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Baristas: Career Overview

Prepare or serve specialty coffee or other beverages. Serve food such as baked goods or sandwiches to patrons.

The Daily Work of Baristas Take On?

The core tasks performed by baristas cover:

• Receive and process customer payments.
• Prepare or serve hot or cold beverages, such as coffee, espresso drinks, blended coffees, or teas.
• Take customer orders and convey them to other employees for preparation.
• Clean or sanitize work areas, utensils, or equipment.
• Describe menu items to customers, or suggest products that might appeal to them.
• Clean service or seating areas.
• Serve prepared foods, such as muffins, biscotti, or bagels.
• Prepare or serve menu items, such as sandwiches or salads.

Skills and Knowledge

Top baristas draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Top Skills

The abilities most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Core Knowledge

Types of Baristas Jobs

People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:

• Barista
• Cafe Barista
• Catering Barista
• Coffee Bar Attendant
• Coffee Barista
• Coffee Brewer
• Coffee Maker
• Coffee Shop Attendant

Employment and Demand

The U.S. employs around 883,432 baristas working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to grow by +14.3% over the projection horizon.

Baristas Pay

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$29,815
Hourly median	$14.33
10th percentile	$21,732
25th percentile	$25,774
75th percentile	$33,857
90th percentile	$37,899

Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.

Baristas Salary by State

State	Annual median salary
District of Columbia	$38,240
California	$37,010
Washington	$36,820
Colorado	$35,440
New York	$35,270
Massachusetts	$35,060
Vermont	$34,540
Alaska	$34,430
Oregon	$34,430
Maine	$34,360
Connecticut	$33,980
New Jersey	$33,290
Arizona	$33,060
Minnesota	$31,950
Illinois	$31,900
Maryland	$31,200
Hawaii	$30,860
Rhode Island	$30,460
New Hampshire	$30,320
Delaware	$30,210
North Dakota	$30,010
South Dakota	$29,480
Nebraska	$29,420
Missouri	$29,310
Montana	$29,280
Nevada	$29,180
Virginia	$29,060
Michigan	$28,870
North Carolina	$28,760
Utah	$28,670
New Mexico	$28,650
Wisconsin	$28,500
Pennsylvania	$28,490
Idaho	$28,450
Iowa	$28,400
Indiana	$28,290
Wyoming	$28,200
Ohio	$28,100
Florida	$27,990
Tennessee	$27,840
Kentucky	$27,170
Texas	$27,000
Kansas	$27,000
South Carolina	$26,830
Arkansas	$26,740
Georgia	$26,310
West Virginia	$24,960
Virgin Islands	$23,680
Oklahoma	$23,590
Alabama	$23,490
Louisiana	$23,110
Mississippi	$22,280
Puerto Rico	$20,850
Guam	$20,580

Top-Paying U.S. Regions

Compensation for baristas shift depending on where you work. These regions lead on median pay:

Region	Median annual wage	Share of U.S. jobs	Location quotient
Far Western US	$35,982	17.5%	1.06
New England	$34,025	4.2%	0.90
Middle Atlantic	$32,495	12.4%	0.82
Rocky Mountains	$31,688	4.7%	1.16
Plains States	$29,447	6.0%	0.97
Great Lakes	$29,231	15.3%	1.10
Southwest	$27,665	15.1%	1.20
Southeast	$27,137	24.1%	1.01

Where the Jobs Cluster

Metro area	State	Median annual wage	Employment
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	CA	$42,660	21,320
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	CA	$40,470	47,330
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	WA	$38,310	51,590
Napa, CA	CA	$38,270	1,540
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	CA	$38,090	5,160
Vallejo, CA	CA	$37,680	4,550
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	CA	$37,650	25,790
Salinas, CA	CA	$37,440	4,400

Top Industries Employing Baristas

The largest employers of baristas are concentrated in the following sectors:

Industry	Employment	Median annual wage
Accommodation and Food Services	3,313,790	$30,140
Retail Trade	212,930	$34,340
Educational Services	107,730	$33,400
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	44,670	$31,740
Manufacturing	24,930	$33,820
Health Care and Social Assistance	17,550	$35,750
Information	15,740	$27,480
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	9,640	$30,640

Baristas work in the following industries:

Tools and Technology

• Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
• Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
• Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)

The Day-to-Day Environment

Daily working conditions for baristas tends to involve the following characteristics:

• Spend Time Standing
• Contact With Others
• Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls
• Deal With External Customers or the Public in General
• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams

How to Become Baristas

Entry-level baristas positions require less than a high school diploma as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.

Other Careers to Consider

Similar Occupations

• Food Service Managers (Supplemental)
• Chefs and Head Cooks (Supplemental)
• First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers (Supplemental)
• Cooks, Fast Food (Primary-Long)
• Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria (Supplemental)
• Cooks, Private Household (Primary-Long)
• Cooks, Restaurant (Primary-Long)
• Cooks, Short Order (Primary-Long)

About the Data

Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
• BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
• O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 35-3023.01 (Fast Food and Counter Workers).