,360	$31,200	530
18	Greeley, Colorado	$35,350	$28,270	370
19	Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area, Massachusetts	$35,300	$30,950	580
20	Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington	$35,290	$31,570	560
21	Barnstable Town, Massachusetts	$35,190	$31,890	950
22	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$35,190	$31,200	13,420
23	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$35,190	$30,930	4,470
24	Longview, Washington	$35,140	$30,640	200
25	Western Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$35,050	$30,970	800
26	Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$35,050	$31,010	450
27	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$34,770	$27,660	2,820
28	Spokane, Washington	$34,690	$30,280	1,250
29	Salinas, California	$34,670	$30,670	1,240
30	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$34,560	$30,560	890
31	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$34,530	$29,590	6,590
32	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$34,530	$31,190	40,360
33	Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$34,520	$22,890	1,240
34	West Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado	$34,510	$28,530	570
35	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$34,500	$29,810	10,900
36	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California	$34,410	$30,450	790
37	Fairbanks, Alaska	$34,310	$24,240	460
38	Colorado Springs, Colorado	$34,310	$28,600	1,160
39	Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner, Massachusetts	$34,280	$30,190	350
40	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$34,240	$29,190	2,690
41	Yakima, Washington	$34,170	$30,710	650
42	Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$34,120	$29,950	710
43	Ithaca, New York	$34,040	$28,680	280
44	Portsmouth, New Hampshire	$34,020	$26,350	380
45	Worcester, Massachusetts	$33,860	$29,640	1,680
46	Springfield, Massachusetts	$33,780	$29,640	2,510
47	New Haven, Connecticut	$33,750	$28,690	2,100
48	Redding, California	$33,730	$29,120	580
49	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$33,700	$26,550	16,140
50	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$33,580	$30,020	1,710
51	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California	$33,570	$29,880	1,030
52	Hanford-Corcoran, California	$33,550	$29,920	270
53	Modesto, California	$33,320	$29,570	1,240
54	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$33,310	$29,770	2,190
55	Bangor, Maine	$33,280	$29,320	570
56	Stockton, California	$33,280	$29,510	1,600
57	East and South Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado	$33,280	$27,640	260
58	New Bedford, Massachusetts	$33,170	$30,020	370
59	North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$33,160	$29,930	740
60	West Central-Southwest New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area, New Hampshire	$33,120	$26,620	540
61	Walla Walla, Washington	$33,100	$30,240	160
62	Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine	$33,000	$29,970	1,630
63	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$32,970	$27,900	10,820
64	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$32,860	$29,570	11,440
65	Pittsfield, Massachusetts	$32,850	$29,920	260
66	Pueblo, Colorado	$32,830	$27,200	270
67	North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$32,820	$29,620	710
68	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$32,790	$28,790	8,990
69	Flagstaff, Arizona	$32,740	$28,280	350
70	Anchorage, Alaska	$32,620	$22,930	1,770
71	Grand Junction, Colorado	$32,600	$27,940	360
72	Logan, Utah	$32,420	$22,590	370
73	Yuba City, California	$32,330	$29,480	370
74	Hawaii-Maui-Kauai nonmetropolitan area, Hawaii	$32,230	$27,220	750
75	Bend, Oregon	$31,930	$28,910	380
76	El Centro, California	$31,760	$29,120	380
77	Provo-Orem, Utah	$31,750	$22,010	700
78	Naples-Marco Island, Florida	$31,710	$25,860	1,500
79	Other New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area, New Hampshire	$31,660	$22,540	370
80	Corvallis, Oregon	$31,650	$28,490	200
81	Salem, Oregon	$31,490	$28,770	790
82	Waterbury, Connecticut	$31,330	$27,940	510
83	Chico, California	$31,200	$29,120	710
84	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$31,200	$22,870	5,460
85	Prescott, Arizona	$31,150	$27,840	410
86	Albany, Oregon	$31,090	$28,020	180
87	Fresno, California	$31,060	$29,120	2,220
88	Visalia-Porterville, California	$31,050	$29,120	940
89	Manchester, New Hampshire	$31,020	$25,190	410
90	Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area, Maine	$31,010	$28,790	2,050
91	Ann Arbor, Michigan	$31,010	$24,180	550
92	Madera-Chowchilla, California	$30,990	$29,120	350
93	North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida	$30,960	$24,620	2,950
94	Dover-Durham, New Hampshire	$30,870	$24,220	240
95	Sebastian-Vero Beach, Florida	$30,830	$23,490	560
96	Danbury, Connecticut	$30,820	$28,540	630
97	Merced, California	$30,800	$29,120	470
98	Grants Pass, Oregon	$30,790	$28,810	100
99	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$30,790	$28,600	900
100	Kingston, New York	$30,770	$28,560	320

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for food preparation workers.