Food Service Manager Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Food Service Managers earn a median of $69,390 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 36% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. That works out at $33.36/hr. The middle half earn between $56,870 and $86,800. The top 10% earn $107,640 or more.

The median hourly wage for food service managers is $33.36 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $69,390 annual median works out to about $5,780 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of food service managers earn less than $45,960 a year and the bottom quarter less than $56,870 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

A minority do. $100,000 sits between the 75th percentile ($86,800) and the 90th ($107,640), so roughly 10% to 25% of food service managers earn more than that (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No state's median reaches $100,000; the highest is Washington at $95,190.

The highest state medians for Food Service Managers are Washington ($95,190), Massachusetts ($92,240), Hawaii ($87,800) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

BLS does not split food service managers' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $107,640, against a median of $69,390 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are Washington ($95,190), Massachusetts ($92,240), Hawaii ($87,800). BLS also counts 3 specialty careers inside this occupation (beverage director, restaurant director of operations, sommelier), which share its federal pay figures.

No. A bachelor's degree is not the norm: BLS reports a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for Food Service Managers. BLS also lists short-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. Employers typically expect less than 5 years of related work experience first. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 29.7% hold high school diploma or the equivalent (such as a ged).

BLS does not publish a fixed length; it depends on the route. What it does publish: the typical way in for food service managers is a high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of work experience in a related occupation. Once hired, BLS lists short-term on-the-job training as typical. O*NET classes the work as needing some preparation.

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 5.8% over 2025–2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 38,800 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Food service managers are responsible for the daily operation of restaurants or other establishments that prepare and serve food and beverages. A core O*NET task: review work procedures and operational problems to determine ways to improve service, performance, or safety. Employers most often ask for Accounting software, Electronic mail software, Office suite software.

More work over 40 hours than at exactly 40. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 41% of food service managers usually work more than 40 hours a week, 25% work exactly 40 and 34% work fewer. 78% say their schedule is regular and 22% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Food Service Managers highest on the Enterprising, Conventional and Realistic interest areas, so the work mixes leading, persuading, selling and making decisions with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ESTJ, ESFJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Women make up 48.8% of food service managers, close to their 47.1% share of all employed people. 19.5% are 55 or older, close to the 23.2% across all jobs. The median worker is 40.9 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.